Jamie F
Sextech company Lora DiCarlo has reportedly ceased operations and communication, with a source close to the brand saying that it is set to declare bankruptcy.
The brand, marketed as a female-run, progressive company with focus on wellness, gained popularity with products such as the well-reviewed Baci clitoris sucking device. Its Osé and Onda devices were noticed for their ‘robotic finger’ technology, used to stimulate the G-spot.
In 2019 Lora DiCarlo was retrospectively awarded a robotics innovation prize at the influential CES electronics show, having previously had an award at the event revoked. An equipment teardown featured in an October 2020 Wired report, however, suggested that some of the company’s products may not be as sophisticated as they are billed.
The brand was run by CEO and founder Lora Haddock DiCarlo, who the firm said was its “driving force”.
In 2020 the company scored a huge coup by collaborating with model and actress Cara Delevingne, who became a co-owner and creative advisor for the brand, endorsing and promoting its products. Delevingne is expected to explore sextech further in her new BBC series, Planet Sex.
The paragraph below was updated to reflect that the correct publication name is Women’s Health Interactive, not the unrelated magazine called Women’s Health.
The brand’s star seems to have quickly fallen, however, amid a report from a retailer that Lora DiCarlo has “gone silent”. In early November 2022 Women’s Health Interactive reported seeing correspondence from a former senior advisor to the brand, in which they stated that their understanding was “that the company is going to imminently be filing for bankruptcy.”
A retailer that worked with Lora DiCarlo, speaking to Beauty Independent under condition of anonymity, said that marketing agency Gisele International stopped working with the sextech company in October after the brand “went silent”.
Customers have reportedly been complaining about unfulfilled orders and Lora DiCarlo not responding to messages since September. On November 29 the brand’s website remained offline, with emails to the company bouncing back. Some retailers are still selling Lora DiCarlo products.
In November 2021 Lora DiCarlo ran a campaign for investment, aiming to raise $1.7 million. However, the campaign was withdrawn, with money raised from around 3,330 investors returned to them.
Much of Lora DiCarlo’s success was built on its image of sex-positivity, progressive and inclusive values, and being female-run. Anonymous reviews of the company’s inner workings, written on Glassdoor, complained of a “toxic” working atmosphere and claimed that these values were not reflected internally, and were used for publicity purposes.
Lora DiCarlo refuted the claims. The company wrote on Glassdoor: “We believe that when people are empowered, they go on to do great things and change the world. We remain committed to these values, to pay equity compliance and best practices, and DEI [diversity, equity and inclusion] to education and infrastructures.”
The company added: “While we seek to be profitable in order to provide opportunities for our people and grow as an organization, money is not and has never been our mission.”
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