Bridge to EAN Pleasure Product Industry Interview

A short while ago I did an interview with the amazing Colleen Godin for the awesome EAN Online magazine.

Here are the pages and the text only. You can also read it online and view the while 2oth edition of the EAN on https://www.ean-online.com/read-online/

Selling cock rings is much more complicated when you’re not buying the mass-manufactured, silicone copies found in most adult stores. Velv’Or founder Jelle Plantenga is still pursuing his passion by creating penis rings that bear a closer resemblance to high-end jewelry than something that popped out of a factory mold – and that’s exactly the point. However, as Plantenga laments, passion doesn’t always equate to profit. Regardless, nothing seems to stop this Dutch pleasure artist from pushing more fashionable cock wear into the market. EAN caught up with Plantenga to chat about the latest trends in male pleasure wear, who’s really buying his fancy c-rings (hint: Plantenga says it’s surprisingly not gay men), and how he’s navigating the fairly complex task of marketing niche, bespoke penis products.

How have recent trends in men’s pleasure products influenced your latest Velv’Or designs? What do men want in a quality c-ring these days, or any type of pleasure product meant for men?
Jelle Plantenga: First, unfortunately, most men still need to step out of their comfort zone and acknowlegde that a pleasure product like a c-ring will enrich their lives.
Most Velv’Or fans learned about my Crown Jewels design after searching for a stylish c-ring that is comfortable to wear, makes them feel more manly, and gives them a firmer looking penis while flaccid or erect. Consumers want products that they can own for years and last longer than just a couple of hours, weeks, or months. Price point is crucial for a product that’s intended for daily use.
Regarding current trends, I wonder how many western brands like Fleshlight will also launch a fantasy collection based on the large number of fantasy masturbators we’re seeing from Asia. I am also curious to see more pleasure fitness products like the Deep Rocker by BRUTUS. I also wonder which brands beside TENGA will come out with a health collection, such as the company’s campaign that focuses on prostate health by promoting daily masturbation.

You mentioned that it was incredibly difficult to get Velv’Or into distribution in the first place. Why so? Are distributors really that confused about easy-to-use c-rings?
Jelle: Actually, this wasn’t exactly the case. While it was not hard to get the products into distribution, there was a the lack of knowledge within the majority of retailers. Most did not buy them, since explaining and selling them was too complicated for their staff. You need to wear my ergonomic c-rings to understand them and be able to share the real benefits of them.
The JBoa was the most comfortable to wear, lasso-style penis ring on the market. It sold nicely, but still, most retailers thought it should be worn behind the balls.
Please, dear colleagues, a lasso is only really effective on the base of the penis, and it needs to be firmly pushed down the shaft (and nearly inside the body!) so it sits on a spot where the blood chambers are at its weakest; meaning they do not have the force to expand the lasso so the blood can flow out. The further to the front of the penis, the stronger the blood chambers, which causes the string to expand, and blood can flow out of the erect penis.
The ROOSTERs were a very nice collection of more common penis rings. Due to them being more common, the sea of similar products was way bigger, meaning only a few retailers were willing to add them to their assortment.

After years of B2B struggles, you recently took Velv’Or off the distribution circuit. How did you decide that it was finally time to go B2C?
Jelle: I actually started out by selling only B2C in the early years of Velv’Or, while the JCobra was the first product. It was one of the first bespoke or made-to-order products on the market. In that time, only a limited number of retailers were selling real high-end products.
After getting the rights back for Velv’Or in 2024, I decided to only focus on the real fans of Velv’Or and consumers, namely penis owners from all over the globe that usually start with one Velv’Or and then expand their arsenal after their first order. Some of these consumers later add the Bespoke CrownJewels to their precious collections.

What has improved for your business since making the switch to B2C?
Jelle: When you enrich a life of, for instance, a 70-year-old that realizes, from the moment he started being Velv’Or adorned, that he should had done this years years years ago, it makes you feel very proud. I always say I am a multi-millionaire in feeling due to this. Unfortunately, I am far from it in cash due to a limited amount of brand awareness, and the media is not helping out. Take Men’s Health magazine, for instance: they only publish paid articles, and as we all know, only the big fish in the pleasure product market have money to do so. This unfortunately results in poorly educated consumers.

Who is the market for luxury c-rings like Velv’Or these days? Do you get mostly gay men, straight men, women buying for partners, queer folks, etc?
Jelle: The majority of our sales are the stylish, 3D-printed ergonomic c-rings, and the fans of these are primarily straight and bisexual men. Gay men, of course, are also among the fans, but the majority are straight men looking for a stylish c-ring. Many gay men find my designs too slick. They are taught something for them should be thicker, steel, etc. In the past, the Jboa was often bought by women for their lovers.

How often is it necessary to release new designs in this economy? Do you see sales grow when you’re constantly updating and adding new designs?
Jelle: Constantly releasing new designs is not something I believe is key to growing sales. Being one of the best on the market is, and with a wide range of colors and designs, I already offer the fans of Velv’Or plenty of options. Constantly offering new designs is a commercial way of doing business. I prefer that the fans and friends of Velv’Or are extremely happy with what they own and spread the word instead of constantly buying and trashing products.