What Studex does

Studex (legal entity STUDEX USA, Incorporated) is a family-owned manufacturer founded in 1976 and headquartered in Gardena, California, near Los Angeles' Fashion District. The company designs and manufactures medical ear-piercing devices and a broad line of hypoallergenic piercing studs, non-piercing fashion earrings, and aftercare products for infants, children, and adults. Its flagship product, the System 75, is an FDA-registered medical ear piercing device featuring a touch-free disposable cartridge architecture in which the device never contacts the skin, supporting single-use sterile cartridges in surgical stainless steel, 14K gold, titanium, and platinum. The legacy Universal device remains in distribution, alongside the at-home Personal Ear Piercer kit and the Advanced 2-in-1 hypochlorous aftercare system that claims a 3-week recovery window versus a traditional 6–8 weeks.

Name

Studex

Legal name

STUDEX USA, Incorporated

Website

https://studex.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1976

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Studex is a family-owned, FDA-registered manufacturer of medical ear-piercing devices (System 75), hypoallergenic studs, and aftercare products, serving pediatricians, pharmacists, retailers, and parents across 46+ countries since 1976.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Ear Piercing Systems & Medical Piercing Devices

NAICS

Jewelry and Silverware Manufacturing (33991), Electromedical and Electrotherapeutic Apparatus Manufacturing (334510)

SIC

Jewelry, Silverware & Plated Ware (3910), Jewelry, Precious Metal (3911), Surgical & Medical Instruments & Apparatus (3841)

akta.pro primary industry

Body Jewelry (Piercing Jewelry; Non-precious) (CRAKABAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Custom Body Jewelry & Piercing Jewelry (Made-to-Measure) (CRAKAHAL), Children’s & Men’s Jewelry Manufacturing (CRAKAIAN)

Keywords

• Ear piercing systems
• Medical piercing devices
• Hypoallergenic earrings
• Piercing aftercare
• Professional piercing training

Headquarters

HQ city

Gardena

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Piercing Devices: One-time sales of medical piercing devices including System 75 and Universal devices along with starter kits and accessories. Devices are sold to certified business partners and consumers for personal use.
2. Piercing Studs and Earrings: Recurring revenue from consumable piercing studs sold in various metal types (surgical stainless steel, gold plated, 14K gold, titanium, platinum) and styles. Products include System 75 cartridges, Universal flatpacks, Tiny Tips for kids, and Sensitive Puff Pad fashion earrings.
3. Aftercare Products: Sale of piercing aftercare products including Advanced 2-in-1 Aftercare & Cleanser, piercing care gels, and cleaning solutions. Products support the healing process and ongoing ear hygiene.
4. Piercing Academy Training: Certification and training courses for piercers including Basic Course ($50), Pro Course ($500), Technical Course ($200), Enterprise Course ($1,000 for 2-5 students), and Train the Trainer ($1,400). Courses include STUDEX Bucks credits redeemable for products.
5. STUDEX Bucks Gift Cards: Gift card program available in denominations of $25, $50, $100, $200, $300, $400, $600, and $800. Gift cards never expire and can be used for any STUDEX products.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Studex manufactures and sells FDA-registered medical ear piercing devices (System 75 and Universal), hypoallergenic piercing studs in surgical stainless steel, titanium, 14K gold, and platinum, plus fashion earrings and aftercare products. The company also operates the Piercing Academy certification program that trains retailers and professionals to deliver safe ear piercing services, distributing products through a global network of certified partners in 46+ countries.

