Delhi-based Female Hygiene Brand Mild Cares is Solving Women Hygiene Issues in Most Sustainable Ways

Observing the struggles and discomfort that menstruation caused for his mother and wife, Sandeep Vyas, founder of Delhi based Mild Cares, wanted to create a range of products that were both comfortable and discreet, so women could forget about their menstruation and focus on their daily lives.

This led to the decision to venture into toilet and intimate hygiene and period care products. Mild Cares recognized the importance of maintaining good hygiene, not just during menstruation but also in daily life. The company wanted to create a range of products that would cater to the needs of women in all aspects of their hygiene.

Started in January 2020, Mildcares offers range of female hygiene products including Period Care Products, Toilet Care Products, and Intimate Care Products. The idea was to create a one-stop-shop for all the women's hygiene needs and make their lives more comfortable and hygienic.

Last December, Mild Cares Pvt. Ltd. received undisclosed amount from Tim Draper family-led investment platform & reality show "Meet The Drapers".

The Problem Mild Cares is Solving

Mild Cares aims to solve the problem of lack of access to reliable and affordable menstrual hygiene products in rural areas. The company provides innovative and eco-friendly menstrual cups under the brand "GynoCup" to improve menstrual hygiene for women and girls in rural areas.

The company represented India as a HealthTech company in the 1st ASEAN-India Start-up Festival held in Indonesia, last year in October. 

GynoCup

Mild Cares' flagship product is the "GynoCup" menstrual cup, which is made of medical-grade silicone and provides a cost-effective and sustainable alternative to traditional menstrual products.

Sustainable and Eco-Friendly Option

GynoCup is a reusable menstrual cup made from medical-grade silicone, making it a sustainable and eco-friendly option for menstruation management. Unlike disposable pads and tampons, which generate waste and can take centuries to decompose, GynoCup can be used for years, significantly reducing your environmental footprint.

Material and Safety Considerations

GynoCup is made from high-quality, medical-grade silicone, which is hypoallergenic and free from harmful chemicals like BPA, latex, and phthalates. This ensures that GynoCup is safe for long-term use and suitable for users with allergies or sensitivities.

Mild Cares use LSR Technology to improve their menstrual cup, by using liquid silicon in their menstrual cup. The company claims that liquid silicon is the best certified class 6 medical grade silicon for menstrual cups. This type of silicon is known for its high-quality, durability and flexibility, and also biocompatible, which means it is safe to use in the human body.

Additionally, LSR technology enables more precise manufacturing, which can result in a more consistent product with fewer defects.

Why GynoCup is Gaining Popularity

Recognized as India's innovation to solve global challenges in Feminine Hygiene by AGNII — Government of India, GynoCup has gained popularity for several reasons, including their eco-friendliness, cost-effectiveness, and health benefits. Many users find them more comfortable and convenient than disposable products.

In addition to the menstrual cup itself, GynoCup offers a range of complementary products like cup wash, intimate wash, wipes, disposable toilet seat covers, and disposable stand & pee devices. These products help girls & women to maintain personal hygiene and comfort during their period.

Additionally, the company has collaborated with Jiyyo Mitra e-Clinic to promote and sell GynoCup in rural areas of India.

Counting Sirona and Peesafe as its competitors, Mild Cares' founders says, "Mild Cares is unique in several ways. First, the company provides innovative and sustainable solutions for menstrual, intimate, and toilet hygiene issues faced by women globally, which sets it apart from traditional menstrual product companies. Second, Mild Cares offers a revolutionary menstrual cup called GynoCup, made of medical-grade silicone, that is reusable for up to 10 years, providing a cost-effective and eco-friendly solution for menstrual hygiene. This is a unique and innovative approach to menstrual hygiene that sets Mild Cares apart from competitors."

Mild Cares generates revenue through both online and offline channels, with 80% of the revenue coming from online channels and 20% from offline channels.

The company sells its products through leading eCommerce platforms like Amazon, Flipkart, Nykaa, and also has its own shopping store. Additionally, Mild Cares has strategic partnerships and collaborations that contribute to its revenue generation.

The Founders

Mr. Sandeep Vyas

Mr. Sandeep Vyas is the founder of Mild Cares and GynoCup. He is an enthusiast for women's hygiene and a successful businessman.

Sandeep holds a Master's degree in Business Administration from the Institute of Management Studies Indore in India and has over a decade of experience in developing profitable and rising enterprises. He has a deep understanding of marketing communication, business administration, and company growth. He was inspired to assist women in having healthier, cleaner, and happier lives, which are reflected in the company that is now known as Mild Cares. 

Sandeep has worked hard to fulfill his dream and has kept the company afloat with his determined approach.

Ms. Rachna Vyas is the Co-Founder of Mild Cares & GynoCup. She has over 7 years of operational experience with Network 18 and is involved in the research and development of the company. 

Rachna says her goal in life is to liberate women from menstrual poverty and ensure that every woman has access to the best female hygiene products at an affordable cost. Being a woman herself, she understands the health hazards and infections that come with unhygienic tampons and sanitary napkins, and she wants to change this by providing a sustainable and affordable solution with the revolutionary women's hygiene product "GynoCup". Rachna takes a personal interest in the design of the product. 

Future Plans

Mild Cares' growth strategy & future plans includes several key elements, such as –

Increasing customer acquisition: We plan to ramp up our marketing efforts to reach a wider audience and attract more potential customers. This includes targeted online advertising, social media marketing, and search engine optimization.

Expanding our product offerings: We will continue to invest in research and development to expand our product line and introduce new features that meet the evolving needs of our customers.
Building strategic partnerships: We are actively seeking partnerships with other companies that can help us reach new markets or enhance our product offerings.
Scaling our operations: As we grow, we will focus on streamlining our operations and increasing efficiency to ensure we can meet the needs of our customers while keeping costs under control.

Exploring international markets: Mild Cares' plan to explore opportunities to expand into international markets, leveraging our existing technology and partnerships to enter new geographies.

Expanding product offerings: Mild Cares plans to expand its product offerings to include new categories such as Maa Care, Pregnancy Care, PCOS / PMS Care, Women Wellness, and Intimate Care in the future.

Technological advancements: The Company is planning to bring in more technological advancements such as Smart menstrual cups, Biometric sensor technology in the future.

Overall, the company's goal is to continue to innovate and stay ahead of the curve in our industry, while also building strong relationships with our customers and partners to drive sustainable growth over the long term.

Ayurveda-backed Women's Healthcare Startup Gynoveda Raises $10 Mn in Series A Funding Led by India Alternatives Fund

Ayurveda-enabled curative solutions from puberty to menopause for 1 Million women of India

Round also saw participation from Wipro Enterprises, RPG Ventures, Dharampal Satyapal Ltd, and Alteria Capital amongst others. Existing investor Fireside Ventures, who had earlier invested $1 million as seed capital in Oct 2019, also participated in this round.

Gynoveda, an Ayurveda-backed women’s healthcare startup, has raised $10M in Series A funding led by India Alternatives Fund. The round also saw participation from reputed family offices and institutions including Wipro Enterprises, RPG Ventures, Dharampal Satyapal Ltd, and Alteria Capital. Existing investor Fireside Ventures, India’s leading early-stage venture capital fund, which had earlier invested $1 million as seed capital in Oct 2019, also participated in this round showcasing its continued belief in Gynoveda’s vision.

