Brand Builders: Tabooboo

Tabooboo, which sells products from vibrators to lubricants, challenges people to think differently about the category. 'People are put off sex toys because they associate them with porn,' says Lucas. 'But if you take away the porn, there is no problem. We focus on participation and our products are accessories - just like massage oil or condoms - that enable people to have better sex.'

Seated in the Selfridges cafe, which, fortunately, is relatively empty, Lucas realises he is talking rather loudly. He admits he has become desensitised to the shock value of sex, a useful trait for someone who may spend all day mulling over the difference between water and silicone-based lubes and the comparative merits of glass and plastic vibrators.

Dedicated as Lucas is, he did not start out with a burning desire to sell sex toys. He merely wanted to set up his own brand, and left a 12-year career in marketing, working for brands such as Nike and Adidas, to do so. Lucas chose the sex-toy industry because it is one of the few sectors characterised by 'unsophisticated brands and marketing and had only one main player'. It is a 'market with opportunities', he adds.

Other players have become excited about the growth of the category and Tabooboo now faces competition from a host of small website operators, who work from home and 'think the streets are paved with gold', Lucas says.

He claims the key to Tabooboo's success is that it designs, makes and sells functional products at reasonable prices. 'There is a polarisation,' he says. 'There is the novelty and titillation of the office party-type product and there are non-functional ornamental items, which offer a cool topic of conversation at dinner parties.' Tabooboo, by contrast, is about 'get-stuck-in, down-to-earth fun'.

Its core market is women in their 20s, who appreciate good design. They are not looking for high-street novelties or sex shops and do not want uber-luxury, just functional sex toys that look good. 'Girls who want to spice up their sex lives and appreciate the cheeky personality of Tabooboo,' Lucas says.

That personality is evident in the products, which have names such as Pocket Rocket, Love Lube and Lust Fingers, and are sold in bright pink boxes lined with the Tabooboo print - matchstick figures in various sexual positions.

The bottles of lube carry humorous directions such as 'squirt, suck, slide', while premium products, including its Tabooboo Rabbit vibrator, come in beige faux suede boxes that look like trendy jewellery packaging - a nod to the kind of customer Tabooboo is after.

The company has three sales channels: online at Tabooboo.com, vending machines in bars, clubs and gyms, and retail. The concession in Selfridges is the brand's only retail space of its own, but its products are also sold at outlets such as Urban Outfitters in London.

The brand is doing well in growth terms, but Lucas admits there are areas where it could improve. He has a database of customers, for example, to whom the company never sends information. 'If we make great products and put them in the right places, it will become a great, well-known brand,' he says.

Tabooboo has enjoyed its fair share of PR, getting mentions in Elle, Drapers Record and The Sunday Times Style supplement. Evening Standard fashion editor Laura Craik wrote about its lipstick vibrators after Tabooboo placed them on chairs at London Fashion Week.

Lucas's future plans include opening standalone stores, launching a mail-order service and expanding international interests, especially in Italy, where the brand has been well received.

In the meantime, Tabooboo can rely upon satisfied customers. One entry in the visitors' book at its Selfridges concession, reads: 'I have bought every single Tabooboo product and now I never need to leave the house.'

TIMELINE

Sep 2003: After selling property and investments to finance the venture, Alan Lucas sets up Tabooboo with an online store at Tabooboo.com.

Nov 2003: The world's first sex-toy vending machines are created and installed in design-led bars such as Alphabet in London.

Feb 2004: The first Tabooboo shop opens on St Valentine's Day as a concession in Selfridges, London.

Aug 2004: The Tabooboo underwear collections - Boo Boo, Tabatha and Dominique - are launched. They are designed in collaboration with PPQ and photographed by Rankin.

Nov 2004: Virgin Megastores places Tabooboo machines in its stores in 10 US cities. Tabooboo products are launched in international fashion stores.

Dec 2004: The Tabooboo Rabbit (£34.99) and Tulip (£24.99) toys are launched. The Times gives the products rave reviews in an article headlined 'Vibrator comes of age'.

Jan 2005: Tabooboo's turnover stands at almost £1m. It launches a leather shoe and accessories collection in Selfridges in collaboration with designers Mauro Slomp and Cazza.