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Sex toy stores enter the mall,Parents complain that it is embarrassingWhat kind of mindset does it feel like when you visit a mall and find a beautifully decorated sex toy store?Recently, a store called "Adult Candy" in Hangzhou has attracted widespread attention. Despite the name sounding like a candy store, it's actually a sex toy store that specializes in women's ** products. Under the bright space of the store, the young and open brand concept is highlighted - "breaking the tradition, subverting the inherent prejudice, and changing the stereotype". Although the store only has the name of the three words "adult candy", and it is not directly marked as a sex toy store, the words "** only" are marked next to the store name. 
Source: Little Red Book.
As the first store of its kind in Hangzhou, Adult Candy has attracted the attention of many citizens and netizens at the beginning of its opening. Many netizens went to visit the store, and even queued up to buy on the weekend. For this phenomenon, young consumers say that this is normal, and it is a kind of openness and progressAnd some said they were very embarrassed, especially parents who took their children to the mall: "It's so embarrassing, I thought it was selling sugar, and my son pulled me to rush to the store!."”
Source: Internet.
Because of the "embarrassment" of these parents, the topic of "Adult Candy" in Hangzhou's first store has risen a lot, and some netizens on the Internet, as well as some parents and other consumers in shopping malls, have expressed their minds, thinking that "it will teach children badly". 
** went to the store for an interview, and the clerk said: "The slogan at the door and in the store clearly says that it is only **, minors are not allowed to enter the store, and we will also have a clerk at the door to remind you." There was a woman with a baby in her arms who wanted to enter the store, but we were persuaded to leave. As for the topic of parents complaining about the sex toy store entering the mall, the official Weibo of Adult Candy also responded to the netizen Weibo, and a book on sex education has been placed in the store, titled "Being a Non-Embarrassed Parent". 
Source: Weibo 02
Sex toy stores make a high-profile entry,A good thing or a bad thing?The search found that adult candy is a cutting-edge original design sex brand founded in 2019, which belongs to Shenzhen Youxing Technology*** On July 14 this year, the first offline store was opened in Yifang City Shopping Center, Bao'an District, Shenzhen, and it was also the first sex toy store opened in a shopping mall in China. But at that time, it didn't seem to cause much discussion and impact. On social platforms, it is more of a praise for the city of Shenzhen, "It is worthy of Shenzhen, the first-tier cities are indeed open enough", "Sure enough, the big city is very tolerant", "It is worthy of Shenzhen's shopping malls are very open!".When the first store opened, the slogan of Adult Candy was "Let sex toys go into the sun, we didn't break our promise." "This year, in addition to Shenzhen, adult candy has opened stores in Chongqing, Changsha and Hangzhou. With the opening of social concepts and the diversification of consumer needs, sex toy stores have gradually moved from hidden alleys into the public eye. The entry of adult candy in shopping malls is undoubtedly a topical business phenomenon. Opinions differ on this change. Some see this as a sign of social progress and openness, with increasing acceptance of sexual health and sex toys. They believe that the existence of such stores will help meet the needs of some consumers and help promote the standardized development of the industry. 
However, there are also some people who express the possible impact of making such stores public. They are concerned that this could have a negative impact on adolescents and children, or cause excessive attention to sexual health topics in society. In any case, the entry of adult candy has undoubtedly brought new challenges and opportunities to the industry. 03
Adult sugar, how far can you go?According to iiMedia Research, the market size of sex toys in China has maintained a steady upward trend, and the market size is expected to reach 2081 in 2025300 million yuan. The sex toy industry has matured in the production process, and the market growth rate has gradually stabilized. At present, 70% of the world's sex toys are produced in China. Zhang Zhiwei, the co-founder of Adult Candy, once worked for the sanitary napkin brand Light Life and the well-known condom brand Okamoto, and these two career experiences gave him a sharper market insight than ordinary people on the sex track. Before starting his business, Zhang Zhiwei checked the data of the Taonei sex industry from April 2017 to April 2018, and it grew rapidly. He judged that with the development of the times, everyone's acceptance of sex toys will be higher and higher in the future, which means that ** will go up. In just one year after its establishment, Adult Candy has become the first brand in the industry with Tmall sales exceeding 10 million, and has long been ranked TOP1 in Tmall's ** toy category, with an annual revenue of 200 million yuan. In 2021, it was completed 2RMB 500 million Series A financing. In addition to the outstanding online results, as the first sex brand to open stores into commercial real estate, the store clerk of Daren Candy revealed that "basically the daily turnover is tens of thousands of yuan", for Daren Candy, the role of offline stores is not only limited to feeding back online GMV, but a business model that can run independently. Offline stores provide consumers with a physical, face-to-face interactive experience, allowing consumers to learn more intuitively about products, try them out in person, and build a closer connection with the brand. In some ways, this experience is irreplaceable for online channels. 
Source: Xiaohongshu As a physical display window of the brand, offline stores can directly display the brand image and convey the brand concept, which helps to enhance brand awareness and reputation. In addition, the brand marketing of adult candy extends from sex to emotion and gives a voice to womenIn terms of products, the R&D and manufacturing center owned by Daren Sugar will also be fully completed in 2023. 
But for a long time, the sex toy industry was still in a relatively obscure position in the public eye. At present, the first-class supplies industry is still facing some challenges and constraints in the development process. Including the difficulties of platform policy restrictions and advertising, the brand is restricted to a certain extent, resulting in the lack of leading enterprises in the industry and the relatively fragmented market. At the same time, consumers' lack of awareness of first-class products is also an important challenge for the industry in increasing penetration. People are still accustomed to putting sex toys with "**", and still talk about sexual "color" change. In this context, it is still difficult for the industry to move forward. All things considered, how far do you think adult candy can go?