Gynoveda, founded in 2019 by the husband-wife duo - Rachana & Vishal Gupta and Dr. Aarati Patil aims to democratise Ayurveda-enabled, curative self-care solutions for gynaecological and lifestyle-related disorders women face from puberty to menopause.

With the help of this funding, the company aims to raise awareness about the importance of menstrual health on a grassroot level, making Ayurveda the first choice for women’s healthcare. Hence, the funds will be deployed to double down on strengthening R&D, formulating new ayurvedic offerings, onboarding talent, expanding distribution channels and increasing brand awareness. Currently, empowering women via D2C channels like the website, and e-commerce marketplaces, Gynoveda plans to step into the offline domain in the near future to reach women across the breadth and depth of India.

In a statement, the company Founder & CEO, Vishal Gupta, said that “Gynoveda has so far improved the health of 3 lakh women residing in 20,000 pincodes of India. This led to the company tripling its revenue year-on-year between FY20 and FY23 to reach ₹100 crores annual revenue run rate within 3 years of its inception. Gynoveda is on a mission to change the lives of 1 million women, which is still a fraction of the billion women worldwide that need this unique ayurvedic solution."

Shivani Bhasin Sachdeva, Founder, Managing Director, and CEO of the India Alternatives Private Equity Fund, said, “This investment fits perfectly with our investment themes of Women & Health. Today, over 40% of online shoppers are women, up from 10% a few years ago. Women’s health globally is an underserved market. We are proud to back a company that uses an age-old science like Ayurveda in a new format to provide solutions for this large addressable market."

Vinay Singh, Partner, Fireside Ventures, said, “Gynoveda’s disruptive vision combined with research-backed solutions is enabling it to bring tangible change in the lives of women. We are very impressed with how Vishal, Rachana & Dr. Aarati are building a robust healthcare stack for menstrual & reproductive health. We are glad to be a partner in their journey to completely transform women's healthcare ecosystem, ground up”

The Offering and Success

Gynoveda aims to revolutionise the $9.6 billion global women's healthcare industry by being the first player to introduce Ayurveda as a solution to solve complex gynaecological disorders. Gynoveda’s ayurvedic proprietary medicines certified by FDA & NABL, help treat the root cause of more than 20+ period disorders including PCOS, Infertility, irregular periods, vaginal health and much more. Where modern medicines offer only temporary relief, Ayurveda promises safe solutions to experience hassle-free periods lifelong.

The company has tripled its gross revenue year-on-year between FY20 and FY23 to reach INR 100 crores annual revenue run rate within 3 years of its inception. The google rating of 4.8 further reflects the growing customer love and trust by over 3 lakh women spread across 20,000 pincodes in India.

Past Funding & Team

In their Seed round, Gynoveda had raised a $1 million amount led by Fireside Ventures. In 2022, Bollywood actor Tapsee Pannu joined the brand’s mission as a brand ambassador.

Founded by Vishal & Rachana Gupta in 2019, who were later joined by Dr. Aarati Patil {M.D Obstetrics & Gynecology (Ayu)} the brand aims to transform the way gynaecological disorders are treated. Currently a team of 50+ members strong, it combines ayurveda, technology, content, and community for women’s healthcare.

About Gynoveda

Gynoveda is the World’s first Ayurveda FemTech brand. It combines Ayurveda, Technology, Content & Community for women's healthcare, primarily for menstrual & reproductive health.

Husband-wife duo Rachana & Vishal Gupta as founders of Gynoveda are on a mission to make Ayurveda as world’s first choice for women’s health from puberty to menopause. Gynoveda’s ayurvedic proprietary medicines with FDA approval have helped over 3 lakh women treat the root cause of disorders related to PCOS, irregular periods, infertility, vaginal health & overall welnness. The company has delivered over 4 lakh orders across 20,000 pincodes in more than 50 major cities.

The company raised $1 million in November 2019 from early-stage investment firm, Fireside Ventures. Since then its e-commerce platform Gynoveda.com is growing rapidly at 25% month-on-month and it's on track to cross ₹100 crores ARR in the current financial year.

Gynoveda founders along with a team of doctors & scientists invented the world’s first Period Test, a gynaecology bot that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to enable women self-diagnose her reproductive health by answering a few questions on her mobile in just 2 minutes and getting results instantly.

Female Wellness Startup Salad Raises $270K in Pre-Seed Round Led by Antler India

Females wellness startup Salad has raised $270,000 in its pre-Seed funding round led by Antler India, via the VC firm's Antler India Residency initiative, which is to help founders find the ideal Co-founder, with a long-term and enduring partnership.

Salad is leveraging technology to empower women to plug the information gap about their hormones and take the necessary steps to proactively manage their own health and lifestyle.

Salad was launched in early 2020 when Aruna Chawla (Founder - CEO) realised how little women know about their own bodies. The startup launched its first product with Salad Condoms.

Karishma Rathaur (Co-Founder - COO) joined Salad in August 2022. She has led growth and product strategy in hyper-scale consumer tech companies.

Aruna has earlier worked in women's wellness and research for a period of 6 long years. While Karishma was one of Uber India's earliest team members.

Antler India Residency is India’s most exclusive community of aspiring founders, with a set of interventions and activities designed to forge meaningful connections and collaborations.

After finding co-founder and honing the idea, Antler support founders with customer validation, building an MVP and go-to-market strategy.

Good Universe, An Organisation Working for Women Sexual/ Reproductive Health Gets Rs. 25 Lakhs Grant from CIE-IIIT Hyderabad, PRIF

GOOD UNIVERSE, an organisation working for women sexual and reproductive health along with the impacts of climate change on women health receives a grant of Rs. 25 lakhs from CIE-IIIT Hyderabad, PRIF (Pernod Ricard India Foundation).

The grant was received for its project E3 for female sanitation workers in the districts of Rangareddy, Sangareddy and Hyderabad. The organisation aims to intervene into the lives of the most vulnerable community of women, the female sanitation workers. Through the project, Good Universe will Educate, Empower and Enable (E3) the female sanitation workers with the right tools and resources that will allow them to live a healthy and dignified life.

This grant is made possible through the WE Incubation Program operated by CIE-IIIT Hyderabad, one of India's largest and oldest deep-tech academic incubators, in collaboration with financial partner Pernod Ricard India Foundation (PRIF), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pernod Ricard India.

The main component of this project is the health of the female sanitation workers. Good Universe is working very closely with these females to bring change in their lives.

Why Female Sanitation Workers?

Facing the intersectionality’s of discrimination, female sanitation workers are one of the most vulnerable communities of women. Being underpaid, undervalued, invisible and unrecognised these women strive to have good health and hygiene. Their exposure to hazardous waste puts their health at high risk.

