Trigg Laboratories celebrates three decades as a lube empire.
Growing up, Michael Trigg had the cool grandpa. Trigg’s grandfather made deliveries for an adult product manufacturer when the former was 13.
“He would give my friends and me the keys to his delivery vehicle and we had so much fun going through everything and trying to figure out how they were supposed to be used,” recalls Trigg. “That was my introduction to the adult retail industry at a very young age.”
Between exploring unchartered waters and establishing Wet, a name synonymous with lubrication, Trigg worked at
a paper company where he specialized in custom point of purchase displays. Utilizing that experience, Trigg steered Wet ahead of the times—the first to advertise at the end of adult films, the first to have an adult celebrity endorsement, use point-of-purchase displays in stores, and offer bold non- sexual upscale packaging.
“I loved developing new things that had never been done before,” says Trigg, who founded Wet in 1989. “Fast forward 30 years later and Wet is an industry leader. It gives me great pride when I see people in the industry I have known so long credit us with taking the adult lube market to the next level.”
STOREROTICA spoke with Trigg about the empire he forged as it celebrates three decades and explains why retailers should line up to get Wet in their aisles.
SE: What is it about Wet products that makes them such a high-volume mover for retailers?
TRIGG: Brand loyalty is huge. When you’ve made a product this long that looks great, people remember the quality and a positive experience. Like any relationship, it is built on trust over a period of many years. We’ve seen our customer base grow at an incredible rate. We have customers tell us all the time the first lube they tried back when they were a teen or young adult was a Wet product. We gave those customers a quality product, and they have stayed loyal to us as they’ve grown up and matured over the years. It always makes me smile when I get into a conversation with an Uber or Lyft driver and they ask me what I do. When I mention Wet, they almost always use or know of us.
SE: What does it mean for Wet to turn 30?
TRIGG: In one word: progress. Turning 30 means we’ve come a long way, made excellent strides, and have continued to satisfy customers worldwide. We won’t stop at 30, the hard work is never done. We will continue to grow and meet the demands of our loyal distributors, retailers and customers for years to come.
SE: What’s been your biggest hurdle thus far?
TRIGG: When the company was about eight years old, we had experienced non-stop explosive growth and our inventory created cash flow problems. Everything was tied up in receivables and we were running out of cash. I had achieved a lot already and felt like I had it all—a big house in the Hollywood Hills, my own limo and driver that took me to work every day, and I was only in my mid-thirties. The situation was pretty bleak, and I felt like I was at risk of losing everything I had worked so hard for. I remember laying curled up on the floor of that limo, crying my eyes out and asking for some intervention from a higher power to show me what to do. I’ve never been the type to feel desperate, but I sure did then. I did end up bringing in a financial expert that specialized in inventory control, got our act together and learned some very valuable lessons.
SE: Talk about what you unveiled at ANME? How do these new releases tie into Wet’s 30th anniversary?
TRIGG: There really isn’t a tie into our 30th anniversary. While it is a milestone, we will do what we always have done—pay attention, stay involved, and keep an eye on the pulse of what’s happening in
the industry. I
f something out there doesn’t exist (like our new Wet Warming Desserts heating lube line) we create it. If something does exist, but it can be improved a great deal with packaging and quality formulas (like our new Wet Antibacterial Vibe Wash line) we do that.
SE: You have new, unique packaging to commemorate 30, I was wondering if you could elaborate on the packaging design?
TRIGG: This is something we actually have done around every 5-7 years since the beginning. I watch how things change with Google, Apple, Amazon, Pepsi, Coke and other top companies to remain current and ahead of the curve.
You’ll see with our new look that 3D fonts are back. Shiny is out, matte is in. We take all the elements of what’s good, include traditional recognition elements, update to current trends then add our own unique touches to be the best, most fun package on the shelf. We don’t rest until they scream out to the consumer, “You need me…must take me home…buy me!”
