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The sexual wellness consolidation trend continues.
Dame, known for its $125 curved vibrators and $24 massage oil, announced on Tuesday that it has acquired Chakrubs, which sells spiritual crystal-based sex products like $45 yoni eggs. The deal, which was done for a mix of cash and equity, is Dame’s second acquisition in the past year. Last February, the 11-year-old start-up acquired its competitor Emojibator, which sells fruit and animal-shaped vibrators, for an undisclosed sum.
Alexandra Fine, Dame’s co-founder and chief executive, said the company’s decision to buy 13-year-old Chakrubs was years in the making. After launching Dame in 2014, Fine met and developed a close relationship with Vanessa Cuccia, Chakrubs’ founder and brand director.
“We’ve known each other for 10 years. We both started with really similar missions,” Fine said. “We’ve always kind of had that interesting overlap, and I’ve always just loved what she did.” Over the years, the two companies discussed a potential merger, even collaborating in 2017 on a Valentine’s Day bundle deal where shoppers could buy Chakrubs’ $130 heart slim crystal and Dame’s $49 finger vibrator for $164.
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It’s an apt time for Dame to get its Chakrubs in alignment. In recent years, Dame’s taken steps to raise its profile: It entered Target in 2023 and Walmart in 2024. With Chakrubs and Emojibator under its umbrella, Dame is gunning for greater market share in the sexual wellness industry. Under Dame, Emojibator’s sales doubled in 2024, Fine said. To replicate that success with Chakrubs, Dame plans to expand the start-up’s wholesale presence beyond niche partners like New York’s Museum of Sex, where both brands are currently stocked, though Fine did not elaborate on those plans. Like Emojibator, Chakrubs will continue to sell through its own e-commerce storefront, although customers can search and buy both Emojibator and Chakrubs’ products through Dame’s site.
Dame joins a growing list of sexual wellness start-ups embarking on a buying spree: Last October, 7-year-old sexual telehealth brand Hello Cake, known for its extensive lube offering, acquired lubricant maker Trigg Laboratories, which also owned competitor WetBrand, for an undisclosed sum; and Perelel, which sells prenatal vitamins and fertility supplements, acquired women’s sexual health education platform Loom last October.
The company’s ambitions to become a bigger force in sexual wellness, however, risk being torpedoed by Trump’s 145 percent tariffs on China, where it produces 80 percent of its goods. Dame has already added a $5 shipping surcharge in lieu of increasing prices on all of its goods. While the company broke even in 2024, the tariffs threaten its ability to do the same this year, Fine said. Still, Dame is forging ahead with integrating Chakrubs into its business, and continuing to grow Emojibator, with the hopes that the worst of the tariff uncertainty passes and sexual wellness remains a recession-proof category, Fine added.
“Does it feel like the world’s on fire? Absolutely. But will the world be there tomorrow? Yes,” Fine said.
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