Latest news with #bidet
Associated Press
2 days ago
- Business
- Associated Press
LUXE Bidet Named Finalist for Buyers' Choice Award at ECRM Expo 2025
SAN DIEGO, June 2, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- LUXE Bidet, the #1 best-selling bidet attachment brand in America, is thrilled to announce that it has been selected as the finalist for the prestigious Buyers' Choice Award at ECRM's Home Health Care Session. This recognition marks a major milestone for LUXE Bidet as a first-time ECRM attendee, reinforcing its growing influence and leadership in the home improvement industry. Chosen from among other competing brands, LUXE Bidet's NEO Plus Series stood out for its groundbreaking features, sleek design, and unmatched consumer appeal. 'As first-time attendees at ECRM, we went into it without any expectations,' said Kelly, Head of Operations at LUXE Bidet. 'Receiving this recognition and hearing such positive feedback from buyers during our meetings was both humbling and reassuring. It confirms that we're on the right path—with an amazing product and an even better team!' About the Winning Product: LUXE Bidet NEO 185 Plus Driven by customer feedback and a commitment to revolutionize the bathroom experience, LUXE Bidet launched the NEO Plus Series — a next-generation line of bidet attachments built for superior comfort, easy maintenance, and unparalleled hygiene. The NEO 185 Plus offers the best of both worlds, featuring both a rear wash and a gentle feminine wash mode. It also includes: Perfect for anyone seeking a cleaner, more independent bathroom experience, the NEO 185 Plus combines practical design with powerful performance. About LUXE Bidet Established in 2008 and headquartered in sunny San Diego, California, LUXE Bidet is the trusted leader in affordable, accessible bathroom hygiene solutions. With over a decade of innovation, world-class customer support, and millions of loyal customers, LUXE Bidet is helping Americans embrace a cleaner, greener way to go. A viral internet sensation, LUXE Bidet has captured national attention through: Media Contact: Emma Dunnigan, Social Media Marketing and PR Manager LUXE Bidet, Inc. Phone: (619) 701 - 5243 Email: [email protected] View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE LUXE Bidet
New York Times
6 days ago
- General
- New York Times
Quote of the Day: The Toilet That Won the Heart of Japan
'Now it's very much the case that anywhere we go it's like, 'Ugh it's not even heated, what are we doing here?'' RYAN GREGORY, a biology professor at the University of Guelph in Canada, who after a recent visit to Japan changed his views on bidets.
The Independent
6 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
Potty wars! Japan's popular toilet makers set aim on a new target...the American bottom
A popular Japanese bidet company has its sights set on the U.S. bottom. Toto, which makes the Washlet – or bidet – has seen a dramatic increase in popularity of its products in America, all thanks to social media, The New York Times noted. When the company launched its new kind of toilet seat in the 1980s featuring a small wand that sprays water, the innovation received a cold reception overseas in America. Americans, however, have more recently warmed to the idea of the Washlet, in part, because of the Covid-19 pandemic. At a time when everyone was panic-buying and toilet paper was a hot commodity, Americans in need turned to Toto's Washlet, according to the report. The company's profits in America have grown more than eightfold over the past five years, and they hope to keep the momentum, the company's president, Shinya Tamura, told the Times. 'I could have never imagined how popular Washlets would become overseas,' Tamura said, noting that the product took a moment to become popular in Japan, too. When the company first brought its Washlets to America in 1989, it was tough to advertise, Tamura said, recalling immense backlash over a 2007 Times Square billboard displaying a row of naked backsides. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, Toto mainly sold Washlets through word-of-mouth marketing. The company's annual sales in America were below $300 million in the late 2010s, less than half of what it made in China at the same time. An industry report last year also showed that more than two in five renovating homeowners in the U.S. were choosing to install specialty features, such bidets - which shoot water up a person's backside to clean instead of using traditional toilet paper. The product was modeled after a bidet-like device used for medical purposes in the U.S. in the 1960s. When launched in Japan in 1980, it had washing and drying functions, as well as a heated seat. However, over the years, more features have been added, such as deodorizing and automatic flushes. Now, the company has been left scrambling in response to President Donald Trump's tariffs, Tamura told the Times in an interview published Thursday. Toto manufactures most of the bidets it sells in the U.S. in Thailand and Malaysia, countries Trump threatened to hit with additional tariffs before a U.S. trade court struck down most of his levies on Wednesday. However, if the tariffs are imposed, Toto would likely have to raise its prices – at least for American customers, Tamura said. 'Even with tariffs, the United States will be the biggest growth market for us,' Tamura said. The company hopes to more than double its Washlet sales in the U.S. by the end of 2027. Right now, similar style bidets only account for about 2.5 percent of American toilets, according to the report. Another goal for Tamura is to win over New Yorkers. He told the Times: 'As revenge, I kind of want to try Times Square again.'
