BURBANK, Calif. — Fun Factory USA has announced its biggest quarter yet since the company opened in 2003.
Fun Factory USA is a California corporation and a subsidiary company of Fun Factory Gmbh, a European manufacturer operating since 1996.
“We are very proud of our sister company,” said Dirk Bauer, owner and founder of Fun Factory. “Fun Factory USA is a lot younger than the German company and this last semester, it experienced growth rates comparable to the ones we experienced in Europe during our strongest years.”
According to the company, a number of factors have catapulted Fun Factory USA into its recent increase in revenue. Firstly, Fun Factory USA recently hired a new executive to run the U.S. office: Frederic Walme, an industry vet.
“Frederic brings to the novelty industry his wisdom from years of work in the cosmetic industry, as well the knowledge he acquired while earning an MBA from one of the nation’s top 10 business schools,” Bauer said. Fun Factory
USA’s German parent company and manufacturer increased its production capacity, enabling it to fulfill orders more effectively, the company said. Fun Factory’s Smartballs were featured on national TV when they appeared on TMZ last month.
According to the company, Fun Factory has sold more than 2 million Smartballs world-wide, and its mini vibrators such as the Ocean surpassed 1 million units sold worldwide and the Cobra, with a quarter million units sold.
“With the recent explosion Fun Factory is experiencing in North America, the German manufacturing site had to start working night shifts (24 hour shifts 5 days a week),” Bauer said. “A few months prior to this measure, the factory had already increased its production and hours of operation by 30 percent. We are thinking about upgrading to a 24/7 production by the fall 2012.”
Fun Factory USA also says it has devised an aggressive strategy to become the top-selling brand of high-quality silicone vibrators and dildos by ramping up the pace at which new products are launched. According to the company, Fun Factory will launch 12 new items between July and February 2013.
"The U.S. company is just starting to live up to its full potential and we are truly excited to soon launch a ground breaking, patented technology with the potential to revolutionize the novelty industry,” Walme said. “I want to thank all North American customers for their patience, as the company struggled to keep up with the demand of Smartballs in the last few weeks. Now that the manufacturing site has taken special measures to meet the demand of our market, we expect to increase our inventory levels shortly.”
The company credits the success of its Smartballs with the “Fifty Shades of Grey” craze.
Fun Factory USA Marketing Director Emilie Rosan says, “Fun Factory Smartballs are benefiting from the success of ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ more than any other brand of Ben Wa balls because Smartballs were the first body-safe silicone kegel balls in the world.”
Smartballs are available in a special Uno size to suit the needs of women with an inverted uterus or women who had a hysterectomy.
“Lastly, the Smartballs are the only product of its kind to be manufactured in Europe, with 100 percent German body-safe silicone,” Rosan said. “Most other similar products are made in China.”
Fun Factory USA will exhibit at the ANME Show in July with a new booth #69, where the company will introduce its new packaging concept, made in Germany.