"If you wake up early in the morning, you will see women cleaning the roads and public toilets, they are the Female Sanitation workers. We see them every day working without any break. These women clean and collect waste in their tri-cycle which they push for long-distance. Public roads and streets being their workplace, they often face the problems of unavailability of proper WASH facilities. During their menstrual cycle being closer to unhygienic environments and conditions along with improper WASH facilities puts them at a high exposure to health and hygiene problems. As a result, during their menstrual cycle, these female sanitation workers suffer from various infections, rashes, bruises on the thighs as well as stomach cramps and lower body pains. Because of the socio-economic status and stigma around menstruation, these women fail to approach and express their needs and pains.

Not only this, the psychosocial risks of female sanitation workers indicate that the mental health of these women often goes unaddressed. With COVID-19 uncertainties and socio-economic situation, there is a rise in mental health issues among this community of women." says Kamal Nayak, Founder of Good Universe.

What is Project E3?

E3 stands for Educating, Empowering and Enabling. Project E3 is the new initiative of Good Universe intervening in the lives of female sanitation workers. By educating, empowering and enabling with the right and adequate tools and resources, Good Universe’s E3 Project adds to the ability of female sanitation workers to live a healthy life and adapt informed lifestyle practices.

After receiving the grant of 2.5 million from CIE IIIT-Hyderabad and PRIF, E3 will be functional among female sanitation workers of Sangareddy, Rangareddy and Hyderabad. The major action areas of this project will be sexual and reproductive health, mental health, non-communicable diseases and breast and cervical cancer.

Kamal Nayak mentions, “Sanitation workers have been kept away from the mainstream knowledge and information around sexual & reproductive health, mental health, breast and cervical cancer and non-communicable diseases. Based on the survey conducted among FWS by Good Universe, women at the age as young as 22 underwent hysterectomy in private hospitals for reasons like contraception, swollen uterus which is not the right thing to do. Lack of awareness and understanding being the major reason for this to happen. Our aim is to provide comprehensive health care to these female sanitation workers. In the first phase, we will be working with 6000 FSWs.”

Through E3, Good Universe would be supporting and engaging female sanitation workers and their adolescent girls in active health programmes and provide them with the knowledge to navigate and voice out through various health issues they often come across due to their poor working conditions.

10 Startup Brands in Female Health, Hygiene and Wellness

The global feminine hygiene products market size is expected to reach USD 32.23 Billion in 2028. The rise in products will be driven by middle-class population in developing countries such as China, Brazil, and India, according to a most recent published report.

Adding to the growth of this segment of market, Direct to Consumer (D2C) has emerged as the growing trend for brands including some of the large FMCG traditional companies as a way to directly interact with their customers and reach them faster. Further, the rising demand for organic and biodegradable raw material-based feminine hygiene products is a key factor expected to drive market revenue growth during the forecast period.

Here we have compiled ten of the several startup brand that offers products for women health and wellness. Most of these brands offer sustainable and eco-friendly products.

1. Avni

PRODUCTS - Reusable Sanitary Pads - Skin-Friendly, Environment Friendly and Chemical Free

In the feminine care & hygiene industry most of the sanitary pads are manufactured using chemicals. Even the ones that claim to be chemical free may not actually be 100 percent organic. Avni provides safe menstrual hygiene products that are skin-friendly, environment friendly and chemical free. While adopting these products is healthy for women, it serves a greater purpose for those who have sensitive skin.

Founded by the husband-wife duo - Apurv Agrawal & Sujata Pawar, Avni currently has line-up including Avni Anti-microbial reusable cloth pads "Avni Lush & Avni Fluff", natural cotton sanitary pads, period wear wash, Menstrual Cup & Wash and Antibacterial soothing intimate care wipes. The products are apt for especially those women who have sensitive skin and are in immediate need of an organic and infection free products for smooth periods.

Avni is part of Cornell and Government of Maharashtra’s first accelerator programme and had raised INR 65 Lacs in a seed round in April 2021 from WeFounderCircle.

2. Azah

PRODUCTS - Bio-degradable Sanitary Pads

Azah offers high-quality organic pads and eco-friendly products for the new age women consumers which the startups says is an outcome of an extensive research conducted among thousands of Indian women who have shared their feedback with the company. 

Azah Product

Azah pads is made with the finest organic cotton for an ultra-soft surface, while the core consists of a biodegradable superabsorbent which can absorb more than 300 ml of flow, ensuring a dry surface even during heavy bleeding.

Based out of Gurgaon, Azah is backed by SnapDeal founders - Kunal Bahl & Rohit Bansal and AngelList India.

3. Carmesi

PRODUCTS - Bio-degradable Sanitary Pads, Tampons, Menstrual cup and Cramp-Relief Heat Patch

Carmesi Eco-conscious Sanitary Pads [Image credits - mycarmesi.com]

Carmesi is India’s first brand of premium, all-natural and bio-degradable hygiene products for women including sanitary pads, tampons, menstrual cup and cramp-relief heat patch made of finest natural ingredients, that are safe for a woman's body as well as the environment. 

Carmesi's premium sanitary pads are made from biodegradable bamboo fibre, an ultra-absorbent with anti-bacterial properties, and corn starch.

Founded in 2018, by Tanvi Johri and Rikshav Borah, Carmesi is a brand that is addressing female hygiene through an environmentally conscientious approach as each Carmesi pad comes in a resealable disposal bag solving the disposal problem of sanitary pads. These disposal bags are made of eco-friendly & recyclable "raw kraft paper" to offer a hygienic and environment-friendly way of disposal.

Sponsored

MildCares (GynoCup)

MildCares (GynoCup) aims to solve the problem of lack of access to reliable and affordable menstrual hygiene products in rural areas. Mild Cares' flagship product — "GynoCup" menstrual cup, which is made of medical-grade silicone and provides a cost-effective and sustainable alternative to traditional menstrual products

Last December, Mild Cares Pvt. Ltd. received undisclosed amount from Tim Draper family-led investment platform & reality show "Meet The Drapers".

4.  Janani

SERVICES - Digital Health Platform 

Janani is a digital platform for women fertility & menstrual health with AI and computer vision tool to help remove the subjectivity of embryologists while choosing the right embryo. This increases the success rate of IVF and eventually help lower the costs.

Founded in 2020, by Nilay Mehrotra, Janani is a holistic, digital healthcare platform that effectively combines technology with medical expertise to provide affordable, convenient, end-to-end solutions focused on sexual wellness and reproductive health.

5. Nua (Lagom Labs)

PRODUCTS - Sanitary pads, Self-Heating Patch

Nua -- as a brand -- creates products and services that revolved around women’s health and wellness. It currently makes sanitary pads, cramp comfort (India’s first unique self-heating patch), foaming intimate wash, 1mm Everyday Liners & Uplift (period nutrition drink mix) and sells them online.

Founded in 2017, by Projjol Banerjea, Ravishankar Ramachandran and Swathi Kulkarni, Nua is essentially a women’s wellness D2C brand. The brand counts celebrity-actor Deepika Padukone as its investor.

6. Pee Buddy (Sirona Hygiene)

PRODUCTS -  Stand-and-Pee Device, Sanitary Pads and Cups, Pregnancy-Test Kit and Other

Sirona Hygiene, is known for its device 'Pee Buddy' using which females can stand and pee. With the device, women can use dirty toilets without worrying for UTI. Ideal for conditions like pregnancy, diabetes, arthritis, while travelling or trekking

Sirona’s Menstrual Cup, Menstrual Cup Wash and Menstrual Cup Steriliser.