New York Times
7 days ago
- Business
- New York Times
The Rise of the Japanese Toilet
In 1982, a peculiar commercial aired on televisions across Japan. An actress in a pink floral dress and an updo drops paint on her hand and futilely attempts to wipe it off with toilet paper. She looks into the camera and asks: 'Everyone, if your hands get dirty, you wash them, right?' 'It's the same for your bottom,' she continues. 'Bottoms deserve to be washed, too.' The commercial was advertising the Washlet, a new type of toilet seat with a then-unheard-of function: a small wand that extended from the back of the rim and sprayed water up. After its release, Toto, the Washlet's maker, was deluged with calls and letters from viewers shocked by the concept. They were also angry that it was broadcast during evening prime time, when many were sitting down for dinner. Four decades later, Japan has overwhelmingly accepted Toto's innovation. Washlet-style bidets, sold by Toto and a few smaller rivals, are a common feature in Japan's offices and public restrooms and account for more than 80 percent of all household toilets, according to government surveys. Toto now sees a similar shift emerging in the United States. After decades of trying to persuade leery American consumers of the merits of bidets, Toto Washlets have become something of a social phenomenon — popping up on social media tours of five-star hotels and celebrity homes. The comedian Ali Wong devoted a segment of her 2024 Netflix special to Toto's 'magical Japanese toilet.' In 2022, the rapper Drake gifted four Totos to the artist DJ Khaled. An industry report last year showed that more than two in five renovating homeowners in the United States are choosing to install toilets with specialty features, including bidet toilet seats. Toto's profits in its Americas housing equipment business have grown more than eightfold over the past five years — and the company has its sights on expanding even more. 'I could have never imagined how popular Washlets would become overseas,' said Shinya Tamura, a former Washlet engineer who was recently appointed Toto's president. But as was the case with Washlets in Japan, 'once the fire is lit, they tend to hit a J curve,' he said. Toto was founded in 1917 in Kitakyushu, an industrial port city at the tip of Japan's southernmost main island. Like many Japanese companies, Toto excelled at adopting and refining overseas technologies, such as Western-style seated flush toilets, for the Japanese market. In the 1960s, Toto noticed a little-known bidet-like device being used in the medical industry in the United States. It began redeveloping the device in Japan, enlisting more than 300 employees to test and optimize aspects like the water stream's flow, angle and temperature. The Toto Washlet first appeared in 1980. At the time, the product had three primary functions: washing, drying and a heated seat. It was expensive, costing the equivalent of about $2,000 in today's currency, and early models were known to sometimes spray inspectors in the face. The Japanese public was slow to warm to the devices. It took Toto 18 years to sell its first 10 million Washlets. But Toto added features — deodorizing in 1992 and automatic flushing and lid opening in 2003 — and sales picked up. In current models, the water spray is kept at a precise 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit, a temperature the company describes as 'warm but not surprising.' Toto sold another 10 million Washlets between 2019 and mid-2022 and has maintained a similar pace of sales since. Its all-time Washlet sales now exceed 60 million. The rise of Toto Washlets makes sense in the cultural context of Japan, said Masako Shirakura, an industry analyst and an executive member of the Japan Toilet Association. In contrast to Western countries, where toilets are sometimes mocked and generally accepted as being dirty, toilets tend to be more respected in Japan, Ms. Shirakura said. This traces back to a belief in Japan that gods or spirits reside in all things, even household objects like toilets, she said. Japan has also built a brand of capitalism, Ms. Shirakura said, that seeks to transform even minor inconveniences of modern life into business opportunities. This is evident in heated toilet seats, self-filling bathtubs and notebooks with ringed spines that flatten to avoid poking one's hands while writing. 