and Millennial consumers and sleek DTC brands that promote female empowerment. To find out what is preventing adult toys from being stocked by mainstream retailers, Inside Retail spoke to several leading Australian brands in the space. Sex always sells While other retail categories are reporting slow or stagnant growth, the global market for toys and devices is expected to reach US$30 billion in 2026, compared with US$19 billion in 2021, data analysed by PwC shows. And the resilience the self-love and adult toy industry has shown during the economic downturn is far from a coincidence. “At its core, our category is about personal wellbeing, intimacy, and self-care, things people prioritise even when budgets tighten,” Liana Lorenzato, chief marketing officer and general manager at Vush, a leading Australian adult-toy company, told Inside Retail. “I wouldn’t say the industries are immune, so to speak. It’s similar to the ‘lipstick effect’, a small indulgence. Ultimately, pleasure isn’t just recession-proof, it’s essential,” she said. The ‘lipstick effect’ has historically highlighted consumers’ appetite for purchasing small, affordable luxuries during times of financial insecurity. More recently, however, the concept has been rebranded by Gen Z and Millennials as a ‘little sweet treat’. Now, the phenomenon of micro-indulgences has evolved from designer lipsticks and overpriced pastries toinclude the adult-toy industry. “Like chocolate, wine and other self-care products, we often benefit from consumers switching their discretionary spending from things like holidays and expensive experiences into more everyday pleasures (which is a perfect case for a vibrator),” Lucy Wark, co-founder of premium adult-toy brand Normal Co, told Inside Retail. The cost-of-living crisis has led many Australians to cut back on social outings and spend more time at home. “As a result, people are turning to the sexual wellness industry to enhance their at-home experiences, whether solo or with a partner,” Sophia Sherwin, brand and marketing manager at Moments, which makes condoms with women in mind, told Inside Retail. While the adult-toy industry is not as susceptible to macro and economic factors, it is at the mercy of marketing regulations. An industry gagged Despite the sex-positive boom, brands like Vush, Normal, Moments and Lovehoney have all had their products censored by traditional and social media outlets and as a result are now trying to sell sex toys, without sex. “We’re forced to tiptoe around industry-specific language: Words like ‘pleasure’, ‘orgasm’, and even ‘self-love’ can trigger content removal, making it incredibly difficult to educate consumers on products designed to enhance their wellbeing,” Lorenzato explained. Most adult-toy brands have given up on trying to get a prime time slot on free-to-air TV, even if they are certain their ad is modest and complies with the strict regulations. Vush recently had a TV campaign featuring brand ambassador Kayla Jade on air for one day before Channel 9’s legal team pulled it. It was deemed “too risky” despite Vush taking major precautions with PG content: a blurred product, no mention of adult toys or orgasms, and in a late-night slot. “TV advertising in Australia is particularly limiting, and without access to traditional media or paid digital advertising, we have to be incredibly creative in how we reach new audiences,” Lorenzato revealed. “This means leaning into influencer partnerships, word-of-mouth marketing, earned media, and innovative activations that cut through the noise in non-traditional ways.” It is this industry censorship that motivated Lovehoney to launch its “You Deserve Better” campaign in June 2024, a tongue-in-cheek endeavour that showcased what household items Australians were turning to for pleasure. “From veggies to toothbrushes, our billboards across Australia showcased these playful ‘dildon’ts’,” Charlie Ganzen, director of Lovehoney Group, told Inside Retail. “While censorship forced us to get creative, the message was that Aussies don’t have to, thanks to Lovehoney,” he added. But this out-of-home marketing campaign was about more than just circumventing ad guidelines – it was about normalising the conversation around self-love. Despite Lovehoney’s “You Deserve Better” campaign being rife with sexual innuendos, it met the strict advertising guidelines of traditional media as well as those of platforms like Google and Meta. “We dubbed these billboards the ‘Unbannable Ads’ because advertising guidelines restrict what they consider to be ‘explicit content’,” Ganzen explained. “This campaign is our creative response to those limitations, and it’s a playful nod to the resourcefulness of Aussies using everyday items for pleasure.” The constraints the adult-toy industry faces have forced brands to be creative. Instead of viewing advertising restrictions as a roadblock, brands have taken them on as a challenge. Outside the box Sex-positive influencers who have engaged followings have quickly become the go-to avenue for adult-toy brands looking to reach their target audience. Micro and macro influencers have become the cornerstone of many brands’ marketing strategies – a shortcut for navigating online censorship since paid ads rarely get approved. “By collaborating with creators who align with our brand values, we’ve been able to spark organic conversations and introduce our products in authentic, engaging ways,” Lorenzato said. “We spend a lot of time ensuring we partner with the right influencers and creators – this not only builds trust but also allows us to tap into new audiences that we wouldn’t otherwise be able to reach through traditional ads.” Normal credits its 170 per cent year-on-year growth in 2024, a period when many consumer brands were struggling with cost-of-living pressures, to its sex-education content and partnerships with creators who were leading voices on sex, gender and pleasure topics. This strategy resulted in sold-out collaborations with Australian media personalities. TV and radio personality Abbie Chatfield co-created ‘Option A’, a beginner buttplug kit, and Cheek Media’s Hannah Ferguson co-created a ‘Cheek Kit’, an introductory vibrator and conversation cards to help customers tackle internalised taboos. “In those partnerships, it’s always really important to us to live our mission of education and product, by making sure we empower consumers with information they didn’t get in school, which enables them to access more pleasure and have the best possible experience with their toy,” Normal’s Wark explained. “It’s been a massive sea change. One story Abbie Chatfield tells is that a few years ago, she had a manager who turned down a sex-toy deal she was offered without even asking her because it felt so un-thinkable for a public figure to endorse a product like ours. “Now, three bestselling products later, we’re in a cultural moment where we get comments like, ‘Not another influencer launching a vibrator, they’re everywhere.’ Now that’s progress.” Due to savvy social-media marketing strategies by adult-toy brands, consumers are no longer surprised by social media posts from influencers selling vibrators – but they are surprised by the small range in supermarkets and pharmacies. A missed opportunity As demand has shifted and more people have become comfortable shopping for sexual wellness products alongside their everyday essentials, there is a big commercial opportunity for supermarkets and pharmacies to stock products on their shelves that can’t be made visible through marketing channels. From Wark’s perspective, fashion and beauty retailers seem to be taking the lead in adult toys, positioning self-pleasure as a form of self-care – giving sex toys proximity to skincare. “I think supermarkets and pharmacies in Australia are lagging behind a little, with sexual wellness sections that can often feel either a bit clinical or a bit porny in their marketing, and still carrying products with ingredients that can promote vaginal infections, like glycerin, which is shocking in 2025,” Wark shared. However, even those retailers that have started stocking sexual wellness brands in response to consumer demand have opted for a digital-first strategy, making products available online that they might be apprehensive about displaying on their shelves. This ‘play it safe’ approach has been adopted by several major Australian retailers, including Cotton On, Sephora, David Jones and Mecca. “For brands like Vush, this presents both an opportunity and a challenge. On one hand, mainstream availability helps normalise the category and increase accessibility,” Lorenzato explained. “On the other, restrictions on in-store placement reinforce the lingering stigma that self-love products don’t belong alongside other wellness essentials.” Moments is one of the few next-gen sexual wellness brands that has managed to cut through the supermarket red tape and land their products on the shelves of Coles. Its product range of condoms and vibrators is designed with female pleasure and gynaecological health in mind. One of its most impactful campaigns to date was the “Barely There, But Everywhere” campaign in May 2022 that celebrated the launch of Mega Thin 0.03 condoms in select Coles supermarkets nationwide. “Off the back of the campaign, we experienced a 40 per cent increase in engagement on one of our social-media accounts, driven by highly engaging campaign content,” Sherwin revealed. “It also helped position Moments as a disruptor in its category at Coles, where sales are rapidly increasing year on year, which is a testament to both the strength of our product and the effectiveness of the campaign.” Sherwin said that, while Coles has been incredibly supportive of Moments’ vision for the sexual wellness category, some FMCG retailers have been hesitant. Not because they don’t see the demand but because Moments is different from the heritage brands in the category. “Almost all traditional condom brands market to men, whereas Moments is catering to women’s wants and needs,” Sherwin stated. “We maintain strong relationships with retailers we admire and take them on a journey at their own pace, showing them how we’re reshaping the industry and proving the demand for a female-first approach.” Sex is wellness Vush, Lovehoney, Normal and Moments have all taken on the role of sex ed teachers – schooling retailers, advertisers and consumers in this growing category. Normal’s educational content has gone viral time and time again, garnering over 1.7 million views on Instagram and over 1 million views on TikTok in the last quarter alone. “There aren’t too many brands of our size that acquire their customers almost entirely through organic social media, earned media, creator partnerships and word-of-mouth, which has meant that while many other direct-to-consumer brands are struggling with rising acquisition costs, our costs of acquisition is trending downwards over time,” Wark pointed out. As part of its educational content, Normal launched its “This Is Normal” campaign in November 2021, which pointed out the gendered double standard in sexual wellness advertising. “Companies advertising products designed to solve premature ejaculation and erectile dysfunction are often treated as ‘medically necessary’, while companies advertising vibrators are treated as a ‘vice’ product,” Wark explained. “Essentially, our society tends to see male orgasms as a right, and female pleasure as an indulgence or a vice.” Lovehoney has also led with educational content in different formats, including podcasts and articles to reach consumers organically – formats fit for in-depth discussions. “Partnering with wellness experts, sexologists and mainstream lifestyle brands has helped us integrate sexual wellness into broader health and self-care conversations,” Ganzen said. “Additionally, experiential marketing, such as pop-up events and collaborations with beauty and wellness brands, has helped destigmatise our category and drive engagement.” One of Lovehoney’s most effective out-of-home marketing campaigns that led with education was its “Orgasmic Skin” campaign in partnership with leading beauty clinic Fayshell – inspired by research linking orgasms to improved skin health. Lovehoney stated that the campaign reached over 20 million people, with 70 per cent of online articles linking back to Lovehoney, driving referral traffic. Over on social media, its Orgasmic Skin influencer campaign delivered 3.1 million impressions, a 5.3 per cent engagement rate, and over 10,500 interactions. “The response reinforced that consumers are ready to embrace sexual wellness as part of their beauty routine,” Ganzen said. Meanwhile, Vush conducted its own research in partnership with Body+Soul to release the 2024 Sex Census – providing key insights into Australians’ sexual habits and attitudes. “We engaged over 2000 participants aged 18 to 75, sparking nationwide conversations on sexual health and wellness,” Lorenzato said. “Who knew Tasmanians love sex toys more than any other region in Australia?” Australia’s adult-toy brands are successfully navigating a prudish media landscape to bring consumers products that are designed to enhance their mental and physical health. Together they are normalising sexual wellness while staying within advertising guidelines. “Whilst not always dinner-table conversation (that depends on who is at your table), the ongoing normalisation of self-love and sexual wellness, particularly through digital platforms, has expanded the industry’s reach,” Lorenzato said. “The conversation around sexual wellness is more open than ever, reducing stigma and increasing consumer confidence in purchasing these products.”