BURBANK, Calif. — The ANME show floor was abuzz with excitement from vendors and attendees as they explored the many new exhibitors, expanded booth spaces and new look of the tried-and-true biannual event for the adult retail industry.
ANME officially kicked off Saturday night with XBIZ’s black-and-white themed welcome reception, which gathered finely dressed attendees for drinks, appetizers, dancing and lots of catching up between colleagues. (For photos of the XBIZ Black & White Welcome Party, click here.)
On Sunday morning, it was down to business throughout the event’s three exhibition areas. As announced by ANME organizers last year, the show has a new layout with an upgraded tent exhibition area attached to the main show floor inside the convention center at the Marriott Burbank Airport hotel. Connected by a covered hallway, traffic flowed through with ease between the two rooms, in addition to the existing third show room inside the hotel’s lobby.
Situated at its established spot, Doc Johnson showcased its latest product releases at its expansive booth featuring plenty of the bold marketing that the company is known for. Doc Johnson Marketing Manager Thao Dipolito led a tour through the company’s newest items, which includes several new partnerships with adult stars and social media stars alike.
New additions to the Signature Cocks line include molds of male performers such as Jason Luv and Xander Corvus. Dipolito said that Doc Johnson also has partnered with Men.com and Sean Cody to release molds of their top stars such as William Seed.
Doc Johnson also is tapping into the social media power of top Instagram models with a new range of Main Squeeze masturbators molded from popular models such as @brittanya187, which has 12.3 million followers.
“Nobody’s done this before and they have a built-in demand because they will push it to their followers,” Dipolito said.
Adult stars, such as Lela Star, also have their dedicated fans. Star, along with Ariana Marie, Katrina Jade and Mia Malkova are joining the Main Squeeze family of masturbators.
“Lela’s steadily one of the top eight most searched stars,” Dipolito said. “She was a Yeezy model … and she’s just a beast of a marketer. We go for people that can sell themselves.”
Other notable new releases from Doc Johnson include new Vac-U-Lock sets and a vibrating version, Body Extensions harnesses that vibrate, new uncut and “fat” dildos from The D collection and new Crystal Jellies shapes and packaging.
Within the Doc Johnson booth Foria showcased several new CBD-infused products, including a massage oil selection and vape pens.
“People need different ways to access the benefits of CBD,” a Foria spokesperson said.
Known for its Awaken aphrodisiac spray for women, Foria’s new additions, such as vape pens, help users ease stress to get them in the mood for intimate pleasure. Similarly, the massage set employs the benefits of CBD to get couples physically in the mood during foreplay.
In addition to more CBD products hitting the adult retail marketplace, the growing appeal of cannabis was visible at ANME with new exhibitors such as Himalayan Group, which showcased an expansive selection of smoking accessories.
“Smoking accessories are an impulse buy so it makes sense for adult retailers to carry them,” Himalayan Group’s Jose Jaime said. “Shoppers might be there for pleasure products but they’ll see these items and will want to get them out of the convenience of them being there.”
Nasstoys showcased items introduced over the past quarter along with its current new releases. Among the new items are new Intense vibes that are “affordably priced, USB-rechargeable and come in handy sizes,” said Kathryn Hartman, Nasstoys’ director of marketing.
The company will release a new collection of massagers called Vibes of New York as a tribute to the company’s home state, along with a redeveloped Real Cocks line. Nasstoys’ Touch collection of pressure-sensitive massagers also is getting a new addition. The Touch Rabbit features 10 functions and comes in an aqua “Tiffany-esque blue and pastel pink,” Hartman said.
Nasstoys also introduced its new West Coast representative, Melody Cazarin, at ANME.
“She brings a lot of experience and connections within the industry to the role,” Hartman said.
It’s the Bomb brought its selection of bath and body goods to ANME and showcased its latest releases, including a selection of bath bombs with other accessories inside of them — such as jewelry or a vibrating bullet. It’s the Bomb also showcased new rose petal shaped soaps that are gaining a lot of attention.
“The show’s been great,” said Suzy Bubbles, founder of It’s the Bomb. “A lot of people are placing orders.”
