Woo More Play is the latest sexual wellness brand to turn to crowdfunding to fuel expansion.
Last year, clean intimate care brand Bloomi initiated a crowdfunding campaign, and category leader Dame got its start by raising nearly $1 million via Kickstarter in 2014 to bring its Fin vibrator to market. In the case of Woo More Play, it will be the first sexual wellness brand to host a campaign on “Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary-backed StartEngine platform, and the expansion that’s being fueled by the money it raises is its launch at premium department store Nordstrom.
Woo More Play is targeting $1 million for the campaign and offering investors seven tiers of perks based on their investment amount. Perks include discounted lifetime subscriptions, a hand in the brand’s new merch and, for $100,000 or above, dinner with co-founders Westin Mitchell, Michael Bosstick and Lauryn Bosstick, creator of “The Skinny Confidential.” The minimum investment is just under $250, but perks aren’t involved until $500 or greater. The latter is StartEngine’s usual minimum investment, but Woo More Play CEO Mackie Swan negotiated the platform down to $250.
Since its launch in 2018, Woo More Play has raised $2 million in venture capital funding over several rounds, most recently a 2022 seed round. Among its investors are Dream Ventures, production company Dear Media and Shakti Ventures. Swan says the investors gave their blessing to a crowdfunding campaign to give the brand’s community the chance to strengthen their relationship with Woo More Play and become part owners.
Swan, who spent over four years at sexual wellness brand Good Clean Love before joining Woo More Play in November 2021, believes the category has never had more momentum, and the company’s current investors believe that, too. “We are in the very early days of opportunity in the world of sex and intimacy,” she says. “I think they’re super excited about [the crowdfunding campaign]. They see the opportunity not just in the short term for us to raise money via this round, but also to deepen our relationship with our customers and really use this as a longer term marketing strategy. We’re not just simply asking you to buy another bottle of lubricant or buy our latest and greatest vibrator.”
Vice clauses at institutional funds prevent some venture capitalists from investing in companies in the sexual wellness space, and many funds that don’t have explicit clauses in place may still be hesitant to invest in sex brands. Swan says, “Investors who maybe publicly say that they invest in stigmatized categories personally aren’t comfortable enough talking about these topics to put their money where their mouth is.”
Woo More Play has been on a growth tear. Since launch, it’s generated over $11 million in sales and has hit a 52% customer retention rate. Nearly 25% of its orders are from subscriptions. The brand is at Anthropologie, Revolve and Amazon, where its Freshies wipes are the No. 2 better-for-you feminine wipe. It has the bestselling sexual wellness stockkeeping unit at Revolve. Every five minutes, Woo More Play sells a bottle of lubricant. Its hero product remains is oil-based lubricant Coconut Love Oil, the product it began with.
The brand has premiered online at Nordstrom with six products, including two vibrators, ranging from $19 to $114. While the department store retailer doesn’t have a sexual wellness section in its stores yet—though it did host a self-love pop-in in 2021—Swan says the beauty and wellness team at it is bullish on the category. She says, “They understand that this is an area that Nordstrom shoppers are interested in seeing.”
Swan is excited about the partnership as she sees alignment between Woo More Play and Nordstrom shoppers. She points out both tend to care about organic, natural and body-safe products and not be as price sensitive as shoppers at other retailers. “Woo customers tend to be really new to the space and that brings the responsibility of being a category steward for folks,” says Swan. “I could say the same about Nordstrom. They have so much credibility and have created a deep sense of trust with their shoppers that they are very well equipped to help folks purchase these SKUs for the first time.”
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