PeeBuddy also offers of India’s first sanitary disposal bags for clean & hygienic disposal of sanitary products as well as toilet-seat sanitizer sprays. An another product 'PregRX' is what the company claims to be the world’s First HCG Integrated FUD Funnel For Testing  Pregnancy at home. (Just Pee & See. No more container).

Founded by Deep Bajaj, who introduced Pee Buddy in 2015, Sirona is one of the first Indian companies to have adopted and introduced a more modern and sustainable approach towards menstrual hygiene in India.

7. Proactive For Her 

SERVICES - Digital Women's Health Clinic

Proactive For Her is a digital clinic for women’s outpatient healthcare, offering evidence-based primary and preventive healthcare services for women across life stages offers evidence-based primary and preventive healthcare services for women across life stages.

Founded by an IIT-Bombay alumnus Achitha Jacob, the platform offers women a one-on-one consultation with handpicked physicians and experts that offer a non-judgemental, confidential and patient-centric approach.

8. SanFe 

PRODUCTS - Organic Sanitary Pads

Sanfe is an IIT Delhi-incubated startup for designing and developing products for improving female health and hygiene. Under the brand name 'SanFe', it sells sanitary napkin/pad segment with the launch of first Reusable Sanitary Pads, made with composite banana fiber, which can last up to 2 years (around 120 washes).

Founded in 2017, by Archit Agarwal and Harry Sehrawat, Sanfe is a female hygiene brand that creates products such as stand-and-pee devices, intimate care products, panty liners, organic sanitary pads, pain relief roll-ons, and menstrual cups.

Sanfe is also a direct-to-customer (D2C) brand that sells products that it claims to be comfortable, rash-free, natural & organic, and safe for the body as well as the environment.

9. Silky Cup

PRODUCTS - Reusable Sanitary Cups

Silky Cup is a female wellness company that offers reusable menstrual cup for girls and women. These reusable cups are highly cost-effective product that is made keeping in mind the well-being of women, as well as providing an environmentally friendly alternative. 

The Huddle incubated startup is Indian market leader in the reusable menstrual cup market and largest menstrual cup manufacturer in India. The Silky Cup is tested within International standards. ISO 10993 is a Quality Standard governed by the International Organization of Standardization in Geneva, Switzerland, and is recognized and practiced in over 160 countries around the world. [ISO 10993 is the quality standard for medical devices]

Proactive for Her, A Women’s Healthtech Startup, Raises $5.5 Mn in Series-A Round Led by Vertex Ventures

Team of Proactive For Her

Proactive For Her, a digital clinic for women’s outpatient healthcare, has raised US $5.5 Million in Series A funding led by Vertex Ventures South East Asia and India with participation from existing investor Nexus Venture Partners. The funds will be used to expand digital product offerings, grow their online customer base, and launch their flagship clinic in Bengaluru.

Founded by Achitha Jacob in August 2020, Proactive For Her offers evidence-based primary and preventive healthcare services for women across life stages. An Alumnus of IIT-Bombay, Achitha dropped out of Harvard Business School to build a company solving for women’s healthcare needs with patient centricity at its core.

Achitha Jacob, CEO, and Founder, Proactive For Her, said, “The stigma attached to women’s menstrual, sexual and reproductive health issues, coupled with lack of access to non-judgemental support, have long prevented many women from addressing their healthcare needs. At Proactive For Her, we believe all women should have access to the best medical experts, who have a patient-centric, liberal and empathetic approach to women’s health issues. We have seen an overwhelming adoption so far across our offerings. We are thrilled to have Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and India, and Nexus Venture Partners join us in our journey of empowering women to take charge of their health proactively. This investment further bolsters our mission and will help us accelerate towards our vision of making Proactive For Her the preferred partner for every woman when it comes to managing her well-being.”

Achitha Jacob CEO and Founder of Proactive For Her

Proactive For Her offers a full-stack healthcare experience with services ranging from teleconsultations and support programs to customised diagnostic panels. They have a strong in-house team of doctors, therapists, and nutritionists, with over 150 years of healthcare experience, who are committed to offering holistic care and cross-functional support to their patients. Their clinical team undergoes rigorous training by global experts to uphold the company’s vision of body-positive, queer affirmative, and trauma-informed care. Their diagnostic services include complimentary pre and post-test support along with Smart Reports to help simplify medical jargon. By March 2022, Proactive For Her will launch their flagship offline clinic in Indiranagar, Bengaluru as the next step in their journey towards providing full-stack clinical care to women.

Commenting on the investment, Kanika Mayar, Senior Executive Director, Vertex Ventures SEA, and India, said, “We believe Proactive For Her is poised to change the way women access healthcare in India. Women are susceptible to diverse and complex health issues starting from puberty and there is a large unmet need in many areas where patients lack information and which require a more liberal, personalised, and empathetic approach to diagnosis and treatment. Since its launch, Proactive For Her has demonstrated impressive growth. Achitha and her team are very mission-driven and have developed a full spectrum of solutions for multiple health issues with a strong emphasis on patient-centric care. We look forward to partnering with them and with Nexus Venture Partners in building the leading healthcare company for every woman in India.”

Anand Datta, Principal, Nexus Venture Partners, said, “At Nexus, we always acknowledged the gap which women in India faced due to lack of a trustworthy and non-judgemental clinical care infrastructure. Unfortunately, many serious conditions in women have been either trivialised as lifestyle issues or ignored due to social stigma or lack of education. In Proactive For Her and Achitha, we found a team that was passionate about the space as well as deeply strategic in their approach towards creating a business. We are very excited to partner to create an iconic healthcare brand out of India.”

Proactive For Her has engaged with over 5,000 women so far, through their teleconsultation services, webinars, and other patient education endeavours. Within the next year, the startup aims to service 100,000+ women through their various products, services, and community engagement initiatives.

About Proactive For Her

Proactive For Her is a digital clinic for women, offering judgement-free, personalised, and confidential healthcare solutions. They offer products and services for out-patient health concerns of Indian women, across their lifetime - from puberty to menopause and beyond. For more information, please visit: https://www.proactiveforher.com/

About Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and India

Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and India invests in high-growth start-ups seeking venture capital funding in Southeast Asia and India. It has a long and strong track record of investing in early-stage startups and building champions. For more information, please visit: https://www.vertexventures.sg/

About Nexus Venture Partners

Nexus Venture Partners is a leading early-stage venture capital firm partnering with extraordinary entrepreneurs building product-first companies. With $1.5 billion under management, Nexus operates as one team across the US and India. For more information, please visit: visit www.nexusvp.com.

Rotary Launches Project Sumitra - Towards Use of Sustainable Menstrual Hygiene Products

Jahnavi Reddy & Shreya Chadalavada of Bum Print Baby one of the implementation partners of the project Sumitra seen at the launch of Project Sumitra

Targeting Better Health, Environment & Livelihoods for Women On Girl Child Empowerment Day

A Women ends up using 6000 - 7000 disposable sanitary pads over her menstrual life: Shreya Chadalavada, Founder of Bum Print Baby

The Rotary Club of Hyderabad Deccan (RCHD), along with partner clubs launched Project Sumitra in the city on Sunday evening. The project is aimed towards encouraging and facilitating use of sustainable menstrual hygiene product. The project targets better health, environment and livelihoods. The project was announced on the eve of Girl Child Empowerment Day observed by Rotary International District 3150.

