The TPE dolls are even more beautiful than real women-- Long legs, slender waist, large chest, narrow shoulders, and a small face.
They can be sexy, or be pure. So they are the dream lovers of many men.
A TPE doll can be a male’s lover and wife as long as he needs it.
During the epidemic this year, the export volume of Adult products from China increased by nearly 50% compared with the same period last year, among which the export of the adult doll category increased by more than 100%.
Recently, our correspondent came to an adult doll factory in Shenzhen, Guangdong province. The head of the factory said that the overseas export volume of dolls is getting higher and higher, which used to export about 3,000 dolls every month, and it has more than doubled this year. At the same time, with the rise of the new model of offline doll brothels, the China market, even the Asian market is gradually opened.
（Producing 4,000 dolls per month and exports 90% of them）
Vinny, the founder of Sexindoll, told our correspondent that since the outbreak of the epidemic this year, the company's export of adult dolls overseas orders have begun to increase, especially from the United States.
Data from Aliexpress, China’s largest cross-border retail e-commerce platform aimed at building overseas exports for Chinese companies, also confirms the trend, with direct contact with overseas individual buyers in more than 200 countries and regions. Exports of adult products have risen nearly 50% year on year so far this year, while sales of physical dolls have doubled, according to Aliexpress. Sales of real dolls in the United States have risen fivefold since March from a year earlier.
In mid-July, a journalist visited a TPE doll factory in Shenzhen, Guangdong province. “At present, our factory produces 3,000 to 4,000 dolls per month and most of which are exported to The United States other overseas markets," said Vinny, the head of the factory. “Last year, we exported 90% of the dolls, but this year, as the domestic market and the Asian market start to rise, the export ratio is about 80%.”
According to Vinny, since a few years ago, the overseas market demand for real dolls has been increasing year by year, and the company’s export volume increased more than 100% during the epidemic this year. "Orders from America rose the most. “The only thing that has affected us is higher freight rates. Many of the routes have been shut down and we have been forced to go by sea.”
“Refer to the sex doll, many people may still think it is a blow-up doll, but the material has been updated many times.” Vinny introduced.
8 years ago, TPE material which scientific name is Thermoplastic Elastomer, also known as artificial rubber, began to be used to make dolls. In recent years, the latest material is silica gel. Due to the high plasticity, the imitation of silica gel can be better, but the cost is also higher, so many companies only use it for doll head manufacturing.
The head of the doll is made of silicone, and the hair is implanted with human hair. Most of the adult dolls produced in Vinny's factory are used for export, so then we can see in the factory, yellow, white, and black dolls with different skin colors and various body shapes are being made. A 1.65m-tall doll weighing around 35kg is born when rubber is poured into a mold containing an alloy skeleton.
“At initial stages, We ask designers to design faces according to different countries’ aesthetic standards. Then we launch an online survey to ask local people what they like. Now we offer more than 160 face shapes to choose from.” Vinny said. “In terms of body shape, we have a human inverted model, even the joints are the same.”
Reporters in the factory saw that some workers were pouring rubber into the mold, some workers were trimming a doll that has just been molded with an electric melting gun, and some workers were putting on eyes and makeup for the doll’s head.
“Now the hair and eyebrows of our luxurious dolls are all implanted with human hair and eyebrows one by one, instead of wigs and silicone heads, so the head imitation can be achieved very well. Even subcutaneous veins we’ve been able to make, which is a far cry from our image of a blow-up doll.” Vinny said.
The high level of imitation also increases the price, with a basic doll made entirely of TPE costing around $500, while a highly realistic doll with a silicone head and human hair cost more than $8,000. With the addition of features like heat and voice, it can sell for as much as $20,000.
According to Vinny, the factory can even handle the custom doll business. “We have not done this kind of business in China, but we have done it overseas. A widowed old man can provide a few photos of his wife, and we can make a 1:1 doll with his wife’s appearance. The function of the doll is not only to solve the sexual needs but also to accompany. Companionship is really important for humans.”
Fang Jie, the company brand leader, said that, according to the survey feedback, the interaction of dolls with voice function is too simple and not intelligent, which is the shortcoming pointed by many users. Next, the company will strengthen research and development and cooperation to enhance the voice function of the physical doll, and AI function may be implanted in the future. At the same time, the doll has a walking function is the company’s next development direction.
The Doll Brothel is in the ascendant
Sexindoll showed that based on their user surveys, the majority of Chinese users who buy the company’s physical doll products are middle and upper-income men aged between 30 and 35.
“There is still a price threshold for the higher-end sex dolls. We have a customer, who is always on perennial business travel. He bought a high-end doll, and bring her on every tripe. He spends more than 6000 yuan per year only for light freight. And seafarers are also an important customer base, and they are needed all year round on the sea.” Vinny said.
Recently, Shenzhen, Dongguan, and other places began to appear doll brothels. This is a relatively new service model. TPE dolls, which cost thousands of dollars, can be “tested” for an hour for only 200 yuan.
According to Vinny, the first offline doll brothel in China has appeared in Shenzhen, some of which use dolls they make. “In the China market, we used to sell mainly on online platforms such as Alibaba, but at the end of last year, the offline form of experience store came into being. The experience store, which many people may not know about, is a chance to touch the dolls offline. If you are satisfied, you can buy one on the spot and take it home.”
Now, the factory receives seven or eight customers from outside the city every day to talk about the physical doll experience shop agent project. “At present, we have offline experience stores in Shenzhen, Shanghai, Suzhou, Xi 'an and Kunming. Next, we aim to have one store in each province.” Vinny said.
“There is a serious imbalance between men and women in China. More than 30 million Chinese men are single. I think the potential market demand for adult dolls is huge and can be considered as ‘rigid demand’.” Vinny said. Sexindoll’s slogan is "People are born alone, lovers, friends, and families will leave but dolls will never die."