menstrual-health
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She Bet $25,000 on Period Underwear. Ruby Love Turned an Awkward Problem Into a $25 Million Business
Crystal Etienne’s first investor emails disappeared into silence. So she used her savings, found customers through search, and built a period-apparel brand around one useful idea: protection should fit into life, not interrupt it.
Knix
Knix is a Toronto-based direct-to-consumer intimate apparel company that pioneered the leakproof underwear category. Founded in 2013 by Joanna Griffiths, it designs machine-washable, reusable period and leakproof underwear, bras, activewear, swimwear and shapewear built for the realities of menstruation, bladder leaks, postpartum and body changes. Known for size-inclusive design and a mission to empower women to be 'unapologetically free,' Knix grew into the #1 leakproof brand in North America and was acquired by Swedish hygiene giant Essity in 2022 in what was reported as the largest exit by a Canadian female founder.
Samphire Neuroscience
Samphire Neuroscience is a London-based neurotechnology company building drug-free, hormone-free wearables for women's health. Its flagship product, Nettle, is a headband that uses transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to gently modulate the brain regions tied to mood and pain, worn 20 minutes a day in the run-up to menstruation. Marketed as the first EU-cleared (CE-certified) neuromodulation device for women's health, Nettle targets PMS, PMDD, menstrual pain and related hormonal conditions. Founded in 2021 by neuroscientist Emilė Radytė and IP lawyer Alex Cook, the company has raised roughly $7.77M across pre-seed, seed and Series A rounds.