GOOD SEX STARTS WITH A NUDGE: An interview with Eden Chiang, co-founder of The Oh Collective
(The Oh Collective co-founders Simona Xu, Diana Lin, Winxi Kan, and Eden Chiang)
Eden Chiang - alongside Diana Lin, Simona Xu, and Winxi Kan - is one of the founders of the playful, sophisticated brand ‘The Oh Collective’. The products speak for themselves with innovative details like Chi, an air suction vibrator, Sex Bonbons, Turn Me On massage oil candles, and Motion Lotion all natural lubricants. With education, empowerment, and fun at its core, this brand might be your new best friend. In my interview with Eden, we discussed all things sex, shame, relationships, and how The Oh Collective came to be.
CHARLOTTE: I’m such a huge fan of the brand. Tell me how it all came about.
EDEN: Our journey with The Oh Collective began quite organically. During our regular girls' night out, we found ourselves discussing the challenges of prioritizing intimacy in our relationships during our busy lives. These conversations led to playful nudges among us, encouraging exploration and experimentation. Initially, we simply wanted to educate ourselves, but soon realized the broader need for sexual empowerment and education within our communities.
Growing up with traditional Asian values with diverse backgrounds ranging from Taiwanese-American/Canadian to Dutch-Chinese, we recognized there was a lack of comprehensive sex education and we realized we must fill that gap. As we delved deeper, alarming statistics reinforced our mission further.
85% of women do not orgasm during penetrative sex.
Over 64% of the 200 women we interviewed wanted to have better sex but didn’t know where to begin.
Over 90% of the sex industry is dominated by men and lacks female-gaze and female voice in the industry.
We initially envisioned a simple blog, but as we uncovered more about the pervasive issues surrounding sexual wellness, the concept of The Oh Collective began to take shape. Our brand name emerged from the whimsical reactions people had when we shared our vision. The logo, resembling a vulva, symbolizes our commitment to destigmatizing and normalizing discussions around sexuality.
CHARLOTTE: I love the name and the logo. One of the first things I learned about was the difference between vulvas and vaginas, and I went crazy. Your journey is fascinating. What insights have you gained about sexual wellness that you wish you had known earlier?
EDEN: Reflecting on our experiences, overcoming shame emerges as a common theme. From childhood encounters with disapproving relatives to navigating societal expectations, it was a long journey to begin embracing our desires and prioritizing self-discovery.
I remember the first time I got caught masturbating by my grandmother and she said, “Stop doing that, that is bad for you.”
Growing up as a millennial, the media we consumed from Cosmopolitan magazines to movies were all about ‘pleasing men’ but less about pleasing ourselves.
Our biggest learning was that we realized that true fulfilment in intimacy begins with understanding and prioritizing one's own needs.
Something else I haven’t learnt so much but have been experimenting with is playing with the mind. To spark desire from one another, you have to create opportunity for it. My partner and I try to trigger each other’s fantasies. We don’t need to dress up and role play but just touch each other and prompt cues and then play along with it. This has been so eye-opening and fun and we know we can do it for the next few decades.
CHARLOTTE: It's remarkable how societal narratives shape our perceptions of intimacy. I think as a teenager, I always thought of everything as transactional. And when I had my first boyfriend at seventeen, I used to fear giving head every week and when it was over I’d think “I’ve done it. I don’t have to do it again for a week.” And it wasn’t until four years later, that I started enjoying it and thought “Oh this is so different”. Shame is such a global issue but comes out so differently depending on where you’re from, what your parents are like, the spaces that you’re in and the communities that you are around. I’d love to find cultures where that doesn’t exist. How do you navigate these complexities within The Oh Collective?
EDEN: Yeah absolutely and having someone that you can be open with and who truly accepts you is so important. Our approach centres on inclusivity and empowerment. I understand those words have been used in so many narratives by brands nowadays but definitely for the sexual wellness industry as sex is so complex from an individual to an interpersonal level, from biology to psychology. We want to foster open dialogue and provide accessible resources from credible doctors to personal stories, we aim to empower individuals to reclaim agency over their sexual journeys. We celebrate diversity and strive to create a safe space where everyone feels validated and supported.
(An Oh Collective event hosted with Maha Amsterdam and Nike at Soho House)
CHARLOTTE: What myths do you think are the most dangerous or damaging?
EDEN: Some people think planning sex is rigid. I personally think planning sex is great! It can create anticipation and intention during the build-up. Whether planning sex with a partner or planning sex with yourself it’s like booking in a workout session at a gym!
To add on to that, I think sexual wellness needs to become less of this thing as a thing at night. You think of exercise and eating as part of your healthy being but sex is such a big part of your life and it doesn’t have to be at night.
CHARLOTTE: How do you envision the future of sexual wellness?
EDEN: We believe that destigmatizing and normalizing discussions around sexuality is key to fostering healthier attitudes and relationships. Through continued advocacy, education, and community engagement, we want to create meaningful change and empower individuals to embrace their sexuality authentically.
CHARLOTTE: I think you guys do this well in your brand and your products. There’s such an emphasis on sensuality and focusing on the body, like the candles. The whole brand feels like a self-care package with pastel colours and it feels like you may as well do a face mask whilst you’re at it. So tell me more about your products.
