(Note: This story appears in the June 2022 issue of SE Magazine)
Pipedream Products ventures into the world of platinum-curated silicone dildos with its Dillio Platinum Collection, which teases at future prospects and cross-product compatibility.
Pipedream Products may have a bevy of brands and products under its diamond-studded belt, but that will never stop their inclination to innovation. In July, the company is set to add a new notch to that belt: The Dillio Platinum Collection.
“It’s our first foray into producing silicone intimate devices ourselves,” says Kristian Broms, chief design officer for Pipedream Products.
The Dillio collection will start with 12 different SKUs — six different-style dildos available in two colors each. The line will launch with sizes ranging from five to eight inches of insertable length.
“We’re selling a lot of silicone items already, but the manufacturing process and the extruders and the process is different for silicone versus PVC, which we’ve specialized in,” says Broms. “We’ve been producing TPE and PVC ourselves for a long time, but we’ve never really gotten into silicone manufacturing ourselves.
“We just see it as a logical next step in terms of improving quality and improving the things we do,” adds Broms. “It’s an area we see huge potential in. It’s something we’ve been working on and something we see additional value in.”
Pipedream will be producing Dillio at its 56,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art plant in Tijuana. Featuring medical-grade equipment (including components which snuff out pollutants), the pristine production palace offers assembly lines of intimate products that would make Henry Ford blush.
“It’s not some small garage — we’re really proud of that facility,” says Broms.
A huge advantage in producing these products in-house is saving money, a savings which can then be passed on to consumers.
“With everything going on in the world — silicone prices have gone through the roof, raw materials have gone up, logistical challenges, tariffs, etc. — it’s made importing goods even more challenging,” says Broms. “We see certain opportunities for adding our operations on-ground over here. Whereas it didn’t make financial sense in the past, that’s not the case necessarily anymore.
“By streamlining our manufacturing capabilities and using our experience and expertise, we’re able to keep the prices very competitive,” adds Broms. “These are not items that will be outside of anyone’s price range.”
Pipedream has spent the past few years building its staff and hiring a solid management team with decades of manufacturing experience across all different areas of the pleasure product industry.
“To some extent, we’re going to start with baby steps and make straightforward items that are made from platinum-cured silicone, absolutely the best material you can find in the market,” says Broms, noting that the first batch of Dillio products won’t involve electronic components in favor of focusing on quality and meeting production and delivery deadlines.
Of course, there are a number of advantages to on-site crafting. Perhaps the most glaring of these is creative control.
“It gives us an advantage creatively when we control production,” says Pipedream’s Rob Phaneuf. “It is our own factory in our own backyard, which allows us to do so much more. We haven’t been able to do that with silicone. You’ve seen what we’ve done with King Cock and we built it from Chatsworth, pouring our own dildos there. Being able to take that and do it with silicone for dildos, butt plugs, all kinds of different things — there’s no limit to what we can manufacture. It’s learning how to do it and then honing that craft.”
“We just see (Dillio) as a logical next step in terms of improving quality and improving the things we do. It’s an area we see huge potential in. It’s something we’ve been working on and something we see additional value in.” — Kristian Broms
Though Pipedream hasn’t offered too many silicone dildos, in the past, they realized that this new warehouse offered them a great opportunity to enter this arena.
“It’s a relatively crowded field already, so we waited for the right opportunity where it made sense for us to release an offering that is modern and ergonomic,” says Broms. “It’s that little white space we like to look for, which in this case is products we made ourselves that we can deliver in a timely fashion and at a reasonable price point.”
Pipedream expects Dillio to stand apart from its dildonic peers with its updated packaging.
“It gets both retail stores and their consumers everything they need in order to understand what the product is,” says Broms. “We spent a good amount of time making sure the shapes we’re releasing make sense. They’re variations of true and classic sizes in an updated, more modern form factor.”
Compatibility and hygiene form a potent combo
Dillio isn’t just a new venture for Pipedream Products, it will also reinforce the company’s notion of cross-product compatibility. Specifically, it will tie into the company’s patented Body Dock, Pipedream’s effort to revolutionize strap-ons.
“The whole package being released with the Body Dock and a couple of other interesting items, new ideas we have coming out in the future, really completes the program,” says Broms. “More and more, that’s certainly become part of our process no matter what we’re doing. I think universally that’s the truth with all of the products we’re developing these days — we’ve gotten more specific and exact in the products we release. These days, we want our products to be part of our family and be cross-compatible. It makes it more digestible from a consumer standpoint.”
Digestible, and hygienic. The company that produces the raw material for Pipedream Products is a Fortune 500 company utilizing the same formula as internal medicinal products.
“We feel like we’ve achieved as high a quality as possible with PVC manufacturing,” says Broms. “Now, we want to try to do the same with platinum-cured silicone.”
Broms is aware that dildos — as is the case with a majority of adult retail items — are ultimately health devices.
“The world is coming to terms with the idea that masturbation is healthy,” he says. “It’s a huge aid to consumers in living a healthier life. It’s no different than going to the gym or doing mental exercises, or balancing work and life. Getting sexual release is just as vital.”
In further efforts to ensure safety and hygiene, the company has enlisted independent inspections of its products.
“We make sure these products are top notch before they end up in consumers’ hands,” says Broms, noting their shift toward more responsible manufacturing practices to reduce the company’s carbon footprint and improving energy use.
“We’re just excited to finally be able to produce this ourselves and be competitive and lower the prices,” says Broms. “It’s a real opportunity for us to be able to produce high-end items at great, competitive prices.”
“You’ll see it with the Dillio, but it’s going to open a whole world of possibilities as a manufacturer,” adds Phaneuf. “We can’t wait to inject that into all our brands moving forward.”
For more information, visit pipedreamproducts.com.
You must be logged in to post a comment.