ANME Founders Show Ends 30-Year Run

By: Andy Powell – Senior Correspondent | B2B Pleasure Products News

LAS VEGAS, NV — (August 27, 2026) — An era spanning three decades of the pleasure products business has come to an end.

The Adult Novelty Manufacturers Expo (ANME), widely known throughout the industry as the ANME Founders Show, announced Thursday that its historic 30-year run has ended.

The announcement closes the book on one of the pleasure products industry’s longest-running and most influential business-to-business trade events — a show that for generations brought manufacturers face-to-face with distributors, retailers, buyers and other industry professionals.

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ANME’s own historical materials describe the event as the industry’s longest-running B2B trade show and credit it with bringing together more than 40,000 attendees throughout its history while attracting industry professionals from dozens of countries.

From a Manufacturers’ Show to an Industry Institution

Founded in 1996, ANME was created as a dedicated marketplace where manufacturers could present new products directly to retail and distribution buyers.

The original founders included some of the most recognizable names in the U.S. pleasure products business, including Susan Colvin of CalExotics, Elliot Schwartz of Nasstoys, and Ron and Chad Braverman of Doc Johnson. Pipedream Products and Topco would also become longtime members of the Founders group.

The show’s history reaches back to July 1996. Federal trademark records for Adult Novelty Manufacturers Expo list first use and first use in commerce as July 12, 1996, underscoring the extraordinary longevity of an event that survived enormous changes in retail, distribution, manufacturing and consumer attitudes toward sexual wellness products.

Over the decades, ANME became much more than a place to write orders.

New brands were introduced. Product lines debuted. Retailers met manufacturers directly. Distribution relationships were established, and business partnerships formed on the show floor often continued for years.

That business-to-business focus remained central to ANME through its final years. The organization’s own description says the show existed to connect manufacturers and brands with retailers, buyers, distributors, educators and other industry professionals while providing a professional environment for new product launches and relationship building.

ANME Celebrated 30 Years Just Weeks Before Farewell

What makes Thursday’s announcement particularly striking is its timing.

ANME had only recently celebrated its 30th anniversary, with the 2026 Founders Show held in July at the Los Angeles Marriott Burbank in Burbank, California. The anniversary event was promoted as a celebration of three decades of innovation, wholesale business and industry relationships.

ANME’s 30-year statistics tell the scale of that legacy. Its anniversary material credits the show with 40,000+ attendees, 6,000+ vendor booths, representation from more than 25 countries and more than $300 million in business transactions over its history.

Now, just weeks after that milestone gathering, the Founders Show has announced its farewell.

ANME Founders Issue Emotional Farewell

In its farewell statement posted to the show’s official Instagram account, ANME reflected not simply on commerce, but on the relationships created during its three decades in the pleasure products industry.

ANME’s official statement reads:

“ANME became a place where an industry came together—not simply to buy and sell products, but to build relationships, exchange ideas, celebrate successes, and create friendships that extended far beyond the show floor.

“Together, we watched this industry grow, change, and reach audiences we could only have imagined when we started. We welcomed new companies and new generations. We saw businesses built, partnerships formed, ideas become products, and colleagues become lifelong friends.”

The statement continued, “To the customers who traveled year after year to support the show, thank you.

“To the vendors and exhibitors who trusted ANME as a place to showcase your companies, launch your products, and grow your businesses, thank you. To our families, friends, staff, and everyone who worked behind the scenes to make the show happen, thank you. And to the industry at large: thank you for allowing ANME to be part of your story.”

Read ANME Founders Show’s farewell announcement on Instagram

The End of an Era for Pleasure Products B2B

ANME’s departure leaves behind more than an empty position on the industry’s trade-show calendar.

For 30 years, the Founders Show represented an era when some of the largest U.S. pleasure products manufacturers collectively created a dedicated marketplace around manufacturers, distributors and brick-and-mortar retailers.

The industry ANME leaves behind is considerably different from the one that existed when the show began in 1996. Sexual wellness has moved further into mainstream retail, e-commerce has transformed product discovery and wholesale purchasing, international manufacturers and brands have become increasingly influential, and today’s B2B marketplace extends far beyond the traditional trade-show floor.

Yet ANME’s longevity provides perhaps the clearest measure of its significance.

Companies came and went. Retail models changed. Distribution evolved. Entire product categories emerged. But for three decades, buyers and manufacturers continued returning to ANME.

Its final Burbank gathering therefore now carries considerably more historical weight: what was promoted as a celebration of 30 years of ANME ultimately became the industry’s farewell to the ANME Founders Show.

For the manufacturers, retailers, distributors, sales representatives and industry veterans who walked its aisles over the past three decades, the announcement marks the end of a chapter that helped shape the modern pleasure products business.

Thirty years. Thousands of exhibitors and buyers. Countless product launches and business relationships. One extraordinary industry legacy.

Stay with JRL CHARTS B2B Pleasure Products News as we track the changing trade-show landscape and the manufacturers, distributors, retailers and industry leaders shaping the next era of the global pleasure products business.