MediaBitch™ founder Nina Saini’s interview with trade magazine EAN, as featured in the October 2025 trade show issue.
20 years! Congratulations on two decades in our industry! How does the anniversary feel?
Thank you very much. I can’t believe it myself and I can’t believe how quickly 20 years have flown by. This anniversary makes me feel old! But I have loved working in this industry, I don’t think I would still be here if I didn’t love it.
How would you sum up this period in a few words?
Interesting and lots of fun!
What inspired you 20 years ago to start working as a consultant specifically for the sex toy industry?
It was an accidental move through a chance meeting with the creators and the investors of The Cone. I had set up MediaBitch™ two years prior and I was working with clients in the arts and in the entertainment sector, so I had no plans to branch into sex toys! The opportunity came with that meeting with The Cone. It was a unique experience as I was lucky to learn about all the aspects of launching a brand to an international consumer market and to the global B2B distribution and retail network.
Your areas of expertise were and still are PR, communications, B2B and B2C marketing, business development, brand development and strategic planning. Has the importance of or understanding for these areas grown over the years?
I think so.
Brands and companies have a better understanding of how all these parts are integrated and how they need to work in sync together rather than as separate parts. The key thing is to remember that although everything works together, it doesn’t mean you have to start everything at the exact same time. There is no point branching out into anything and everything if the foundation is not in place and if there’s no plan. It is worth taking the time to get your house in order and plan, plan, plan. We all know things can pop up and put the best laid plans in disarray, so it is important to pivot and adapt when this happens. But if you do have a plan in place, you have an aim and direction in which you want to go.
It’s important to have a bigger picture awareness because it allows you to look at things from a broader perspective, whilst focusing on the moving parts allows you to focus further in to see how these individual components complement each other. By doing this simultaneously, you’re good to go.
With a changing environment, the requirements for PR, communications, B2B and B2C marketing, business development, brand development and strategic planning are also changing. When you compare your early days in the market with today, what are the biggest differences in your profession?
In short, everything has evolved.
Brands have become more important from brand identity to consumer facing representation, and this could be anything within B2C communications from PR, website, social media channels, marketing and so on. Consumers are buying brands, they are drawn to brands that align with their values, they’re doing their homework, and they are making informed purchases. In addition, the user experience is important to consider in this digital world. It is not enough to have a website up and hope for the best. It’s not just about SEO anymore, we have now to take into consideration GEO and the evolving functionality of AI, as well the consumer journey, the brand and product information and how this is communicated, and so on. Companies need to investigate why the consumer would shop with them as opposed to their competitors.
Traditional PR is changing with affiliate marketing playing a more active role influencing what brands or products are featured in the media in exchange for commission. For print and online publications, it has become more revenue driven due to the decrease in readership numbers and the reduction in advertising revenue. Affiliate marketing brings the media an additional revenue stream, along with advanced paid options such as newsletter inclusion, articles and social media posts.
The emergence of social media has had a big impact with the biggest change being that brands and consumers can now connect and communicate directly. Brands can control their brand identity, and their narrative and consumers can engage with brands, positively and negatively in a public forum. We know that social media (along with influencer marketing) plays a big role in how consumers discover new products. There are also the restrictions of social media advertising that brands have had to navigate in a creative way (yes it can be done!). We know social media is consistently evolving so brands must consider these channels and how to utilize them as a marketing tool.
Marketing in the traditional sense has evolved and although there is a place for traditional marketing campaigns. We know that moments marketing has become more important. There are various and multiple touchpoints to consider, the customer’s journey has become less linear and more scattered. There needs to be a balance between that personalised experience and bombarding the consumer where they then become indifferent to the brand.
I could go on, but I know space is limited!
During your time in the market, you have worked with many brands and companies, making them more successful. Is there one project that you would describe as your masterpiece?
Ha! I don’t know if I would say I have a masterpiece as I’m proud of the work I’ve done with all the brands and companies I’ve worked with. I will say in hindsight I am always looking at what I’ve done and what I can do better or how I would do things now. I am always 100% engrossed in any project I work on; I want the brands and companies I work with to win, and I want to win! I’m very much a workaholic that loves my work. I think because I’ve worked in different capacities, I am comfortable getting my hands dirty and I have an understanding from a place of having done the work.
I will add that it has been especially satisfying working with brands like The Cone and We-Vibe where industry peers told me that those signature products will fail and they have gone on to be successful. I love a challenge and when anyone tells me something will fail, I say bring it on!
The market looked very different when you entered it 20 years ago. In your opinion, which five changes and developments have had the greatest impact on shaping the market as it is today?
I would say the emergence of brands and the role they now play in consumer behaviour and purchasing habits, as I have touched on in my earlier answer.
The availability of sex toys and accessories through mainstream retailers has also shaped the market. Even though product lines are limited, it has brought more eyeballs on the sex toy market and hopefully this has led consumers to sex shops for more product choice.
Product innovation within the sex toy industry have helped shape the market from products featuring more vibrational speeds and settings to interactive couples’ toys, long-distance app-controlled toys, smart sex tech products, suction toys and so on. Product design has really evolved, as well as quality of materials…no more phthalates!
