Neil Mehta's journey, rooted in the quiet streets of Dayton, Ohio, began with a common yet culturally daunting experience at the age of 17 - purchasing a condom in a community where even talking about sex was off-limits. This early encounter not only highlighted the need for healthier sexual wellness options but also revealed the industry's narrow focus on gender stereotypes. With his Master’s degree in Public Health and a personal experience that underscored the urgency for better products, Neil embarked on a mission. In 2017, he founded Royal Intimacy, a forward-thinking brand dedicated to creating inclusive, high-quality sexual wellness products, designed to cater to every individual's needs and break free from the constraints of traditional norms.
Neil Mehta: My name is Neil Mehta. My background is in health sciences and healthcare. I got my Bachelor's in Biology, and was planning on going to medical school, but always knew I wanted to try something else. So I took a year off and ventured out to New York City where I got my master's in public health at Mount Sinai School of Medicine.
During my time in New York, I was introduced to the world of startups which led me into medical device consulting where I worked with early-stage companies to assist them with their FDA clinical trial efforts. Our business model was to connect North American medical device companies, who are seeking affordable clinical trial locations, to our big hospital contact in India to set up large-scale clinical trials for FDA submission.
After that, I got into healthcare consulting, partnering with hospital and physician groups in the US to help save money for Medicare while improving their quality scores. During this phase of consulting, a personal experience involving a girlfriend at the time and a non-allergic reaction to a latex condom planted the first seed of getting into the sexual wellness space. Research and knowledge from my grad program about STD and STI rates in various socioeconomic zones, coupled with the rise of clean cosmetics, made me wonder why there was nothing similar in the sexual wellness space. Condoms and lubes, despite FDA submission, weren't transparent about ingredients or manufacturing practices.
This led to the launch of Royal Intimacy in early 2018, focusing on creating vegan, all-natural condoms without harmful ingredients like casein and nitrosamine while making them 35% thinner than typical ultra-thin condoms, all while adhering to FDA standards. Our first product line included flavored and non-flavored condoms. Surprisingly, Cosmo picked us up when we only had a preorder button, and our brand took off from there. We saw a market fit for healthier, better products in this category. Our goal was to create an all-inclusive brand, different from the gimmicky or gender-specific brands, discreet and empowering for all users. Coming from an Asian American household, where sex and intimacy are not openly discussed, we wanted to address this. We evolved from a condom brand to a sexual wellness brand, adding organic lubricants, body washes, lotions, and creating a one-stop shop for sexual wellness needs. Our evolution continued as we became an education platform for sexual wellness. We focused on organic marketing through Reels, TikTok, and Shorts, using an educational approach to attract and nurture our audience and ultimately offering high-quality products they can trust.
In summary, our brand evolution has been about more than just products; it's now a multimedia channel, putting out information that correlates with our products for a more well-rounded brand experience.
Neil Mehta: My background wasn’t in marketing, branding, or anything like that. I literally just followed what our customers were experiencing, tracked their journey, and focused on creating a brand around the customer. This was instead of just assuming I knew what someone wants or needs. I think that was a very telling approach. In our first launch, we didn't even have a product, just testing the waters to see, like, hey, is this something we can put out there and will people respond to it? And then, from there, we started evolving. It's been a bit of a slow roll because marketing has been tough, and we are bootstrapped. We haven't raised any money; we've done everything internally.
But with that, we gained a really good understanding of our customer and what they actually want. This helped position ourselves in the right way, whether it's DTC or now growing into brick and mortar. So, we've been able to be more methodical in our process.
Neil Mehta: At the beginning, like many brands, we were just throwing stuff at the wall to see what sticks. Being bootstrapped, we had to be mindful of our budget; we couldn't afford to spread ourselves too thin, but we also needed to stay visible. Our main focus when we launched was capturing emails. This was particularly crucial after the initial buzz from our Cosmo article and other publications, which helped us attract and understand those early customers, turning them into loyal followers of the brand.