There is something else very important to mention here. Beyoncé got it right. Women do run the world, especially when it comes to who is driving sales in the adult market. Last July, we introduced our Wet Femme “by Women for Women” line. There really wasn’t a lubricant with packaging that celebrated being feminine. The females on our team considered all the elements and ingredients that were important to women. Maybe being a gay man helped me here, but I understood exactly what they were saying and said, “Yes, let’s do this. You have my full support.” They were totally correct, and the Wet Femme line has really taken off.
SE: What is the motivation for Wet to be so philanthropic?
TRIGG: Companies are like individuals, each creating their own karma. Enhancing the experiences of other individuals and giving back has been a priority to us since the very beginning—through our donations, the company and I contribute to the work of more than 300 non-profit organizations worldwide. Through my charity work I have been fortunate enough to meet a number of celebrities. You can see them all @michael_trigg_wet on my Instagram.
My two favorites were Oprah and President Obama. To me those two are more than just talented celebrities. They truly inspire me, and I do my best to model my life (in my own way) after theirs. One of my proudest moments was taking my dad to meet President Obama. It made me proud because I was actually able to give him back such an amazing experience, after all the incredible and supportive things he had done for me over the years. We sat in a small group in a circle with the president. There was no press and no cell phones. I’ve never seen or gone through that kind of security ever. He was totally at ease knowing that nothing he said could be taken out of context. He was as smart, thoughtful and funny as he appears on TV. He listened very carefully to each of our questions, thought about it and then gave a real answer that didn’t feel canned or pre-written. We did that for an hour and then took individual photos with him. In the end, giving to others and organizations that need it is the most rewarding experience there is.
SE: What have you seen as the biggest evolution jump in the lube market in the last three decades?
TRIGG: The biggest evolution jump in the lube market
was when it became cool for women to talk about sex. That was when “Sex and the City” first showed characters that embraced it. Intimacy products are available everywhere, and the stigma that used to be associated with buying sex toys and products has diminished over the years. The LGBTQ community is also more widely accepted now than it was 30 years ago, which has also changed the dynamics of sexual marketing.
Just over the past decade, there has been a major sexual health movement, which has made consumers more comfortable expressing interest in their sexuality, exploring their sexual health, and being more assertive in seeking pleasure. This is great for consumers and for us as a sexual health business.
SE: How would you guide uninitiated customers through all the varieties of lube? What’s best for first-timers?
TRIGG: As sexually-related products have become more mainstream, so have the choices. Wet Original Water-Based Gel is a long-lasting formula that easily washes away with just water and is perfect for silicone toy use. Wet Elite is a hybrid blend of water and silicone that has the longevity of silicone, but washes away easily like a hybrid. Wet Platinum is our top- selling first-class luxury formula of pure silicone. You do need to wash it off with soap and water, but this silky smooth formula will last lon
ger than you do. It’s also amazing for anal play. For oral play, our new Wet Desserts and Wet Warming Desserts feel delicious. There is no better tasting lube on the market.
SE: How is your brand educating consumers?
TRIGG: Sexual health and wellness has become the very focus for many companies in our industry today. Our newly released line “Femme” is made by women for women, paraben free and focuses on ingredients that promote vaginal health. Our Naturals and Organics lubricants are geared towards the ingredient driven customer as well; the Whole Foods shopper if you will. The Wet manufacturing facility is FDA approved and our products are 510k certified. In 2019 we will continue to relay this information to retail sales associate through product training and educational cooperative opportunities with our distributor partners.
SE: Where do you see the lube game in the next 5-10 years or further?
TRIGG: Our formulas always change as better polymers and ingredients become available. Our general course of business is to always improve our formulas as technology evolves and better options for ingredients become available. If you take our current version of Wet Platinum (our best-selling formula) and put it between your hands and move in a circular motion, we guarantee you’ll have to stop because your hands get too tired before it even begins to dry out. Seeing where things will be in 5-10 years isn’t something I do. It’s really better to see and analyze what’s going on at the time than to try to foresee it. Better to stay focused on what is rather my vision of what things will be. Whatever it becomes, we will nail it at the time.
For more information, visit wetcatalog.com or call (702) 957- 4400. For all Wet digital images, go to wetdigitalimages.com.
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