VEENDAM, Netherlands — EDC Wholesale will place “LoveBox” sex toy vending machines in dozens of hotels and motels in the Netherlands, starting in May.
Customers of the hotel chain can choose from about thirty erotic products, varying from vibrating toys to hand cuffs. The machines will also offer other erotic products, like lubricant, condoms and lingerie.
"A while ago we were brainstorming ideas for fun April Fools’ jokes when someone suggested that we could offer sex toys in vending machines like snacks,” said Eric Idema, CEO of EDC. “Almost immediately we started asking ourselves if that idea could actually be realized. Before I knew it, the first concept design of a vending machine was ready and we were thinking about what kind of toys would fit in those machines.”
In addition to placement in hotels and motels, Idema is in talks with potential partners about placement in road houses, movie theaters, highway gas stations, railway stations and airports. Idema expects the company to have placed about a thousand vending machines at set locations before the end of 2018. He plans for dozens of machines to be available for seasonal and temporary placement, for example at conventions and festivals.
“And that is just in the Netherlands and Germany for now,” he continued.
The “LoveBox” selection of products will depend on the location of the vending machine.
“We keep track of what sells well at each location and we will change the selection if needed,” Idema added. “This is because the wishes of a truck driver at a road house of course differ from the wishes of women visiting a ladies’ night at a movie theater.”
Within a few weeks of the launch of the vending machines, a “LoveBox” location app will be available for download on iOS and Android. With the app, customers can find the nearest vending machine, including a list of available products at that particular location.
The first version of the “LoveBox” vending machines is chiefly focused on the Western European market and supports basic debit and credit cards that are common in the EU.
“Meanwhile, we are researching the possibility of contactless payment with Asian and other international payment systems, such as WeChat, Alipay, Apple Pay and Android Pay,” he concluded.
For more information, visit EDCWholesale.com.