'Japan has a very strong culture of endlessly challenging these types of things, and that's why it has been able to evolve and perfect things like Washlets,' Ms. Shirakura said. Toto-style bidet toilets first spread to Japan's neighbors, including South Korea and Taiwan. After they expanded to China in 1994, the country quickly became Toto's top overseas market, but sales outside Asia remained elusive. When Toto began selling Washlets in the United States in 1989, it encountered many of the same hurdles it faced early on in Japan. The company was shut out of magazines and upscale malls that were reluctant to run advertisements for toilets, said Mr. Tamura, the president of Toto. He recalls a 2007 backlash in New York from a Washlet billboard in Times Square displaying a row of naked backsides. By the late 2010s, Toto had built an American sales network for its Washlets, using local business partnerships, listings on Amazon and Costco store shelves. However, it was having to rely mostly on word-of-mouth marketing, and demand lagged. Toto's annual sales in its Americas housing equipment business were stuck under $300 million — less than half of its Chinese proceeds at the time. The company saw a big shift when the Covid-19 pandemic started in 2020. During nationwide lockdowns, Americans struggling to get toilet paper began flocking to Washlets. In 2020, Toto Washlet sales in North America nearly doubled from the year prior. That boom has carried forward, even after toilet paper stocks have replenished, Mr. Tamura said. Toto has also benefited from record numbers of tourists descending on Japan and becoming converts. Ryan Gregory, a biology professor at the University of Guelph in Canada, experienced Washlets for the first time during a recent trip to Japan. Initially, he was apprehensive. 'It's not a region of your anatomy that you're used to having sprayed for most of us,' Mr. Gregory said. 'I think fairly quickly you realize that North American toilets are vastly inferior.' After leaving Japan, Mr. Gregory bought two Toto Washlets for his home. The Washlets have become a hit with visiting friends and family, he said: 'Now it's very much the case that anywhere we go it's like, 'Ugh it's not even heated, what are we doing here?'' More recently, Toto, like many international businesses, has had to navigate the whiplash of President Trump's trade policies. Toto manufactures most of the Washlets it sells in the United States in Thailand and Malaysia, countries that Mr. Trump has threatened with additional tariffs of more than 20 percent. Mr. Trump's tariffs, if enacted, would most likely force Toto to raise its prices in the United States, Mr. Tamura said. Even so, he said, Toto sees plenty of room for growth, since Washlet-style bidets still account for only about 2.5 percent of American toilets. 'Even with tariffs, the United States will be the biggest growth market for us,' Mr. Tamura said, adding that Toto is not changing its target of more than doubling its Washlet sales in the United States by the end of 2027. He shared another personal goal: 'As revenge, I kind of want to try Times Square again.'
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Amazon is selling an 'intuitive' $250 smart toilet seat and bidet for $150, and users say 'it'll change your life'
TheStreet aims to feature only the best products and services. If you buy something via one of our links, we may earn a commission. We're all fans of smartphones, smartwatches, and even smart doorbells. There's also something to be said, though, for smart devices that can keep you feeling comfortable when you're at your most vulnerable. That's where a great deal we found at Amazon comes in. The retail giant is selling a smart toilet seat and bidet that we think could offer you a welcome respite from your usual routine. The Jevinni Smart Toilet Seat and Bidet is on sale for only $150 with a clippable coupon. That's a discount of 40% off the regular price of $250. If you're ready to open your mind to a whole new world of comfort and convenience, then this deal is for you. This is the smart device that you may not be able to live without once you try it. The heated toilet seat has an LED night light, a four-level instant water heater, an integrated heated air dryer, a slow-close lid, and a wireless remote to control everything. The bidet function has multiple washing modes and a self-cleaning nozzle. Washing modes include front and rear wash, feminine, child, and spa, among other options. It also has a convenient side knob control for quick and easy access to all the customers couldn't say enough positive things about this product. One shared, "I've always been a fan of bidet seats, and this one is by far the nicest I've ever encountered for this price point. It has all the bells and whistles needed for my purposes…I think this one is quite a deal." Another shopper claimed "it'll change your life," adding, "Installing it was straightforward…it is pretty intuitive and the adjustability of all the settings makes it worthwhile. The night light is very practical and the heated seat is awesome on cold days." The Jevinni Smart Toilet Seat and Bidet is a great option for anyone who wants to freshen up their daily routine. If you get it now, you'll just spend $150, so make a smart choice and get this smart seat.
