“My brand serves an audience that is a little more vanilla and mainstream.”

Having been active in the market for ten years, Rianne-S are now expanding into the Soft BDSM segment. Kinky Me Softly is the name of their new collection, which includes seven products that come in an appealing handbag. As brand founder Rianne Swierstra explains in our interview, Kinky Me Softly is aimed at couples who want to explore their sexual boundaries.

When and how did you get the idea for ‘Kinky Me Softly’?
Rianne Swierstra: We did research among our customers and we noticed that my brand serves an audience that is a little more vanilla and mainstream, so I wanted to create a kinky set for them that is not over the top.

What is ‘Kinky Me Softly’ exactly?
It’s a soft BDSM kit for the starter, with products like hand cuffs, ankle cuffs, a mask, blindfold, pleasure feather, and nipple clamps, without the heavier products like gag balls.  All products are packed in a beautiful handbag.

And how is your brand philosophy reflected in ‘Kinky Me Softly’?
It’s as fashionable as most of our other products.

What can you tell us about the individual products? Why should consumers pick your products when there is a wide range of similar items available?
Because our BDSM kit is one of the prettiest on the market, not to mention the handbag. Also, it’s a niche since it’s a soft BDSM product.

Who is ‘Kinky Me Softly’ for? Who is your target group?
The vanilla couple who likes to explore their sexual boundaries.

How do you explain the increased demand for ‘Soft BDSM’ products in recent years?
I am sure that’s the Fifty Shades of Grey effect still.

Why did you decide to make it a set instead of selling individual products?
Because sets have been selling so well for us from the beginning. It’s about the customers, really;  you give them more for less. I guess that’s why it’s working.

With ‘Kinky Me Soft’, you make inroads into a product category you have not served before. Could you imagine setting foot in even more product categories?
Yes, I could. My aim is to make pleasure products more stylish and mainstream, so the sky is the limit.

Do you have more new products planned for 2020? What will happen with Rianne-S in the coming months?
We do have some Rianne ‘care’ products in the pipeline which we will develop this year. We need to see how our industry will be affected by the Corona crisis. Obviously, it’s impossible not to mention or think about this. From a consumer point of view, I could imagine people buying more products in the near future to entertain themselves in the house, because there’s not so much we can do at this point and I hope and I do think that pleasure products will be a part of that.