In comparison to 20 years ago, sex is mainstream. Although there are restrictions in different ways, there is more access and more awareness around sex than there was before. Thanks to the popularity of Sex in the City, Fifty Shades of Grey, the Real Housewives franchise, Sex Education, use of sex toys has become normalized. Celebrity brand partnerships have also helped here too. Information is readily available, and we can explore our sexuality unlike before. We’re talking about sex more than we have before.
The online shopping experience we now have available has made purchasing products a more enjoyable experience. Brands and companies can reach more customers. Over 60% of sex toy sales in Europe are done online (Straits Research) so it is important to utilize sales channels online. Websites are more lifestyle focused, informative and engaging. With discreet shipping and trusted reviews, consumers are more comfortable buying sex toys. Again, brand awareness and brand trust have helped to achieve this.
Oh, and as an extra – AI. We are starting to feel the impact of AI, whether it is for research purposes, content creation and so on. In relation to content, I don’t feel like AI is there just yet. I would like to believe we need that human touch for creativity, humour and relatability. We’re complex and messy beings! Fundamentally consumers connect to brands because it feels human and we connect to the people behind the brands. In some cases, you can tell when AI has been used but AI is catching up fast and we need to adapt to this.
As our market has changed, so too have brands and products. Which of these have left a lasting mark and thus driven the transformation of our market?
I would say both brands and products are important. They are interlinked and both have driven the transformation of our market. If companies have both strong brand and innovative products, coupled with strategic B2C communications (and B2B plan), they have a winning formula. Brand identity and brand awareness brings the attention of the consumer, but it’s the products that will keep them coming back. Innovation in product design, along with how products are manufactured are vital to keep the industry evolving.
What were the major turning points (like Fifty Shades of Grey for example) for our market over the last 20 years that led to the mainstreaming of sex toys?
When I started in the industry, sex bloggers were flying the flag for sex toys. They were and still are a trusted and authentic voice in this space, providing honest and objective feedback. They helped get the word out there. Print magazines and online media were covering sex toys too, but at the time it was limited. The journalists paving the way helped change this, they would go out of their way to make sure sex toys were spoken about and featured. The big break for me personally was when UK’s TV show “This Morning” featured The Cone not only at 10.30am on terrestrial television but they put us on their website which was unheard of at the time. There were also shows in the US covering sex, shows like Dr Ruth and the Doctors which helped lead the way.
As time has gone on, the popularity of Sex in the City and Fifty Shades of Grey have pushed the door wide open. We are seeing more sex coverage in the media from online, print to broadcast. Social media and influencer marketing have added to this, along with the emergence of podcasts and continual activity from sex bloggers. Brands partnering with celebrities has elevated the awareness around sex toys too resulting in increased column inches in places where sex toys on their own might not be featured.
The emergence of sex tech and sexual wellness have help positioned our industry as lifestyle. It’s been rebranded as self-love and self-care. This has helped enormously as it has reframed any previous connotations with sex or masturbation.
I believe these are some of the factors that have led to the mainstreaming of sex toys, in addition to the type of branding and shopping experience now employed by companies.
Looking back, there have always been ups and downs in our market, but currently, crisis mode has taken hold. What needs to happen for our market to flourish again? Are ‘external’ factors (tariffs, wars, the global economic crisis, etc.) solely to blame for the misery?
External issues don’t help but this isn’t the first time that we have been through hard times. Issues will pop up as they have done over the last 20 years and we will continue to adapt as we have done before. Of course, it is sensible to be aware of potential obstacles and be ready to tackle or adjust according to whatever this may be by finding solutions. Our industry will continue to evolve as it has always done, and I believe our industry is not going anywhere. The demand for sex toys will remain. The industry isn’t showing signs of slowing down and we are seeing new markets emerge.
After your 20 years in the market, it is probably okay to ask you this question: What’s the most misunderstood aspect of the sex toy industry from a business perspective?
I think the biggest misconception is that the sex toy industry is an easy one! It’s not. As a specialized sector, normal rules do not apply and there are different types of obstacles to overcome. I’m biased, but I think it’s a tougher industry to be in and we are constantly having to navigate changes as well as misconceptions and judgement by non-industry folk. Our versatile skills in this industry are not as valued in the mainstream business world because of fear and lack of understanding of the industry.
What’s next – for you and for the future of our industry?
We know our industry is growing. It is projected that the global sex toy market will grow from $27.5 billion in 2025 to nearly $60 billion by 2034, with a CAGR of 9% according to GMI.
There are new markets emerging which is exciting. Navigating a new market especially when there are cultural factors to consider is always interesting as you’re learning about new cultures, how that country’s culture is evolving and what role sex plays.
The advancement of technology. This will obviously have an impact on our industry, from how we work to how we implement technology into sex toys.
As for me, who knows? I’m open to opportunities, whatever that may be. This is what has made my career in the industry interesting and why I am still here. I never know what’s around the corner!
Interview originally appeared in the print issue of EAN magazine (www.ean-online.com) in October 2025.
Comments are closed