“Function and style will be the future.”

Good planning is half the battle, as Dutch dildo manufacturer Ylva & Dite can confirm. The two founders, Roy and Danny Jacobs, had done extensive market research before launching their company, and it paid off in a big way. Now, six months later, Roy and Danny took the time to answer our questions about the launch, their perception of the market, and the success of Ylva & Dite.

Half a year has passed since Ylva & Dite entered the market with colourful dildos made in Holland. Looking back, would you say that stepping into the erotic market was the right move for you?
Roy Jacobs: Yes, we had already known a couple of years ago that we wanted to step into this industry. However, it took some time before we even had our first product ready.

Now, we have been selling our products actively for half a year, and I think we have experienced the same growing pains many other companies also experienced. It’s not that easy to secure a steady position within the market since regular marketing channels aren’t available in this industry.

It took blood, sweat, and tears but now, we stand strong, and we believe our future will be bright.

Are you completely satisfied with the first six month? Have your expectations been met?
Danny Jacobs: We don’t think that there is such a thing as ‘completely satisfied’. There is always room for improvement.

Our expectations were definitely met since we are still exploring and didn’t set hard goals for this year. We wanted to learn quickly and we do think the first six months made us much wiser and well-equipped for 2020. We are smarter now.

Were there some things you learned during this time that you didn’t expect when you founded your business?
Roy: We didn’t expect that the world outside of this industry would be as conservative as it turned out to be. When starting the business, we were dropped by our regular business partners such as the packaging company for our products. When they heard that we were in this industry and wanted to sell dildos, the company decided they didn’t want to do business with.

We thought… ‘that’s strange’. And so, we learned that apparently not all companies are as open as we are when it comes to sex and this industry.

“We didn’t expect that the world outside of this industry would be as conservative as it turned out to be.” – Roy Jacobs

Have you already expanded your product portfolio? Would you mind giving us an overview of what you are offering?
Roy: We are currently in the process of expanding our range with more colours, and we are busy with all the feedback we’ve received at eroFame. People told us that they needed dragon dildos, vibrating dildos, butt plugs, and other packaging.

So, there you go, we will provide the world with all of the above. Handmade Dutch dildos in various colours, offering the highest quality and presented in beautiful packaging. Keep watching us in 2020.

Has one of your products proven particularly popular in the past months?
Danny: Favourites vary depending on the people who buy them. Some love the drips, some love skin colours, and some love metallic dildos. We can’t really say we have a clear number one. However, we can say that providing various colours appeals to the customer and they really appreciate this.

What can you tell us about the feedback you’ve gotten from your customers and from other players in the industry?
Danny: Last eroFame was our first opportunity to really engage with the industry. We loved it and most of the feedback was very positive.
First, people were surprised that all of a sudden, there was this Dutch manufacturer of dildos that is able to provide all colours in all quantities while still making these toys by hand.

After getting used to this, they provided us with feedback about the current packaging and our pricing, and they suggested models they’d like to see. The feedback was great, and most people told us we were doing a good job and that they were genuine surprised.

The erotic market is flooded with products and it is very difficult to stand out in this ocean of products. Would you agree with this statement? How do you manage to stand out?
Danny: We do agree with this statement, this is something you need to recognise as a company within this industry. We manage to stand out by giving people a good company story combined with great products and great people behind it.

We go for high quality and new ideas, and we are able to provide retailers and distributors with good margin products. Our products are available in low quantities, specific colours, and unique variants.

You were also an exhibitor at eroFame 2019. How satisfied are you with the results of the show?
Roy: We really enjoyed eroFame. As mentioned before, we’ve learned a lot by having conversations with people in the industry and we received a lot of useful feedback from them. This gave us lots of confidence for the upcoming years.

Apart from that, we’ve been able to expand our network, and we had a great time meeting lots of likeminded people.

Are there any general trends that you have identified in the erotic market? What will be the most important developments in the near future?
Danny: We think that products don’t have to look realistic anymore, but function and style will be the future. How effective a product is, the way it looks and feels, and the price – those things are going to determine if a customer will buy a product if they will be happy with their purchase in the end.

Have you already found distribution partners who offer your products? Where can retailers buy Ylva & Dite dildos? Also, are you looking for more distributors?
Roy: Currently we have various conversations going with distributors and retailers. In 2020, our focus will be on these parties and we will make sure that they will be equipped with the right tools to sell our product. We are always looking for new retailers and distributors to work with. They can contact us via sales@ylva-dite.com.

Could you tell us about your plans for 2020? What can your customers look forward to?
Roy: We will keep on developing new dildo models, and we will make them available with a bullet for customers looking for extra thrills. The biggest visual change in 2020 will concern our packaging. The products will be complemented by a packaging design that suits the quality we stand for.

We are almost finished with developming of the new packaging, and we can truly say that it looks amazing, absolutely amazing. No company has this sort of packaging, and this will make Ylva & Dite stand out.