Sexual Wellness Brand Playground Secures $2M And Target Distribution

Playground’s field of play is expanding.

The 2-year-old sexual wellness brand is rolling out to a quarter of Target’s nearly 2,000 stores nationwide with three of its five lubricants priced at $19.99 each: Date Night, Love Sesh and Mini Escape. Playground’s goal is to be in full distribution at the chain in the near future.

To support its presence at Target, which represent’s the brand’s biggest retail partnership, Playground has raised its first institutional funding. It’s secured $2 million from Amboy Street Ventures, Palm Tree Crew Holdings, Fourward Ventures and Goddess Fun+d. The backers are particularly active in the sexual wellness and women’s health arenas. For example, Amboy Street Ventures has backed Dame, Dipsea and Aunt Flow and Goddess Fun+d has Joylux and Hey Freya in its portfolio. 

Also participating in Playground’s oversubscribed round are sex therapist Emily Morse, author of “Smart Sex” and host of podcast “Sex With Emily,” and Alex Cooper, host of popular podcast “Call Her Daddy.” Cooper had Aguilera as a guest on “Call Her Daddy” last year and will promote Playground on the show as well. Upon its launch in 2022, the brand raised what co-founder Catherine Magee labels a “strategic angel” round of an undisclosed amount from a dozen individuals. In March last year, Christina Aguilera signed on as co-founder and chief wellness advisor of Playground.

“Playground’s health-centric approach to personal lubricant is speaking to the female consumer in a way that legacy brands have missed,” says Carli Sapir, founding partner at Amboy Street Ventures. “This investment fits squarely into our thesis that destigmatizing female sexual pleasure will improve sexual health for everyone. We are proud supporters of Playground as they revolutionize this industry and set new standards.”

Playground entered retailers Nordstrom, Revolve and Anthropologie prior to Target. In 2023, the brand discloses its sales shot up 700%, and for the 12 months ended March 24, Magee shares sales growth has been closer to 1,200%. She says, “Our rate of growth is escalating, and we anticipate similar growth in the next year.” 

Since 2022,Target has made strides to update its sexual health and wellness offering beyond conglomerate-owned players like Trojan and K-Y by picking up upstarts such as Jems, Bloomi, Cake and Cheeky Bonsai. In 2023, Dame pulled out of Sephora U.S. to launch in-store at Target. 

In January, Target unveiled an ambitious wellness initiative and introduced over 1,000 wellness products across various categories, from women’s health supplements to athletic wear. In sexual wellness, the big-box retailer is segmenting the aisle to group well-known traditional brands together and create a new section for emerging brands like Playground that Magee defines as “premium healthy.”

Target’s average shoppers are millennial moms squarely in Playground’s core consumer group, and Playground is betting that they’ll be spreading the word to their friends once they discover the brand at their local Target. To amplify awareness, the brand will tap Aguilera and Morse, its chief sexologist. 

“Playground’s health-centric approach to personal lubricant is speaking to the female consumer in a way that legacy brands have missed.” 

Playground stands out among sexual wellness brands for its lubricants containing ingredients like fermented bamboo extract, ashwagandha, horny goat weed and black cohosh and being approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration. Similar to condoms, lubricants are a Class II medical device that must gain 501(k) classification or pre-market clearance from the FDA to be sold to consumers. Unlike many other sexual wellness brands, Playground owns its formulations.

To achieve the classification and ability to be marketed as a lubricant, a product has to be extensively tested, a lengthy process that can cost tens of thousands of dollars per stockkeeping unit. Due to the cost and time involved, independent sexual wellness brands tend to avoid the classification, characterize their lubricant as “sex serum” or “intimacy oil” and stick within the cosmetics arena rather than the medical device arena. 

Playground’s products are pricier than other brands in Target’s sexual health section—an online search of the retailer’s selection shows lubricants from Astroglide and K-Y Jelly are priced as low as around $3.59—but Magee believes that the brand’s ingredient decks justify its higher prices. Sandy Vukovic, co-founder and chief product officer at Playground, brings vast experience from working at beauty companies such as Aveda, Bare Minerals and Kendo Brands, to guiding the brand’s lubricants. Playground describes its products as “premium skincare for the vagina.”

“Much like other categories, the vast majority of lubricants on the market are sold in mass retailers using mass ingredients. We really care about using the best, healthiest ingredients. A step we took that was very unique is hiring our own chemists,” says Magee, adding, “Our product strategy mantra is, ‘The intersection of pleasure and health.’ Everything we develop needs to meet both of those goals equally.”

One of Playground’s next strategic moves is dipping its toe into the adult novelty channel. Though the channel has been dominated by mass-priced products created by conglomerates like XR Brands, emerging sexual wellness brands have been exploring the channel in an effort to secure retail distribution at the more than 4,500 adult stores across the country. Magee says the move made sense given her brand’s ethos. She details, “A lot of the stores in the adult channel were surprised that a brand that was so health and wellness focused and wanted to reach the masses would consider being in an adult store. For me, how are we supposed to change the narrative of these products and make women feel proud, not ashamed to use them, if we aren’t willing to go into the channel that’s supported and sold these type of products for so long?”