EDEN: We have a range of products for sexual wellness from sex toys to intimacy care. From creating intention to post play.
Firstly to create intention and excitement, we have libido sex chocolate Sex Bonbons made with all natural vegan ingredients with Asian-inflused herbs such as Horny Goat Weed, Ashwagandha and Korean Ginseng. To follow up with that we have our Turn Me On massage oil candles that are developed with vetiver and bergamot essential oil, low temperature coconut, and soy wax to enhance intimacy between couples.
For our toys, we have beginner-friendly Pixie for clitoral stimulation and super bendy clitoral and g-spot vibrator Kit, which you can use without your hands!
To top that up a notch we enhanced our sex toys with ‘experiences’ within the pack because buying sex toys shouldn’t be like buying an electronic toothbrush! Our Dream Team is a couple’s set with 4 toys, 1 remote control, and ‘spin for pleasure’ game within the box. Chi is our air-suction vibrator that comes with 3 different sizes of suction heads to fit all different vulvas and a deck of ‘sexploration cards’ to stimulate the mind and body! The cards are great prompts and will say something like, “Use your tongue to spell your partners name on their inner thigh”. As for the heads, the smaller one will be great for those with a more sensitive clitoris and the bigger for the less sensitive. The changeable heads are also better for cleaning!
CHARLOTTE: I’m curious to learn more about The Oh Collective company structure as you’re 4 friends who founded the company together. How do you split up responsibilities?
EDEN: I oversee everything from branding and social. Simona Xu is an e-commerce and online marketing guru. Diana Lin oversees manufacturing and operations. And Winxi Kan is on top of retail and wholesale. For every decision we make the four of us have to sign off as we all value one another’s opinion.
CHARLOTTE: Do you ever have doubts?
EDEN: We 100% believe in the industry and we believe The Oh Collective is going to work. We are confident that there is a gap in the market and there is a need! We see it from every person that shops with us and we are just at the beginning and we just have to hold on to our beliefs and stick through the hard times!
CHARLOTTE: It’s so nice to talk to you and see how passionate you are because I feel so passionate as well and for a while when I said I wanted to work in sexual wellness, people did not know how to respond to that. Have you always really owned it or did you ever struggle with it at all or feel a bit shy about it?
EDEN: I don’t think I have. I think for the four of us - which is why we are such good matches to do this, especially with our heritage - we’ve always challenged the norm. My parents wanted me to be a doctor. I decided not to. I wanted to work at Nike and do cool things and I wanted to push their buttons. As for The Oh Collective, I believe people can take it or leave it. If you like it, great, let’s be friends and if you don’t, maybe I can help you open up to something new. I don’t judge you for not liking it and it’s okay if you don’t find it comfortable, I just won’t speak about it next to you.
I do try to edge people in little ways. For example, with my mother-in-law - a conservative British woman - I gave her some lube to begin with. She’s never owned anything like that before and now she’s asking if she can have lube for her house in Italy and then another for travel and another for her home. I gave her the whole collection. And I gave her the deck of cards as well and she’s seventy but she loves it. I believe it all starts with a little nudge.
CHARLOTTE: When you first told your parents you were starting a vibrator company, what did you say? How was that conversation?
EDEN: I didn’t tell them at the beginning but said I was working on something. For all four of us, this was a passion project whilst working at Nike. It was only when we launched an e-commerce shop when we were working in Shanghai that I said anything. I just sent it to the family group chat.
I was like, “Hey guys, look at what we did.”
They didn’t know it was our brand until I said, “This is our brand and we now make and sell sex toys and we educate women on sexual wellness content”.
My Mum was like, “You do that now?”.
I was like, “Yeah”.
She said, “Can I buy Twenty”, and she bought twenty! She gifted it to her friends and also her employees.
All four of us have different reactions from parents. My parents are very open-minded, especially once I turned eighteen. They used to say don’t have sex, don’t have a boyfriend, and then I turned eighteen and they became very liberal. It’s strange. Simona’s Dad said, “We know it’s a booming business. Do it if it makes you money.”
And then Diana’s Dad (a PhD professor) initially responded, “What is this seedy things you girls are doing?”, but then he started reading our content.
“I think you should go and study more in-depth sex education and sexology and maybe you can become a professor In this field.” So he comes from a very educated background and he wants her to pursue more and go deeper into the field.
Winxi’s parents have not acknowledged it at all. They just don’t speak about it. So all four of us have different dynamics.
CHARLOTTE: Thank you for sharing your insights, Eden. Your passion and dedication are truly inspiring.
EDEN: Thank you for the opportunity to share our story. We're excited to continue challenging norms and advocating for positive change in sexual wellness.
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Charlotte Whittle studied English Literature with Creative Writing at the University of Birmingham. She writes poems which she reads at open-mic nights and is also writing a play at the moment about vampires and friendship. She has a Level 4 accreditation in Sex and Relationships which she has used to write articles on sex education and also Melior Platform. She is keen to start a podcast where people talk about their experiences and/or perceptions of sex and relationships.