Speaking on the occasion Shreya Chadalavada, Founder of Bum Print Baby (a reusable baby diaper brand) and one of the implementation partners for the project Sumitra by Rotary Club of Hyderabad Deccan noted that a Women ends up using 6000 - 7000 disposable sanitary pads/ 16 sets of reusable sanitary pads/ 3-4 menstrual cups over her menstrual life.

Rotarian Sharath Choudary, District co-chair, Girl Child Empowerment stated that 'every women on earth will leave behind twice her own weight in terms of menstrual waste across her reproductive life cycle' while addressing the gathering. He also noted that sanitary waste constitutes to a large percentage of hazardous waste.

Rtn. P.Visawanath, Jahanavi Reddy, Shreya Chadalavada, Rtn. Anu Khendry, and Rtn. Sharath Choudary seen at the launch of Project Sumitra

Rotarian Sailesh Gumidelli, Assistant Governor of Rotary district 3150, unveiled the banner of Project Sumitra. He shared that the project Sumitra was impactful in touching areas such as Hygeine, Environment, and girl empowerment which are a few key focus areas of Rotary.

Under this project, Rotary District 3150 to get manufactured two products—01. Re-usable Cloth Sanitary Pads and 02. Sanitary cups. Both are biodegradable products. The launch will be announced in two functions to be held simultaneously on Sunday at Hyderabad Solitaire Global Schools, Attapur Branch, Sri Sai Janachaithanya Colony, Near Sunrise Valley, Upparpally, and also in Guntur.

The Project Sumitra aims to set up local production where local women will manufacture cloth pads.

The project aims to crash the supply chain costs to make safe and comfortable menstrual cups available at an affordable price. Train, equip and deploy trained Self-Help Groups to evangelise, teach & sell / distribute these products in local communities.

Made from organic and chemical free fabrics, reusable sanitary pads are safe and easy to use. Menstrual cups are made from 100% medical grade silicone and do not affect body’s PH while reducing risk of infection. Reusable products last for years and reduce the amount of landfill waste generated. Cloth pads are also easily compostable. Convenience and low costs of reusable products can also reduce period truancy in schools, colleges & workforce. Disposable products provide no benefit to the bottom of the pyramid - Reusable products are made and sold by women groups and distributed in the community by women and evangelists who become advisors. This network, built on personal connections and trust, is a powerful engine for future health and habit improvement initiatives.

It is a project of Rotary District 3150. The Rotary District along with the clubs will mobile self-help groups, train them to manufacture these sustainable products in mass scale and will also create employment for them in the process.

Managing menstrual waste is a mammoth task. India has close to 12.3 billion disposble sanitary napkins to be taken care of every year. And majority of them are not biodegradable or compostable.

Of 336 million menstruating women in India, about 36% use single use disposable sanitary napkins - 12.3 billion pads annually - producing enormous menstrual waste. Bangalore, for example, alone produces approximately 90,000 kgs of sanitary waste per day. Indians pour Rs. 17,000 Cr annually on this environmentally terrible “necessity”. Importantly, disposable products are a veritable cornucopia of plastic - they cannot be recycled or reused, get dumped in landfills and will take 100’s of years to degrade and if burnt produce toxic dioxins & furans. Chemicals present in disposable napkins cause infections, rashes, and other health problems. They are also significantly costly.

WeeMate Launches Innovative Pee Device in India to Help Women Relieve themselves with Ease

In a boost to women empowerment a women friendly urination device has caught the attention of today's educated and savvy women. The device called WeeMate has been launched by the entrepreneur Ms. Neha Chachra with an aim to help women counter dirty public toilets and to protect them from deadly infections that they may get from using public toilet seat.

A couple of years back she had met with an accident and while recuperating she encountered difficulty in accessing hygienic public toilets. She understood that this is a common dilemma and many women like her might have to face similar challenge every day. In due course she came up with the idea of WeeMate to save all the women from the horrors of public toilets. The revolutionary pee friendly device WeeMate aids a female to urinate while standing upright and avoid sitting on dirty toilets. The main purpose of the device is to funnel urine away from women while she takes a pee standing up rather than squatting.

WeeMate Product

WeeMate Founder Ms. Neha Chachra said, "Public washrooms are unfortunately a nightmare in India and ladies dread them the most. While using these toilets, the women even shudder at the thought of the number of people who may have sat on the same toilet seat and would have forgotten to wash that. Smaller bladders than men, the inability to stand and pee while using these dirty toilets - all such reasons led me to launch WeeMate and support the women of today who need to travel long hours for the job; spend the whole day shopping, go on a day out with friends, and so on."

No one can underestimate the fact that intimate hygiene is one of the most important aspects of the women's health. Thus, she thought it's time to stand for hygiene and came up with WeeMate - an ideal pee friendly device for women who hate unhygienic and dirty toilets. Now with the help of WeeMate, the women can relieve themselves with ease in all public toilets without any fear of contracting diseases like Gut infection, Viral infections, STDs and UTIs. All these infections occur when the germs from toilet seat transfer to urethral or genital tract, but WeeMate helps women to stay infection free by allowing them to stand and urinate. In the current COVID-19 situation, the relevance of WeeMate in the lives of women has already increased manifold.

Priced affordably at Rs. 180/- for 10 pieces, the women friendly stand-to-pee device WeeMate is available all across the country on reputed online marketplaces and neighbourhood stores. As inaugural offer the company is giving two pieces extra free of cost in every pack.

Snapdeal founders Kunal Bahl & Rohit Bansal lead Funding in Female Wellness Startup, Azah through their VC Arm Titan Capital

Gurugram based female Wellness Startup, Azah, announced the company has raised an undisclosed amount in Pre- Series A funding round from Snapdeal founders Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal, Angel List India and a few other HNIs. The lead funding came via Titan Capital, a VC arm run by Kunal & Rohit.

The startup plans to use procured funds to enhance its production, launch new products and expand sales operations in tier 2 and tier 3 cities. Co-founded by two young entrepreneurs, Shashwat Diesh and Aqib Mohammed in 2018, Azah focuses on solving some of the most critical problems in the feminine hygiene sector.

Founded with the aim to offer high quality chemical-free products in the female wellness sector, the founders obsession with the product quality, customer experience and strong unit economics has led them to reach newer demographics while driving growth to an untapped market.

Azah Pads

With a reach to more than 4000 pin codes all over India, Azah has a strong revisit customer base. Though the northern part of India has the biggest concentration of the customers, still, the demand for the product is fairly spread across all over India with regular orders from the North-Eastern states, i.e., Arunachal Pradesh and Tripura.

