Sextoys - How does a new product design get to the market and what kind of testing do you do beforehand?

Keith Caggiano – We have a white board spilling over with new design concepts, we select what we think would be the next projects to fit into the line, I usually hand sketch them up a few times, they then go into a CAD design process which we continue to refine. From there we are able to have samples made where we can see how the concept actually works all together, we work with the right type of materials till we get it right and then it’s off to the famous Screaming O product testing team to give us feed back.

Sextoys – Does Screaming O have designs that fail? What constitutes failure? Is that totally market driven?

Keith Caggiano – We have been very fortunate that all of our products have been successful with in the niche that they were intended. Some of course are big volume sellers and others were designed for a more specific taste or customer. It most cases we will look to update packaging and the communication of the message to enhance the success of the product.

Sextoys - Speaking of kits, The O Boy Vibrating Safe Sex Quickie Kit is a relatively new one that is marketed to gay men. First, as advocates of safer sex, thanks for the inclusion of a condom! Secondly, do you plan on expanding your efforts in reaching out to the LGBT community?

Keith Caggiano – Funny you mention this we just released what we are calling the “(not-so) ambiguously gay duo” which is the O Boy Vibrating Quickie kit and the new up sell item to that the O Man™ vibrating ring with replaceable batteries. Our RingO’s have already become very popular for that market as well.

Sextoys - We really appreciate your expertise and time. Is there anything else you’d like to pass along to our readers?

Keith Caggiano – The Screaming O line is designed to continuously add new variations to sex so if you have tried the a Screaming O, try out some of the other ones to and you’ll be sure to be screaming O Honey, O Boy, O Man, O Wow or O Yeah. And as always Keep ‘em Screaming!

In a span of 2 years, Screaming O went from an award as the most innovative company on the market, to an award as the best company. That’s an impressive jump by the highest standard. Screaming O has led the way in toys to enhance play time with your partner, and also has innovative solo toys, like the Octopus which won a Women’s Health Magazine award. Keith Caggiano has offered to answer some questions today to help introduce the company and it’s products to our readers. We’re certain that you’ll find his answers informative and will better appreciate the quality of Screaming O products when we’ve finished.

Sextoys - First, congratulations on your recent Xbiz Award for “Toy Manufacturer of the Year”. That’s quite an honor considering the competition. Screaming O has garnered a lot of good press and a number of awards over the past few years, what do you think makes your company stand out in a crowd?

Keith Caggiano – Thanks for the accolades. We are very honored on the recent award for “Toy Manufacturer of the Year”, there are a lot of good companies doing some great things out there so this kind of recognition is very much appreciated. We attribute the success of The Screaming O to designing a line of products that anyone can and would want to try. Our product mix is designed for couples as well as singles and is designed to appeal to a larger demographic of the population than most traditional toys. We have found that we can offer a Screaming O to just about anyone, when we go to the bank, hotels, all of our vendors they all ask for more. We joke that we tip in cock rings. We try and take a fun high-energy approach to marketing the Screaming O line and is reflected in our packaging. We hope to transfer a fun attitude on to the consumer.

Sextoys - Screaming O has also had great success in the crossover market, including two consecutive Women’s Health Magazine Awards, what do you attribute your mainstream success to?

Keith Caggiano – We live in a great time to be in this type of industry because times are changing and people are starting to realize that being comfortable with their sexuality is more than just ok it’s liberating. Turns out, humans like sex that is why there are over 6 billion people on the planet, so offering a little ad on fun that can make it more interesting and exciting can also serve to enhance their relationship. This type of product category is expanding now in mainstream, drug stores, convenience stores and even grocery stores.

Sextoys - Many screaming O kits and toys are designed specifically for couples. Is that the result of the initial business plan you had, a designed niche fulfillment, or was that an organic growth based on demand?

Keith Caggiano – When we came into the market we noticed that much of the products tended to target unique niches and it appeared that the industry was fighting over the small percent of the population that would walk into a “dirty book store”. We wanted to target not just them but a much larger percent of the population that we believed would be interested in these type of products. We feel that this approached has worked for our company and are excited about the future.

Sextoys - What methods do you use to connect with consumers and do you find the feedback helpful with innovation? Does that feedback focus on couples, or do you take a wider range of queries?

Keith Caggiano – We did a lot of direct to consumer shows when we first started so we got the advantage of actually being face to face with our customers and see their reactions, get their feedback and see what they got excited about. We have used this type of feedback to navigate through new designs to make sure we were really meeting the issues that the consumers had. The development of our FingO’s, LingO’s Tri-O’s and O Yeah were defiantly influenced by talking to the customer.