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At SiliconSlave we go to great lengths to bring you in-depth, behind-the-scenes information about the companies and individuals who bring you the products found at your local adult retailer or favorite online adult superstore. When you look at a sex toy, to you it’s simply a vibrator or a masturbator; but to us there’s a story there, one that’s waiting to be told. Behind many adult products there are good, hard-working people who are dedicated to quality and who are very concerned that their toys deliver the most pleasurable experience. We think you will agree, after reading this interview, that the folks at Outrageous Toys are such people. You will also conclude that, “Sometimes it’s OK to play with your food.”  Outrageous Toys is a manufacturer of adult sex toys, known in the industry for their innovative Passion Produce™ line of vegetable and fruit-shaped sex toys. On March 14th, 2005 SiliconSlave sent two representatives to Outrageous Toys’ Valencia, California facilities for a tour and to interview the key staff behind these cool products. Steel “Rocketman” Patton and Frank “The Tongue” Giovanni spoke with Scott Brimigion (Marketing) and Colleen Mott (President/Owner) of Outrageous Toys. Unfortunately, Tina Bermeo (Sales) and Phillip Mott (Co-Owner), were visiting clients off site and were not available to join the interview. Rocketman: A lot of the folks coming onto SiliconSlave might wonder where the idea for the vegetable line came from. Why vegetables? Colleen: We spent the past five years developing the vegetable idea and traveling the nation to gather information on various states stances on sex toys. What you need to understand is that phallic shaped sex toys are actually illegal in many states! [Colleen hands The Tongue what appears to be an ear of corn] Vegetables are not! [We all laugh] So as an alternative to the classic dildo shape, we’ve combined the vibrator with a vegetable shape. Something that is legal in all states yet provides all the pleasure you expect from a vibrator. Scott: We’re huge in the South – especially in Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma. The Tongue: [Holding the corn-shaped vibrator carefully in his hand, while trying to keep a straight face] That’s really great! What are they called? Colleen: We call it “Passion Produce.” Scott: And soon there’ll be Bunches of Grapes, Stacks of Strawberries, even Blackberries…  Scott: They’ll all
be very tasteful. You
can almost
put them in a bowl…The Tongue: In a bowl! I can imagine the scene at a dinner party: “Excuse me, why is the bowl vibrating?!!? Uh, oh never you mind!” [Laughs] Colleen: This is California – must be an earthquake. [We all have another good laugh] Rocketman: It seems like you folks put a lot of attention into the details of your products; for example you can see the little kernels [pointing to one of the very realistic, easy to see kernels on the corn-shaped vibrator] you just don’t see that on some of the other products in the industry. Colleen: Absolutely. We pay attention to every detail in the design and manufacture of the product, even down to the raw material. We want to make a better item. We don’t want to just jump in and become mainstream. First off, we’re not big enough to compete in that arena yet, plus we don’t have the money to compete on that scale of production. So we differentiate ourselves through a clearly better quality product. In fact, we are so confident in the quality of our products they all come with a 90-Day Warrantee! Rocketman: What’s been the greatest challenge up to this point in terms of bringing your Passion Produce to the market? Colleen: Money. Seed money. Rocketman: Has the manufacture of the toys itself been much challenge or did that get worked out pretty easily? Colleen: It’s been pretty easy. I knew what I wanted to do when we started. When we started I bought all the machines that we needed. I had the contacts that I needed. The Tongue: From your experience in the industry? Colleen: Exactly, from my experience and the connections I’ve made over the years. That how we’ve been able to bring Outrageous Toys up to speed so quickly; these contacts have been helping us find the machines and raw materials. The Tongue: That’s great. This rings true with what we have seen, and that’s that one of the big drivers for operations this size is having the contacts; it’s what allows them to be successful – having the network of people. Scott: Colleen has the respect of a lot of people in the industry. And they’re all very amenable to us going into the toy market, especially now that they’ve seen the innovative products we’re offering! Colleen: And now that we have Scott we’re just that much better off! He’s such a fabulous personality, and genuinely a good person besides being a good salesman. So people respect him, they want to do business with him. With us! The Tongue: Not just another person calling up, soliciting mainstream products. Colleen: Right. Scott: It’s just been great since I’ve joined the Outrageous Toys team. I think that with her contacts my job is to expand it into the country. I make as much noise as I can, but when it’s all said and done, some of her established contacts really kept us going until now, and they’re the ones that are going to help build our ladder to success. Rocketman: What are some of the business challenges you’ve come across launching the company’s first line of products? Scott: You figure that we had our coming out party eight weeks ago. It was at the AVN show in Vegas. Since then, I think most of the industry knows us already or will know us very soon. From a marketing perspective I really enjoyed being able to reach so many people and I’m so excited to let them know about this new line. But it’s clear to us that you’re always going to have to deal with your old school people that are interested in reselling your product and ask, “What is it, three bucks an item?” [Lifting up the bright yellow Passion Produce corn-shaped vibrator with an incredulous look on his face] Folks! Does this look like a $3 piece of crap to you? The Tongue: Right. [Laughs] Colleen: It’s time for everyone to wake up to the 2005 market: The era of the traditional, dimly lit back room where you browse for these cheaply made ‘toys’ is over! The lights are on, and they’re bright! Rocketman: Quality is King?  Scott:
Yes, and
more! This openness is a major push
for our
company. We believe that no one should be ashamed to want to
masturbate. Everyone should be educated on a sexual level,
especially the young adults. There’s no harm in
these
toys. It’s not the part of the adult industry that
seems,
in my opinion, to get crazy. The DVDs, the videos, the stuff
that
gets closer to the other side of the spectrum.