Thanking the support of VCs Aqib Mohammed co-founder, Azah said, "The funds will help us continue further on our mission to make a woman's period easier by developing products that truly solve her problems. A good portion of the funding will go into research and development of these new products, while also helping us carry out further innovation in our current product line. We'll also use the funding to expand our reach to newer demographics while exploring alternative channels to drive growth and acquisition. We plan to double our monthly revenue by the end of next quarter."

Talking on the brand growth vis-a-vie funding, Shashwat Diesh, co-founder, Azah said, "The female wellness sector seems to be particularly open to disruption because of the relative lack of innovation over the past couple of decades. Due to increasing consumer awareness around menstrual hygiene, people have begun to demand better products and newer homegrown brands have stood up well to the challenge of fulfilling this need, and that's where Azah comes up."

Prakhar Agarwal, Investments Lead, AngelList India, said "We are excited to back Azah – an audacious fem care brand that’s taking on the personal care heavyweights with its healthier organic products. The founders have done a great job of building a brand that resonates with its customers and look forward to the new products they intend to add to their offering with this round of financing.”

Prior to this, Azah had raised a seed funding of  USD 200,000 from the group of Angel investors to expand the business and optimize supply chain management. 

About Azah

Azah is a premium female wellness brand established in November 2018. It caters to the needs of quality-conscious urban consumers and focuses on solving some of the most critical problems in the feminine hygiene sector. Azah aims to be "a one-stop solution for high-quality women hygiene products in India". And while doing so, it also stands for fighting the social stigma that currently exists in our society with respect to periods. Azah is growing at the rate of 30% Month on month with more than 50% of the revenue coming directly from repeat customers. 

Delhi Startup HappyShappy Joins the Period-Positive Movement, Raises Awareness on Female Hygiene Education

Delhi-based tech startup, HappyShappy today joined the movement of educating young demographic about feminine hygiene. Taking a creative route, the startup today released a video of a social experiment that spotlights the need for more conversations about menstruation, a subject many people are still unaware about. It has also joined hands with four women-led, Indian homegrown brands to put sanitary products front and center.  

Looking from one side of the coin, India has been seeing a fascinating dream of women's advancement, while the other side shows a disheartening picture of today's male youth living in unenlightenment.

Despite the many advancements in feminine hygiene, menstruation is still considered a taboo topic, and people often feel awkward at the prospect of discussing the subject. More often than not, this leads to women usually being deprived of access to safe menstruation practices, thereby compromising their overall health. It is the fundamental right of women to manage menstruation hygienically and also in a dignified manner. So it becomes essential that they have access to the right products that make periods comfortable and stress-free.

Keeping this in mind, HappyShappy today released a thought-provoking video – "Indian Men Meet the Menstrual Cup." Launched with a social experiment, it takes a light-hearted approach to introduce menstrual cups among men and makes a compelling statement on societal insights.

View this post on Instagram

"Kya hai ye?" "Kaha se aya hai" 😒HappyShappy’s men met the menstrual cup and suffice it to say, their reactions were hilariously 'pain'-ful. Take a look! Find sustainable, home grown Indian brands revolutionising feminine hygiene products on the HappyShappy App! The menstrual cup is an eco-friendly alternative to disposable feminine hygiene products and has completely changed the way women manage their periods. To know more, check out - https://www.happyshappy.com/menstrualcups/ Raise awarness about the menstrual cup. Go ahead, like, comment, and share this video among your friends! . . . @scoopwhoop @scoopwhoopoktested @idivaofficial @idivahindi @popxodaily @plixxo @womanistan @girliyapa @ohmyperiod @feminaindia @menstrupedia #happyshappy #menstrualcup #menstruation #periods #menstrualcycle #period #zerowaste #bollywood #womenshealth #fixyourperiods #femininehygiene #ecofriendly #menstrualhealth #vaginalhealth #socialexperiment #femininecare #periodproblems #detoxyourperiod #funnypranks #indian #indianmen #funnyindian #memes #desimemes #desimeme #indianmemes #indianmeme #memesindia #hindifunny #hindijokes

A post shared by HappyShappy (@happyshappy) on Nov 14, 2019 at 10:28pm PST

   Within an hour of its release, the three-minute video garnered over 11,000 views on Instagram. "It is high time men joined the conversation on menstruation. There is nothing taboo or unnatural about it, and we should discuss it openly, and share our knowledge with others who can benefit from it.”  says Sana Hoda Sood, Co-founder & Creative Head of HappyShappy as well as the brains behind the initiative.

What is a menstrual cup:- 

Menstrual cups are a cost-effective and eco-friendly alternative to tampons. It's a flexible product designed for use inside the vagina during periods to collect menstrual blood. The cup collects the menstrual flow rather than absorbing it as tampons or pads do. To know more, visit https://www.happyshappy.com/menstrualcups/

HappyShappy observes a robust female community; 85% of its 600,000 users are Indian women from all walks of life. With this new initiative, the startup aims to dissociate the apprehensiveness associated with feminine hygiene and embrace the subject for what it truly is – a natural bodily function. Sana adds, "HappyShappy wants to drive thoughtful consideration of how tabooed topics can be transformed into open discussions by using humor as a tool. Through this video we aim to redefine and rethink the common phrases used in society that suggest menstruation is an embarrassing topic."

Taking a step further, HappyShappy has joined hands with Laiqa, AzahCare, Floh, and ElaCup, each of which is a women-led homegrown brand. Together they're supporting a diverse range of superior sanitary products – napkins, cups, panty liners, tampons, and more - that are shaking up the industry for the better. What sets these products apart is the use of the highest quality fabric, absorbent materials, and protection from rash, allergies, and irritation. With a lesser plastic-offering, these items pave the way for an eco-friendly path. Users are encouraged to find sustainable, homegrown Indian brands revolutionizing feminine hygiene products on the app.

Finally, HappyShappy is inviting women and men everywhere to raise awareness. Share, tweet, post, or message the above video to show how women can make a change - that feminine hygiene is no longer a taboo topic.

IIT Delhi Incubated Startup Sanfe launches Reusable Sanitary Pads made from Banana Fibers

Sanfe, IIT Delhi-incubated startup for designing and developing products for improving female health and hygiene, today forayed into the sanitary napkin/pad segment with the launch of first Reusable Sanitary Pads, made with composite banana fiber, which can last upto two years (around 120 washes).

Sanfe Reusable Pad is developed by Mr. Archit Agarwal (CEO and Co-founder) and Mr. Harry Sehrawat (COO and Co-founder), based on inputs from several IIT Delhi Professors. The reusable pads are ultra-thin and are highly absorbent with Quadrant True Lock Technology which makes the pad leakproof and avoids creating any rashes. A patent has also been filed for the design. A pack of two pads is priced at Rs. 199.

 

These reusable sanitary pads can be used multiple times (upto 120 times) after washing them in cold water with detergent after every use. A Reusable Sanitary Pad is made up of four layers of different fabrics.

• Polyester Pilling - This fabric is highly wicking and doesn’t absorb the fluid, giving a dry experience throughout the day time.


• Terry and Banana Fibers including viscose and Polyester Fibers - This part is highly absorbent, soaking and absorbing all the fluids making napkins highly absorbent.


• Cotton Polyurethane Laminate - This is a breathable layer with water resistant properties giving leak-proof experience.

