Why is the intimate-/feminine-/period-care space suddenly so rife with innovation? In the opinion of Bunny Ghatrora, co-founder of period-care subscription service Blume, girls and women haven’t traditionally received much innovation from conventional brands.
And marketing has tended to include elements of shame or embarrassment. In short: no one was truly speaking to girls and asking them what they needed.
That’s all changing.
A self-esteem mission
The Ghatroras previously ran a period care subscription box service that incorporated third-party personal care products. In surveying the brand’s audience, they began to learn that many young women—comprising more than 60% of survey respondents—were reporting a significant drop in self-esteem that corresponded with puberty.
They also found that Gen Z shoppers generally “saw through Big Brother brands,” as Bunny Ghatrora put it. That’s when the Ghatroras created Blume, a “brand girls can grow up with.” The brand recently received $3.3 million in seed funding to expand and build out its educational resources.
The Ghatroras insist that their brand will grow up with its customers ...
To support girls and young women, Blume’s educational mission seeks to counteract the woeful state of sex ed in North American school systems—as well as the flood of misinformation available online and the common challenge of reluctant parental candor—by providing factual, medically accurate information.
But Blume isn’t just for young women transitioning through adolescence. The Ghatroras insist that their brand will grow up with its customers and that mothers and daughters alike use the brand, including key shoppers aged 25-34.
Customer co-creation
Bunny Ghatrora explained that Blume’s inception was built on the co-creation of products with customers. Taran Ghatrora added that they would ask the audience what they were missing, eventually surveying down to the level of formulations, colors and scents.
In some cases, the Ghatroras got on the phone with consumers to gather more data. The pair also sent demo samples to select customers for additional feedback.
What the audience needed
The Ghatroras found that one of the leading needs was an acne treatment designed to be gentle enough not to generate hormonal side effects. The result was the Meltdown Blemish Treatment ($26), comprising natural ingredients including black cumin seed oil, rosehip fruit oil and tamanu seed oil.
The brand recently received $3.3 million in seed funding to expand and build out its educational resources.
Blume’s range also includes the Daydreamer face wash ($14), Hug Me deodorant ($12), Cloud 9 PMS oil ($18) comprising jojoba and essential oils such as clary sage, peppermint, geranium, bergamot and lemon.
Its period products include organic pads and tampons.
The company’s Blume Box, which “goes with your flow,” comprises tampons and pads, starting at $10.99 per month, with additional add-ons from among the brand’s personal care offerings.