Sheets of San Francisco — whose name was inspired by the ‘70s TV show “The Streets of San Francisco” — showcased its signature sex sheets at ANME.
“We’re the biggest sex sheet manufacturer and that’s mainly because we offer a superior product,” Sheets of San Francisco’s Robert Bosley said.
The seamless, almost-silky material can’t be stained and the sheet is made for every bed size, as well as custom sizes. The sheets can even be printed on to feature graphics.
A few booths away in the new, upgraded tent, Vibratex showed off a new look for its booth, which spotlighted the new Magic Wand +Plus — the latest reinvention of the classic wand massager, which also boasts new packaging.
“We figured after 50 years it was time to give it a new look,” Vibratex’s Eddie Romero said. “We’ve made the branding more cohesive."
The clean blue-and-white box packaging of the Magic Wand matches the backdrop of Vibratex’s booth, which was completely dedicated to the Magic Wand’s new look. To identify the three versions of the Magic Wand — plug-in, Plus, which features a silicone head, and the rechargeable — the company uses a sympbol on the outside of the box.
Within the Magic Wand booth, Clean Light Labs showcased the newest version of its Uvee toy-sanitizing system, which is now available in white.
Nexus is showcasing new additions to its selection of anal toys. Among the new releases is the Revo, Simul8 and Max 20, which features 20 modes of vibration. Its unisex design allows it to be used for stimulation of the prostate or the G-spot.
COTR, Inc. marked its first time exhibiting at ANME with an expansive booth that showcased the company’s three brands — Le Wand, b-Vibe and The Cowgirl. All three brands are set to see new releases this year.
For Le Wand’s upcoming release, the company tapped artist Ashley Lukashevsky to decorate a wand massager with women-centric, body-positive, uplifting imagery. The Feel My Power wand will be released on Women’s Day and it comes with a postcard, stickers, a Pleasure Guide and a self-love pin.
b-Vibe now offers a new Anal Training & Education Set that includes a book on how to start exploring anal play.
“We took all of the educational guides from our site and made it into a book,” COTR founder Alicia Sinclair said of the full-color, thick book that’s included in the set along with other anal accessories such as a lube launcher and an enema. The butt plugs included in the set consist of a small non-vibrating plug, a medium vibrating plug and a large weighted plug. “So that users can experiment with the different sensations,” Sinclair said.
The Cowgirl premium sex machine also gained a new attachment that can be used to G-spot stimulation. Along with the attachment, The Cowgirl has released a set called Afternoon Delight that includes an erotic story penned by Rachel Kramer Bussel, along with accessories with are mentioned in it, including a Wartenberg wheel, blindfold and a feather.
“It’s been a great show, really busy,” Sinclair said. “It’s the first time we’ve properly showcased all of our brands at a U.S. trade show.”
Zalo also made its ANME debut with a recognizable face as a newly appointing senior sales and marketing executive Mara Epstein.
“It’s my first time exhibiting with Zalo and we’ve gotten an overwhelming response here at the show,” Epstein said. “With this brand we want to bring more romance to foreplay and I think we’re doing it.
Screaming O took to its sleek booth to showcase its newest arrivals, which includes the Ohare XL that has a stretchier fit. “It’s perfect for customers that need a ring that accommodates a larger size or customers looking for a more loose fit,” Screaming O’s Gideon Perez said.
The Ohare XL is made of Screaming O’s True Silicone and features 10 functions of deep rumbling vibration.
Screaming O also introduced My Secret Vibrating Plug XL, which is a larger version of the original My Secret Vibrating Plug. Offering 10 vibration speeds and functions, the vibrating plug offers more than 60 minutes of vibration.
ID Lubricants showcased its booth decked out in the brand’s vast array of offerings. Among ID’s variety are water-based, silicone-based and hybrid formulas, as well as flavored lubes and toy cleaners that kill 99 percent of bacteria, said Selena Weber, a representative of ID Lubricants.
“The product that I’m the most excited about is Slick,” Weber said. “We recently rebranded it with purple so that it appeals to both sexes because, realistically, it can be enjoyed by both men and women.”
ANME continues through tomorrow evening.