With these reusable sanitary pads, Sanfe is trying to address the huge problem of disposable pad waste burdening our planet. According to Menstrual Hygiene Alliance of India (MHAI) there are almost 336 million menstruating women in India, of which 36% use disposable sanitary pads summing up to 121 million. India has approximately 12.3 billion disposable sanitary napkins to be taken care of every year, and a majority of these are non-biodegradable. Most of these sanitary napkins are made of synthetic materials and plastic, which can take more than 50-60 years to decompose. This enormous amount of menstrual waste is usually dumped in landfills, thrown in open spaces and water bodies, burnt, buried (shallow burial) or flushed down toilets. These disposal techniques create a hazard for the environment. For instance, burning releases carcinogenic fumes in the form of dioxins creating an air pollution hazard, putting this waste in landfills only adds to the burden of waste, and so on.

In African Countries, Government Bodies, NGOs and UN Bodies have adapted to reusable pads which is a part of Sustainable Menstrual Hygiene and started distributing the pads to school girls making the switch to reusable pads.

#IBleedGreen Movement

Speaking on the occasion of the launch Archit Aggarwal, Founder Sanfe and B.Tech student at IIT Delhi said, “Due to the taboo around it, women hygiene has been neglected in thought and talk. With our innovations in women hygiene, we want to empower women and make their life simpler. Even for women welfare, Government and NGOs regularly distribute subsidized disposable sanitary napkins in rural and semi urban areas which is a huge cost and harm to environment accounting only for a short term solution. We urge these organizations to switch to Reusable Pads under #IBleedGreen movement and can save upto 75% of the cost.

Prof. Srinivasan Venkataraman, Assistant Professor in the Department of Design at IIT Delhi commended the efforts of Sanfe. “This startup has carved a niche in the domain of women healthcare and hygiene with the launch of another useful product. All the products of Sanfe cater to the important needs of women, use simple science and are sold at affordable prices in the market.”

Mr Sanjay Kumar, Chief General Manager – Business Development at Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL), Mumbai said, the premier technical institutes like IITs and their incubated companies are well known for coming up with path-breaking and revolutionary innovations. Sanfe located at The Technology Business Incubator (TBI) of IIT Delhi is one such organization that has been undertaking excellent and responsible work in feminine hygiene and wellness space. As HPCL stands by the progressive thinking and meaningful innovations, particularly towards empowering women, it will explore ways to jointly popularize the reusable period care product range under the flagship initiative of Government of India – Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. We congratulate the Sanfe team for this innovation and wish them grand success.

About Sanfe:

Sanfe is India’s feminine hygiene brand and women empowerment company promoting better health and wellbeing for all women, now and for future generations. Incubated at IIT Delhi, Sanfe was founded by two B.Tech. students, Archit Agarwal (CEO) and Harry Sehrawat (COO) when they were in their second year. The journey started during a trip to the mountains when one of their female friends contracted a Urinary Tract Infection caused by the use of dirty public washroom. It was only then they realised that this is a problem faced by over 50 percent of women in India.

Earlier they developed Sanfe Stand & Pee and Sanfe Period Pain Relief Roll On. The Stand & Pee product allows women to stand and urinate, and thereby, prevent physical contact with unhygienic toilet seats and reduce the chances of contracting UTIs. The Period Pain Relief Roll On is a natural product to relieve women from menstrual cramps without creating any side effects.

Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), Department of Biotechnology and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited have provided seed funds to Sanfe to support the brand in empowering women through affordable & sustainable solutions for their personal hygiene. The company is recognized by Government of India under Startup India program.

Feminine Hygiene Products Market to Witness Steady Growth till 2024

Growing awareness about hygiene among females to drive global feminine hygiene products market through 2024 – TechSci Research

According to TechSci Research report, “Global Feminine Hygiene Products Market By Product Type, By Distribution Channel, By Region, By Company, Competition, Forecast & Opportunities, 2024”, global feminine hygiene products market is projected to grow at a steady pace during 2019-2024, on the back of increasing awareness towards female health and hygiene, and emergence of low cost feminine hygiene products. Moreover, inclination of women towards the utilization of convenient and handy sanitary products is further creating a huge demand for feminine hygiene products across the globe. Moreover, manufacturers are focusing on introducing innovative and organic products which are comfortable, scented and have higher absorption capability. They are also developing unique marketing and promotional strategies which is attracting a larger consumer base, thereby further fueling growth in the market.

In terms of distribution channel, the feminine hygiene products market is categorized into supermarket/hypermarket, online, pharmacies/drugs stores and others. Among these distribution channels, the online channel is expected to witness healthy growth during forecast period. The growth of the market is majorly attributable to the growing popularity of e-commerce market. Moreover, e-commerce and technology are transforming this category with new user experiences, where luxury brands and small start-ups alike are racing to embrace e-commerce, making this channel even stronger.

In terms of region, the global feminine hygiene products market is categorized into North America, Asia-Pacific, Europe, Middle East & Asia and Latin America. North America is one of the major demand generators of feminine hygiene products on account of higher penetration of sanitary products in the region. Moreover, personal hygiene awareness campaigns taken up by government agencies is resulting in increasing demand for sanitary products in this region, which is further driving the growth of North America feminine hygiene products market.

Customers can also request for 10% free customization on this report.

“Global feminine hygiene products market is anticipated to register a steady growth during forecast period. The growth of the market is led by increasing disposable income, growing awareness about sanitization, and rising demand for products such as tampons, and panty liners in developed countries. Moreover, increasing number of programs to enhance public awareness pertaining to proper health and hygiene of females is further steering the growth of global feminine hygiene products market.” said Mr. Karan Chechi, Research Director with TechSci Research, a research based global management consulting firm.

“Global Feminine Hygiene Products Market By Product Type, By Distribution Channel, By Region, By Company, Competition, Forecast & Opportunities, 2024”, has evaluated the future growth potential of global Feminine Hygiene Products market and provides statistics and information on market size, structure and future market growth. The report intends to provide cutting-edge market intelligence and help decision makers take sound investment decisions. Besides, the report also identifies and analyzes the emerging trends along with essential drivers, challenges and opportunities in global feminine hygiene products market.

Huddle Incubated 'Silky Cup' to Improve Hygiene for Women

Silky Cup, a female wellness startup incubated by Huddle, a Gurgaon based sector-agnostic incubator, is being provided acceleration support by HealthStart.

Silky cup is made to improve hygiene for women with a key focus on areas around India where there is limited access to sanitation and basic needs for women. Therefore, Silky Cup is a reusable and highly cost-effective product that is made keeping in mind the well-being of women, as well as providing an environmentally friendly alternative.

A menstrual Silky Cup offers many advantages such as sleeping well, visiting the pharmacy less, holds more liquid, wards off rashes, lightens your purse requires less changing, saves money, allows for an extra five hours in between changes, cause you to suffer fewer leaks. Silky Cup can easily manage heavy bleeding, irregular periods, prolonged menstrual periods and perimenopause.

