Hey all!

Happy World Sexual Health Day! 🥳 

Normalising the conversation about sex and sexuality is still an ongoing battle. One we must all stand for both in the bedroom and out. Sexuality after all, is something that unites us all. As unique as our fingerprints, and something we all possess.

One of the reasons I love this industry is that there is a continuous stream of innovation to learn from, often born from local conditions; for instance how young women’s experiences at a beach in the south of France could catalyse a sexual assault prevention app.

Different regions propel us forward at different times.

While it may sound obvious, the fact that the pace and focus of sextech innovation changes location constantly is a huge plus because we need ongoing momentum, creativity and a big bucket of diverse experiences and motivations to keep driving us forward.

There’s a day somewhere in the future where buying a sex toy, raising capital for sextech and having open conversations about sex education are as normal as any other day… 🥹 

Making headlines this week:

This week in sextech

1. 🏖️ The Safer Plage (or Safer Beach) app aims to combat sexual harrassment on French beaches

After a successful pilot experiment last summer, Marseille council launches the app Safer Plage so sunbathers can send alerts if they feel harassed or in danger. It's now being used on four beaches across the city. Users anonymously download the app with a smartphone.

Listen to the NPR story (4 mins) here.

Read the article on Time Out here.

2. 🚀 Sexual wellness is booming in India

I’ve been noticing a steady growth of job listings for sexual wellness companies in India lately. Two articles covering the growing Indian market this week:

3. 🤔 Which Canadian city buys the most sex toys on Uber Eats?

Toronto, you’re horny.

Uber Eats released this year’s insights on Canadian sexual habits to coincide with World Sexual Health Day on September 4, making it a really fun media campaign. Who doesn’t want to know if their city is the hot to trot?

NowToronto wrote about it here.

4. 📈 So many reports on the sexual wellness market!

It feels like every week another research company appear in my inbox with some new numbers!

Allied Market Research most recently report the global sexual wellness market expected to reach $ 108,320.0 million by 2027.

$20B by 2030? Statista says so.

$54.83B by 2031? Astute Analytica is placing bets.

What to make of all of this?

Well, the market is… growing. 🙄 How much? No one source can definitively tell us. And look I get it, it’s hard to measure such a broad and diverse market, do we include dating apps and adult entertainment? Leave douche powder packs in? What do you think sexual wellness is? What do you think sextech is?

How we draw the lines around what is considered inside of the confines of the sexual wellness industry is yet to be properly defined.

In the meantime, I continue to collect these soundbites on market predictions from various research companies to measure against each other, and draw my own lines around what is in and out… and for now …that’s about all I do with those numbers. 🤓 

🎪 Events

September 13: Copenhagen, ‘Sextech: the next trillion dollar category in tech’ Tech BBQ keynote by Cindy Gallop.

September 14: Copenhagen, Women x Health x Tech 

September 17: Sex Positive World Orientation

October 1-3: Reimagine Sexuality Summit 

October 4-5: London, Sifted EU (Cindy Gallop Sextech Panel)

October 5-7: Melbourne, Talk Dirty in French

October 15-22: Sydney, SXSW Sydney 👋 _{I’ll be speaking at this one!}

October 13-15: Denver, Sexual Health Alliance Sexological conference

October 18: Sex & Disability ‘Healthy sexuality and assistive technology’ Part 1

October 18, New York: Sextech Mixer NYC Tech Week 

November 8, Sao Paulo: Sex Summit 

💼 Jobs

That’s the round-up for this week. We know the world needs more sex-positive forces out there like you. If you’d like to share any industry tips, job openings, events you are hosting, founder and company updates, please do so by hitting reply. I read every single email!

Until next week,

Bryony

When you’re ready, here’s 3 ways you can work with me

1. Get on the waitlist to join the next cohort at Sextech School 

2. Schedule a 1-1 consultation call with me on sextech branding, marketing, community building and business strategy

3. Secure an earlybird listing on our Sextech Industry Directory and Hub to showcase your business, expertise or brand in the industry. Apply here