Product overview

STUDEX is a family-owned company (since 1976) specializing in ear piercing products and accessories, with global operations across 46+ countries. The product portfolio centers around three main piercing devices: System 75 (FDA-registered medical device with touch-free disposable cartridges), Universal Legacy Device (classic widely-used system), and Personal Ear Piercer (at-home kit). These devices are paired with extensive stud lines including System 75 Piercing Studs, Universal Piercing Studs, and Universal Flatpacks. The company also offers non-piercing fashion earrings under sub-brands Tiny Tips (for children) and Sensitive Puff Pad, along with a Baby Phat collaborative collection. Aftercare is addressed through the Advanced 2-in-1 Aftercare line, After Piercing Lotion, and Piercing Care Gel. Supporting products include piercing supplies, retail displays, Piercing Academy training certifications, and STUDEX Bucks gift cards. All products emphasize hypoallergenic, nickel-safe materials suitable for sensitive ears.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• STUDEX: Primary brand for medical piercing devices and piercing studs, featuring FDA-registered System 75 medical device and Universal piercing system.
• Tiny Tips
• Sensitive Puff Pad
• Baby Phat x STUDEX

Products and services

• System 75 Medical Device

Quantifiable outcome

• 3-week healing time with Advanced 2-in-1 Aftercare vs. traditional 6-8 weeks
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Baby PhatflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerBaby Phat x STUDEX is a branded collaboration collection celebrating Baby Phat's 25-year legacy. The collection includes nose jewelry, navel jewelry, and body piercing accessories. Baby Phat is described as a dynamic, diverse, and inclusive streetwear brand and fashion disruptor. The partnership targets the fashion-forward youth market with trendy body jewelry featuring Baby Phat's signature aesthetic.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Inverness Corporation: Founded in 1975, Inverness is the most direct competitor to Studex — also a long-standing family-run manufacturer of ear piercing systems (Inverness Safe Ear Piercing System), disposable cartridges, and certified piercing training for retailers and clinicians globally.
• Blomdahl Medical: Swedish manufacturer Blomdahl produces medical-grade ear piercing systems designed and sold to dermatologists, pharmacies, and ear-piercing professionals — directly competing with Studex System 75 in the FDA/medical-device certified ear-piercing segment.
• Caflon: UK-based Caflon is a global ear piercing device manufacturer selling disposable cartridge systems (Caflon Classic and EarPierce) plus studs into beauty retailers and clinics — directly comparable to Studex System 75 and Universal product lines.

Broad incumbents

• Claire's Accessories: Claire's is the largest mall-based ear-piercing retailer worldwide, offering ear piercing services across thousands of stores using its own and third-party piercing devices. Overlaps with Studex in piercing studs, aftercare, and the kids/tween segment where Tiny Tips competes.
• Piercing Pagoda (Signet Jewelers): Piercing Pagoda is Signet Jewelers' mall-kiosk ear-piercing and gold jewelry brand that performs ear piercings at scale across U.S. malls — a comparable ear-piercing services channel competing with Studex-trained certified partners for foot traffic.
• Lovisa Holdings: Lovisa is a global fashion jewelry retailer with 800+ stores selling earrings and body jewelry at fast-fashion price points, broadly comparable to Studex's Sensitive Puff Pad and Fashion Stud Earrings lines in target customer and retail channel.
• Pandora Jewelry: Pandora is a global jewelry giant whose earrings and ear-stack positioning compete with Studex's gold and cubic-zirconia piercing/fashion earring assortment, particularly in department stores and jewelry-specialty channels overlapping Studex distribution.

Emerging players

• Industrial Strength Body Jewelry: U.S.-based boutique manufacturer specializing in titanium and 14K gold body piercing jewelry — competes with Studex's higher-end 14K gold, platinum, and titanium piercing studs and now-aligned body jewelry offerings (nose/navel via Baby Phat collab).
• Body Candy: Body Candy is an online-first body jewelry retailer selling piercings, plugs, and earrings to a similar mass-market consumer base Studex targets with its fashion earring sub-brands and disposable cartridge piercing studs.

Others

• Charles & Colvard (Moissanite): Charles & Colvard produces lab-grown moissanite and fine jewelry products — material/precious-stone adjacency for Studex's higher-priced cubic zirconia/prong-set piercing stud SKUs. They are an enabling upstream brand rather than a direct competitor in piercing hardware.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/studexofficial
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/studex
• Instagraminstagram.com/studex_usa?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
• TikToktiktok.com/@studex_usa
• Xx.com/studexusa

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Studex