Maude, a sexual wellness brand, successfully redefined a stigmatized category by building a strong brand identity and focusing on de-stigmatization. The episode highlights their intentional shift from DTC to omnichannel retail, emphasizing the importance of strategic partnerships and profitable growth for scaling. This provides a blueprint for brands looking to enter sensitive markets and expand their reach strategically.
Maude is trying to redefine the sexual wellness space. The brand -- which sells condoms, lubricants and vibrators, in addition to other products -- has been growing its presence and business over the years. It first began as a direct-to-consumer brand, but is now sold in stores like Sephora. According to founder and CEO Éva Goicochea, the company is only getting started. Maude began as a predominately DTC business in 2018. But Goicochea said she focused early on getting the word out -- and making sure people understood the brand properly. This included getting press pieces out before launch, as well as reaching out to hotels to carry the products. "We found like-minded partners when it comes to hotels and made a giant list on Airtable and started reaching out to them," Goicochea said. What does like-minded mean? "We partnered with hotels that had that design-bent," she said. For those hotels, they likely already had say, condoms, but they hadn't yet found companies that branded sexual wellness products like Maude. For those hotels, said Goicochea, "[the products] needs to be high quality because there's this trust barrier." With this strategy, Maude has continued to grow. The brand is now available in 33 countries and is continuing to grow its product line. Much of its success, said Goicochea, is based in brand identity. "We had this thesis," she said, "that [intimacy products] should be approached in this really unified de-stigmatized way." This, said Goicochea, is resonating with customers. And now the focus is on growth -- albeit, profitable growth. With that, Maude is looking to expand its domain. The focus this year, she said, is on product launches and expanding into new markets. She added, "it's retail next year."