We’re trying
to stay on a very bright side. Colleen: The future of sex toys is infinite. However many million of women who buy them now, there are a hundred times that who have yet to experience it… but they will. Rocketman: Because it’s getting more mainstream each year? Colleen: Exactly! More mainstream, friendlier, especially more woman friendly. The Tongue: I like your analogy: it’s not a dark back room, it’s becoming much more mainstream. Colleen: You don’t have to worry about if your product is wrapped in brown paper bag… The Tongue: Right…”discreetly packaged!” [Laughs] Colleen: You can have your corn out on your table with your little serving tray. Rocketman: Now that you’ve entered the market place, where can people find your toys? How do they go about buying them? Scott: Our products are available through a variety of smaller retail stores and boutiques all around the US, and we are branching into Canada and the UK as well. Your readers can call 661-775-8312 directly to get more information about the products or to place an order. Rocketman: Do you have any new, maybe unreleased toys or ideas you’re willing to share with SiliconSlave readers? Scott: Well, let me start by giving you a little background. We had a really nice experience at the AVN show. One of the people who came up to the booth, she ended up being a senior editor for Jane magazine, Ester Haynes. She asked, “Why hasn’t anybody ever made a vibrator that a woman can use on her tummy just laying in bed?” I was intrigued and said, “Just describe it for me.” We took her ideas, added a lot of our industry know-how and intuition, and came up with this! [At this point Scott brings out a prototype toy, currently unnamed, holding it up for everyone to see.] Scott: This is really the first of its kind… The Tongue: Oh look at that! Scott: This is really the first of its kind vibrator that fits up behind a woman. And she goes up and down on these… The Tongue: That’s amazing! Scott: She’s going to send us her personal review of the prototype. How cool was it within fifteen days of the show to be able to send someone their own personally designed, one-of-a-kind vibrator? The Tongue: The big companies couldn’t even think of doing something like that. Colleen: They wouldn’t even listen to you. Scott: She’s so tickled. The woman is just so appreciative and so tickled. After receiving the prototype she called and said, “I cannot wait for the weekend to try this!” The Tongue: [Laughs] Scott: Later on when she called back she said, “I really love it! I have a couple of ideas for it…”, so we’ll do a continuing thing with her. In addition to generating new and innovative toy ideas, it will also introduce the readers of Jane to the concepts and ideals of Outrageous Toys. It’s unique for us to have the chance at that kind of discrete marketing, allowing us to get out our message: “Let us listen to your ideas!” We’re really in that position where we can do that on a general level. Colleen: This is the kind of creative marketing that Scott has brought to OTI. Scott: For example, if there was a porn star or someone who wanted their own, personalized line of toys, or someone who wanted their logo on a set of adult toys, er even someone who wants their own label on the toy’s motors, we are flexible enough to work with them on that kind of stuff. We’re trying to open ourselves up to be full service, where some of the bigger companies maybe could not handle that, or would not want to handle that. We really want to have our plate full. Rocketman: That’s a really good point. We’ve interviewed some of the ladies, some of the adult film stars who have worked on their own toys and what we find is that a lot of them don’t actually have any involvement in the toy design itself other than their photo on the box. I think the way that you’re approaching it, where you’re getting their input; perhaps the star might help design it… Scott: Right, have some ideas about the toy… Colleen: Some ideas of what they like in a toy… Scott: And that’s one the thing I respect about Colleen. No matter who she talks to she can pick something creative out of that person and be able to say, “Wow” and expand on that as well. It’s a team effort all the way. In fact Colleen’s daughter, Tina Bermeo, is wonderful as the head of Sales; she’s so well known in the industry, which makes a big difference! Colleen: Tina certainly has a large network of people she knows in the industry. Scott: Sometimes I’ll call around looking to speak to someone important in a specific company, trying to form a business relationship with them, and I try to get through for a couple of weeks, but nothing happens. Finally I ask Tina, “Let me get your advice on this.” And she says, “Just tell them you’re with me” and boom I’m through to the CEO! The Tongue: Wow! Scott: The bulk of my professional experience