Amor Sui Brings the Backdoor Heat

In an era when sexual wellness is a billion-dollar industry and self-care dominates social media, one simple product category still faces the same taboos as decades ago: anal toys. Companies who sell anal toys face unique challenges that extend far beyond product development. Companies in this space must navigate widespread stigmatization, payment processor restrictions, and marketing limitations that other retail businesses rarely encounter.

For fledgling company Amor Sui, these obstacles became apparent from day one. Founded by Whitaker Cohen and specializing in anal toy development, the company has branded itself as the "self love" business, taking what Cohen describes as a holistic approach to pleasure. Their debut product, an anal plug named Jenni, launched in February and reflects the company's philosophy of making anal play accessible to all.

"For Jenni, I wanted the most approachable name…like talking butt stuff over brunch, having an avocado toast, and just your friend Jenni. She's a cute butt plug," Cohen said.

Cohen noted that it was difficult to even find a manufacturer for Jenni. Amor Sui discovered that while America may be the land of the free, U.S. manufacturers drew the line at butt plugs. The company eventually found manufacturers in China, but new challenges emerged in the marketing phase.

Payment processing became a significant barrier, with major platforms refusing to work with adult product companies. "Payment processors like Stripe refused to work with us because we specialize in adult products," Cohen said.

Andrea Greff, Head of Design and Development at Amor Sui and Cohen's business partner, noted how difficult it was to establish distribution channels for the product. The team worked tirelessly to get their product into Shopify, Faire, and online boutique shop Rolik, while simultaneously building their own website, LoveAmorSui.com.

After months of preplanning the product drop, the toy became available to the public within the past few months. With Jenni now on shelves, the team claims that they can now focus efforts on creating a sex positive place for people to embark on a journey of self discovery through butt plugs and anal toys. They have pivoted to more educational endeavors within the sex wellness industry.

Their “talking with experts” column on the Amor Sui website features discourse around pelvic floor education, lube, and healthy intimacy.

Cohen emphasized their comprehensive educational approach: "It's a lot of reaching out to people in the sexual wellness community, we have a 360-degree approach. We have talked to lube companies, pelvic floor therapists, intimacy coaches, and adult performers. I just want our education to be robust and supportive in every possible way."

This educational content serves multiple purposes, according to Cohen.

"The pelvic floor therapist can explain to users why anal penetration can feel really good...this is the tissue that is there and these are the muscles working. The lube expert talks about what lubes are good for your body with anal versus vaginal lube," Cohen said.

Cohen’s background in entertainment production was the starting point for the idea of Amor Sui. With the difficult times of the pandemic, and unstable nature of the entertainment industry during that time, Cohen wanted to use her creative energy toward a new career path.

“I think the catalyst was all the strikes happening in 2022, I became increasingly more disillusioned with the entertainment industry, the catalyst was being out of work and having the time to reassess where I was at and where I wanted to go,” Cohen said.

Amor Sui was born out of the utter frustration with an industry that felt increasingly unfulfilling. Cohen saw an opportunity to channel her production skills into creating something more meaningful, which resulted in a business that could genuinely help people while breaking down harmful taboos around sexuality and self-exploration.

Looking ahead, the company wants to continue creating anal toys for customers, and is in the prototype stage for two new toys. These will be the larger adaptation of Jenni, specifically designed for beginners wanting to dip their toes into anal training. The next color in the line will be lavender, while Greff and Cohen are still workshopping product names they are excited for what’s to come.

For all anal play lovers, Cohen and Greff recommend always using lots of lube. They said that the most common mistake is that people just shove objects up their butt without properly preparing the hole for penetration.

At the end of the day, it’s all about “prioritizing your pleasure and doing what feels best for you,” Cohen said.

Get out there and explore all the things that your body has to offer, who knows maybe Jenni will become your new best friend in bed. For more information about Amor Sui make sure to check out their website at LoveAmorSui.com.

As always, visit ToyChats.com for your playbook to mind blowing pleasure!