Silky Cup provides 12 hours of leak-free protection. Silky Cup offers up to 12 hours of hassle-free day and night menstrual care and covers your heaviest to lightest menstrual flow. Silky Cup is ideal for women of all shapes and sizes. Silky Cup keeps you clean, dry and super active throughout periods. Ideal for all daily activities such as playing sports, traveling, swimming, cycling, diving, trekking, caving, dancing, climbing, bowling, walking, driving, sitting and sleeping; now no more odors, wetness, stains, itching or leaking during periods. Hole-less Menstrual Silky Cups are designed for higher capacity, so now you don't need to awake till midnights. No more leakage; even you don't feel its presence! Periods of care made easy. Travel, exercise, play sports, dance and swim with no fear of leaks during your periods. Silky Cup can hold up to 30 ml discharge during periods, which is 3 times more than tampons or pads can absorb. Silky Cup is easy to insert, remove and use. Silky Cup is a reusable and washable feminine hygiene product.

Gurinder, who is the founder, came up with this product post his travels around India and realizing the need for such a product mainly in tier 2/3 and rural areas.

Gurinder was born in Delhi in 1972 and his family hails from Amritsar.

He holds a commerce degree from Delhi University and was an avid sportsman during his college years. Post college, Gurinder studied textile and garment technologies and set up his own silk fabrication factory in 1995. He possesses more than 20 years of experience in silk manufacturing, import, and distribution PAN India.

In 2013, Gurinder read an article in TOI about 42 school-going girls in Amritsar who resorted to using old socks, ash, and sawdust during their menstrual cycle. This greatly exposed them to vaginal infections that could severely deteriorate their health. Discouraged by their plight, Gurinder extensively researched the field of menstrual hygiene and found that this problem was widespread in India. Existing solutions were either inaccessible or too expensive for the masses. During this study, he stumbled upon the concept of menstrual cups. While these were reusable, they were expensive, not easily available and lacked authentic health certifications. Determined to solve this problem, Gurinder started his own line of menstrual cups, known as Silky Cup. He created a safe, reusable, easy to dispose of, comfortable and hygienic solution that would uniquely cater to the Indian demographic.

Silky Cup has been distributed PAN India since 2015 and close to 90,000 units have been sold thus far.

Huddle, a co-working the incubator was founded in 2017 by Mr. Sanil Sachar & Mr. Ishaan Khosla. They fulfill the needs of a variety of segments, including start-ups, SMBs, and corporates, by providing a flexible workspace, convenient accessibility, and proximity to clientele. It not only offers an office space but a dynamic destination where people from different fields of startups come together, works together and grows together. An incubator with a core focus on mentorship, Huddle brings together start-ups and industry leaders, to provide intellectual, social and financial capital for each Huddler.

Huddle is a leading sector-agnostic incubator working with startups across industries and 7 different cities in India, with the primary focus of working closely with the founders of each venture and supporting them through the business functions that require assistance in order to get them to the next stage of their business life cycle.

Wellness Startup for Women Azah Raises Seed Funding of $200K from group of Angle investors

Azah, a premium organic wellness startup for women has raised USD 200,000 in the seed-round funding from a group of angel investors. With this fresh round of investment, the company is focusing on to expand its inventory and operations across India. The startup aspires of becoming a one-stop solution for high-quality women hygiene products in India. Besides the product, a significant pie of the investment is also being made in streamlining the supply chain management of the product and further improving customer service by leveraging technology.

Started by two young and energetic engineering graduates, Shashwat Diesh and Aqib Mohammed, in November 2018, Azah plans to tap the market to provide high-quality organic pads and eco-friendly products to the new age women consumers across India. Azah has brought its first product, an organic cotton sanitary pad which has been developed with the idea of bringing innovation and abolishing the use of synthetic raw materials in sanitary pads thereby protecting women against rashes and itchiness.

Talking about the investment and the support of the angel investors, Shashwat Diesh, Co-founder, Azah opines, “The initial round of funds will be used to invest in R&D, optimize the supply chain and further improve the customer experience through our platform. We are looking to achieve 10X growth with respect to order volumes within 12 months.”

“We are happy to receive the initial support, which is essential to fuel the expansion and growth of the business. Being a part of the nascent internet commerce industry in India we hope that we can contribute substantially to solving the problem that Indian women face through our premium innovative products at a much faster rate as compared to the traditional FMCG sector.”, Shashwat further added.

Pleased to share, Aqib Mohammed, Co-founder, Azah, said, “With growing disposable incomes and increased menstrual hygiene awareness among Indian women, there is definitely a need for more innovative & premium-quality products in this sector. The market’s potential, in India itself, is huge and we also envision expanding globally over time.”

The startup believes in investing in bringing high-quality organic products to its customers. The unique selling point of the first range of products is that these sanitary pads are fabricated with the finest organic cotton and does not contain harmful chemicals such as chlorine, dioxins, and artificial fragrances.

The startup which was founded just 5 months ago has started selling its products in more than 1800 pin codes and has sold 200000 pads across India. Azah aims to focus exclusively on feminine hygiene products and is committed to focusing and innovating in just sanitary pads for the next 12 months.

AZAH is a newly launched premium organic wellness startup for women established in November 2018. It caters to the needs of quality-conscious urban consumers and focuses on solving some of the most critical problems in the feminine hygiene sector. Made with finest organic cotton, the pads are chemical-free, eco-friendlier – all layers except bottom-most layer are made of cotton or paper, super absorbent- can absorb to 1000 times its weight in water, free of harmful synthetics- such as chlorine, dioxins, and artificial fragrances and is FDA approved.

Female-Care Product Startup Nua Raises $4 Mn from Lightbox Ventures

Mumbai-based Nua, a female care brand, has raised $4 million in Series A round of funding led by Lightbox Ventures with contribution from te startup's existing investor Kae Capital.

Operated by Lagom Labs, Nua -- as a brand -- creates products and services that revolved around women’s health and wellness. It currently makes sanitary pads and sells them online.

The Nua sanitary pads do not have prints, perfume or any chemical on the top layer, come in convenient disposable covers and are delivered as per the chosen frequency.

Founded in 2017, by Ravi Ramachandran and Swathi Kulkarni, Nua aspire to be the leading online-led femcare brand by building a tech-enabled company that truly cares for every woman's needs.

The funding, which marks Lightbox’s first investment from its $200 million third fund, will allow Nua to make investments in technology and data as well as in expanding its product offerings.

Prashant Mehta, partner at Lightbox, said to Business Standard, "I think in Nua, we found a team that has thought through how to create an amazing experience for women and do it in a manner that is delivering massively amazing value."

"If you think about fem-care, there are already companies at the high end of the spectrum, you can always get very high-end products, but this team (Nua) really felt that it was important to bring care and wellness ideas to millions of women and not just the top echelon of women group,” said Mehta of Lightbox.

In August last year, Gurgaon-based Carmesi, which makes premium, all-natural and biodegradable sanitary pad, had raised $500,000 from Samrath Bedi, Managing Director, Forest Essentials, a luxury Ayurvedic beauty brand.

An another Sanitary Pad making startup called Saathi also provides affordable and bio-degradable sanitary pad made from waste Banana tree fiber and provide to women in rural India. The startup has recently selected in top 10 Innovative startups 2019 by Fast Company.

Source - Business Standard