has been in mainstream sales, so I didn’t have any idea what to expect with this new industry. But now that I’ve been in it, I see that sales are sales. I’m getting to the point where I know the core market and how to hit it. I think the rest will come with time. [After a brief segue, the conversation changes to manufacturing and how some of the non-USA manufacturers are sacrificing quality.] Scott: In doing our competitive analysis and market research, we are astounded to find so many companies are still producing with inferior raw materials. We have to wonder why they still producing toys like this when there are other alternatives? Rocketman: Can you give us an example? Scott: Ok, let’s take the motors as an example. Most of the phallic-shaped vibrator motors end halfway up the unit so there’s such a little stimulation at the tip. Ours extend all the way to within about a quarter of an inch of the end, so you have a lot of sensation where it’s supposed to be. Also, regarding materials, I like the fact that our toys’ coverings can be easily removed and are safe to put them into the dishwasher for cleaning. You don’t have to go to all the trouble to maintain it with talcum powder or cornstarch like most toys of this style and feel. It’s really nice, easy to clean up, maintain it. It should last a long, long time. Colleen: I want to say one more thing about the big three toy manufacturers. Even though they manufacture in the U.S., they are sending more and more of their manufacturing to China. This is because, besides using the cheaper materials, they’re going to pay much cheaper labor rates in China instead of paying $6.75 an hour for people here. So, sure, they are going to be cheaper in the stores, but the truth will be in the pudding, you know what I mean? Our product is going to be so superior for females and we are counting on that quality to drive our name into the mainstream. Rocketman: Are there any other driving forces or market segments you want to emphasis in your company’s marketing? Colleen: I want to get to the gay females, the lesbians, and the gay males. I want to be in that market. I have a daughter who’s a lesbian and I know it’s hard for her in life. Life is hard, and everyone thinks they’re not real people but they are real people with real needs and feelings. We want to address that market. We want to be in every gay show, in every gay pride parade! We want to be there. I want all the eighteen year old males to have one of our masturbator sleeves, and let them know that its OK to masturbate, that it’s normal, and that you’re eyeballs aren’t going to pop out… The Tongue: …and you’re not going to grow hair on your hands and you’re not going to go blind! [Laughs] Colleen: Yes, that’s exactly right! That’s what I want to do. The Tongue: The markets you’re going after coupled with your “keep it in the U.S.” manufacturing ideas, have really impressed me while we’ve talked. One thing I think is important for the readers to know is the scale of your vision: You’re saying, “We have this now, this is the manufacturing and warehouse facility we have now, and we’re going to use this space for now. That’s great, but you know the reality is we’re going to outgrow this. We’re going to move forward and get something bigger, which we’ll again outgrow, and so on. Your vision isn’t six months ahead with the idea of “well if it makes it, it makes it, oh well it might make it.” No, you’re out there with your vision! And to be frank, that’s the kind of energy and ambition that going to make this company a success in the long run. Colleen: That’s right.  Rocketman:
People want to buy products that are
made
here. American talent, American skills.Scott: Absolutely. Colleen: We’ve got nothing but good response to that aspect of our company and products. The Tongue: That’s great. Scott: Even though you’re right about certain things being more novelty to buy or purchase, I think that if the quality is there that they’ll use a vibrator that is of that quality. Rocketman: What other marketing avenues, other than print advertising, have you been pursuing? Scott: The one area we’ve been pursuing is having our products appear in videos. We’ve gotten three or four good projects going in this area and we’re really pleased with the response. And several of the projects had multiple people requesting the corn or the carrot vibrators! [laughs] We’re in videos from Original Sin, Sin City, Ultrahard Films, and from Dr. Michael Perry (sexologist). Next we’re hitting Oprah, Elle, Cosmo, Mademoiselle, Ladies Home Journal, and Maxim. Rocketman: Is there a final thought or message you’d like the Silicon Slave audience to take away? Colleen: I want them to be aware that our Outrageous Toys products are 100% safe, Phthalate free, healthy, and natural. |
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