But then, after that initial pop, we saw a decline. The challenge was getting more eyeballs on our website and our brand. We started dabbling in some Facebook ads at that point, in late 2017, or early 2018. It was a bit of the Wild West then with what we could get away with on Facebook. But we faced hurdles, like having an ad flagged for sexual content because it had a bed frame in the background – which was frustrating and costly, especially as our Average Order Value (AOV) was low and acquisition costs were creeping up.
So we shifted to influencer marketing, as there aren't many influencers in this space. We found a few who really resonated with our brand and used them to get back into publications focusing on sexual wellness and health education. Now, we're pushing out as much organic content as possible across platforms like Pinterest, Instagram, TikTok, and Shorts. Despite being a small team, we're managing about 30 pieces of content per week, seeing good conversions that are cost-effective. Our next step is revisiting Facebook ads, now that we've built a presence and have data to work with. We're taking a slightly different marketing route due to past challenges, but going organic has worked for us and could be a viable approach for other brands as well.
Neil Mehta: Our customer retention rate is pretty good, sitting at about 50%, which is pretty amazing. We've really nurtured our email list well, so even if we lose some money trying to acquire new customers, we have these loyal, devoted ones supplementing that. Plus, we started our subscription program a couple of years back, and it's really picking up now. We're getting those loyal customers who've made three or more orders to commit to recurring purchases. Our subscription rate is around 30%, which is really high for where we started. We're really pleased with how it's going.
But it's still like a work in progress. These are products that are really trust-driven. If your condom breaks, you're scared, right? Are you facing an STD, pregnancy, etc.? That's been a challenge. We used to see about seven touch points as the sweet spot for acquiring a customer. But now, it's taking a bit more because people need to trust what they're using, especially for something this important. So, building and maintaining that trust is key for us.
Neil Mehta: Yeah, if there weren't any headaches, you'd probably think you're in the Twilight Zone or something. Starting out, there's this sense where ignorance is bliss. You don't really know what's right or wrong, so you just dive in and see how things unfold. My initial approach was to figure out who the manufacturers were. I'd send out loads of cold emails, make cold calls, just trying to determine the industry's key players. I'd even go to local stores like CVS, or search online, checking out competitors' packaging to see where their products were manufactured, and maybe find a contact.
I initially thought everything was coming from similar factories in the same region. But then, I realized that the latex industry is mostly concentrated in Southeast Asia – places like southern India, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, and China. Finding a manufacturer was easy, but finding a quality one with FDA connections or a 510K certification needed more work. Fortunately, one of my business partners had a brother-in-law manufacturing latex products in India. That was my first call. I got to work closely with them, tasting flavored lubricants, and examining condoms – it was our starting point, and I was lucky to have that connection.
When it came to manufacturing, this connection let me work intimately with them to develop our FDA 510k, find third-party testing, and refine our product. Once we cleared the FDA, this close relationship helped keep our minimum order quantities manageable, a big plus for us as a startup. But the biggest learning curve was managing inventory and logistics – understanding packaging, liaising with shippers, and optimizing transport. It wasn't just about buying products; it was about getting them here affordably and efficiently. Working with a third-party logistics company helped a lot. They ensured we checked all the boxes to get our products delivered safely.
Neil Mehta: Yeah, marketing with our hands tied was always tough, but hitting our various revenue milestones, whether it was our first six figures or seven figures, hinged on key inflection points. The first big shift came when we introduced new product lines. We noticed that while many customers loved our condoms, there were others who didn't use them – maybe they were in a committed relationship or trying to conceive. We had a broad spectrum of customers and potential customers who hadn’t bought from us simply because they didn’t use condoms.
Integrating these new product lines attracted those fringe or prospective customers and also brought in new ones who, after seeing our condoms, started purchasing them. This wasn’t just about adding more products; it was about increasing our Average Order Value (AOV), making us more profitable, and giving us room to enhance our advertising efforts. Our next significant inflection point was adding product lines that complemented our original offerings. The next leap to that seven-figure mark was more about understanding our customers – focusing on what worked and phasing out what didn't.
