Eco-erotic entrepreneurs

When he launched the first 100 percent organic “erotic cosmetics” line two years ago, Frederic Donnat saw a gap in the market that was “more interesting than the usual organic beauty products”.

The owner of French firm Divinextases has since seen sales triple to 450,000 euros (600,000 dollars) after refocusing his online business to “eco-erotic” products, earning him a quality label from France’s national organic federation.

With eight products today, he hopes to introduce four new items next year and is seeking to start exporting to “mature markets” in Sweden and Norway, the 45-year-old told AFP.

“Take care in love” is the attitude at Laboratoires Claude, a manufacturer of organic pills to be used “as a one-off or as regular therapy, half-an-hour or an hour before” sex for heightened pleasure.

Still “the only player” on the domestic market whose pills are sold in pharmacies, organic stores and sex shops the brand wants to diversify into aphrodisiac-laced tea and sugar, and to develop its distribution network, company director Fleur Phelipeau told AFP.

For 2014, Phelipeau is projecting a 300-percent increase in sales thanks to customers who may be worried about the contents of offerings from more traditional competitors.

Other brands are drawing in eco-conscious consumers with initiatives to help forests. British company French Letter sells carbon-neutral condoms made from natural latex produced in sustainably-run forests.

But some are cynical about the rise of the organic sex shop. Easy Love, a network of lingerie and erotic accessory retailers, claimed eco-erotic products “have sold very badly” and dismissed the concept as “a publicity stunt”.

Despite these criticisms, France’s eco-erotic entrepeneurs are adamant: sex sells. They remain convinced that sex with a conscience might sell even better.

– Sapa-AFP.