“It’s fun, it’s cute, and it’s a great conversation starter.”

Smartphones make our daily lives easier; they remind us of appointments, inform us about the latest news – and they allow us to send sexy messages. The latter feature is becoming more and more popular among the young generation of millennials. However, if you want to illustrate your titillating texts, you have to get creative because regular messenger services don’t offer emojis for sexual messages. Consequently, users hijacked some of those modern-day hieroglyphs, and nowadays, everybody knows which body part is meant when they see the eggplant emoji on the screen. Last summer, this symbol of passion crossed over into the real world – an emoji turned silicone. We spoke with Jamie Jandler about his invention, the Emojibator, and discussed its mainstream appeal.

Just in case some of our readers are not that much into sexting: Why does the Emojibator look the way it does?
Jamie Jandler: The eggplant emoji is the ubiquitous emoji used for penis. We’re not really sure how this poor purple fruit became a phallic symbol, or its first use in Internet culture, but Instagram validated it by actually banning searches of the hashtagged character. Some believe because it had no prior cultural significance, so it was the perfect euphemism.

Why did you decide to take this emoji and transfer it from the smartphone to reality?
It really started out as a joke, but my friend and now business partner convinced me it was a brilliant idea. The timing was perfect with the emoji revolution, the age of millennials (now about 18-34), and I knew it had that “wow-factor.” Only after we launched did I realise this product’s ability to break boundaries on society’s stigma about masturbation and start a conversation about sex.

Can you tell us a bit more about the team behind the Emojibator?
We are CEO, me, partner and CMO, Kristin, and we’ve teamed up with one of the industry’s leading 3PLs for fulfilment and warehouse services in Santa Clara, CA, Steme360.

I’m a touring musician and I play all over the United States. I had originally started this business as a fun side project. I previously worked in computer science and digital marketing, so I wanted to create an ecommerce business that I could manage in my spare time.

Kristin is one of my best friends from college and is one of the smartest and hard-working people I know. I couldn’t run Emojibator’s day-to-day without her and I don’t think there is anyone else I trust more to get things done. She is a marketing and networking wizard. I think we always knew we’d start a business together.

What are the technical specifications of the Emojibator?
The Eggplant Emojibator is approx. 12.3cm x 3.1cm making it a sleek and satisfying size. It’s cute. It’s waterproof. There are 10 vibration settings. We use high quality medical-grade silicone.

Do your customers buy the Emojibator for themselves, or is it mostly a joke gift for them?
We’ve found it’s about 50/50. Many customers are not first time sex toy buyers, adding something fun to their own collection, but because of it’s silly concept and culturally significance, customers are also buying for their friends or significant other. We serve both males and females. This product aims to pleasantly surprise in its high quality, not only novelty.

Do you think the Emojibator can be sold to a mainstream audience due to its natural und inconspicuous shape?
Absolutely. We’ve already had mentions in publications that don’t normally talk about sex, like The New York Times, Mashable, and New York Magazine. I think it makes a great entry-level sex toy and a product for anyone who may be bashful or intimidated by giant fleshy dildos. It’s fun, it’s cute, and it’s a great conversation starter.

From a technical standpoint, the Emojibator is a rather simple product. Does this prove that when it comes to sex toys, marketing and a fun idea are in fact more important than creating the most elaborate product?
I think the industry has room for both types of products. When I create a product for Emojibator, my qualifying factor is that it is going to get people talking. Of course, the number one thing is quality. The adult industry has the responsibility to not only get their customers off, but also to ensure the safety, health, and wellness of these customers. I don’t think products need to be elaborate per se, but they need to be smart, sturdy, and safe.

Are you working with distributors in Europe? Where can interested retailers turn to if they want to offer the Emojibator in their stores?
We have customers all over world now and we’d love to work with a distributor to further our reach in Europe and the UK. We are in talks with several U.S. distributors now. As a growing business, it’s important to have the right stores representing your brand. We’re working with some amazing retails stores and partners in Europe, and slowly expanding. Right now, retailers can reach out to us directly at info@emojibator.com.

Besides the eggplant, you also released a chilli pepper Emoji vibrator. Which emojis will be next? When will we see a peach Emojibator?
We have several new emoji products in development, unfortunately I can’t give further details yet, but we realise there is male demand for the peach. We want to make our products truly unique, so we have been researching and testing different products and designs over the last few weeks.