We’ve got a substantial presence on Amazon, which offers vast data and visibility. We scrutinized which ads worked, amplifying those, and turned off the ones that didn't, optimizing our listings. This approach helped us guide customers between Amazon and our Shopify site and vice versa. We also explored other platforms like eBay and Walmart+, identifying different customer types in these channels. As we expanded into these omnichannel spaces, we doubled down on understanding customer preferences in each channel. Entering retail was a double-edged sword – it provided our brand with recognition and validation but also presented supply chain challenges, especially during COVID. However, this expansion into another channels brought in larger purchase orders, contributing to our growth. So, expanding our product line and leveraging these different omnichannel verticals were crucial steps in our evolution and played a key role in reaching those peak milestones.
Neil Mehta: I'll tackle this from two perspectives. First, as a CEO and startup founder, and second, from the standpoint of business operations. On the operations side, the biggest issue we faced was navigating COVID. It was a massive learning curve for both me and my team. We had to figure out what to prioritize – when we ran out of inventory, the question was whether to just wait it out or explore other channels to nurture and grow the brand. It was a gut-check moment, questioning if we were ready and prepared for this. Did we have the resources to sustain us? How could we adapt to this adversity and shift our business model to be better prepared for future challenges? This became particularly apparent in our retail relationships when supply chain issues meant running out of stock on our top SKUs, yet still needing to meet retailer demands to avoid any tension.
From the founder's perspective, the biggest challenge is dealing with various issues. It's tough maintaining composure, especially when things get rough. When you're working with partners who want to see the business succeed, they look to you for answers. As a founder, you're expected to have all the answers, but often, you're figuring things out on the fly. This can create a lot of tension, particularly when you're faced with unforeseen circumstances and everyone is new to the situation. Over the last two years, I've learned that patience is crucial. It's about understanding and loving the process, even when it's challenging, and recognizing that some things are beyond your control. What's important is focusing on what you can control and optimizing that.
Neil Mehta: I think for every founder, the dream is to have a billion-dollar business, thriving and all. You've got to have that big, 30,000-foot goal. But for me, in the short term, I really want to build out our Content and Education Arm. This part of the business drives a lot of traffic and builds credibility, which I find really important. I don't like seeing people who are uninformed or make assumptions based on the first thing they see on the shelf. So, I get a lot of satisfaction from educating people with what I've learned in these last five or six years in the industry.
Long-term, our vision is to hit a specific revenue goal that sets us up for an exit, hopefully, in the next couple of years. That's the eventual goal. The condom and lube industry is tough. It’s small but dominated by a few players, making market share capture tricky. It's all about trust and building a credible brand. Hopefully, in the next three to four years, we can reach a point where we're ready for a successful acquisition. I'm even open to expanding our product line significantly, taking it as far as it can go.
So, we're keeping our options open in both respects. Being realistic, though, I think a solid exit in the next three or four years is something that would make us all happy. It’s about setting those realistic targets while aiming for the big, dream goals.
Neil Mehta: Yeah, I think advice has changed over the years. What I would have said a few years ago is different from now. But now, I really think it's crucial to understand your product. Whether you're tweaking an existing product or coming up with something entirely new, understanding and being passionate about your product is key. This passion lets you build the structure and foundation of your business, be it through organic social media advertising or creating a blog about your product or service. Building a foundation of content can help structure your business in a way that you might not need much outside funding; you can bootstrap it all by yourself.
I've seen friends start businesses by just putting their products on TikTok, and that's it. Their TikToks went viral, and they went on to create an LLC – that's how they got started. Instead of aiming for the stars straight away, like wanting to create a business, get VC funding, and all that, my advice is to first develop your idea and test it on these platforms. They're available to you for free. You'll get real feedback from your customers. If it's good, they'll like it; if not, they won't. That should be your first testing ground to see if you should pursue your idea.
So, I guess this is a roundabout way of saying: understand your product and use your free resources to test it. Have fun with it. You don't need to know everything right off the bat. Just keep testing it out, see what works, and let your customer be your guide.
