The verbal exchange around it has in no way created as much buzz in India as inside the past one year. From making sanitary pads tax free, the Sabarimala verdict (which allowed girls of menstruating age to enter the temple), launch of government’s low fee biodegradable sanitary napkins, to the release of Akshay Kumar’s film PadMan — sanitary pads are now not a taboo topic in each day communication.
Riding on this new found openness about menstrual hygiene is LightBox Venture Fund-backed Nua — a brand new age girl-focussed startup (femtech) which believes in building a network, gain an target audience and research from feedback.
At face cost, Nua’s sanitary pads aren't the maximum unique presenting in the market as compared to other biodegradable sanitary pads startups consisting of Carmesi, Heyday and Saathi. Most on line manufacturers additionally offer customisable and subscription services similar to Nua. Also price-wise Nua’s pads aren't the most highly-priced but nor are they the most inexpensive.
As the Indian sanitary serviette marketplace has been ruled by international brands inclusive of Procter & Gamble’s Whisper and Johnson & Johnson’s Stayfree for decades, the Mumbai-primarily based startup isn't always trying to compete with the large manufacturers which have a exponentially stronger retail presence.
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In the age of social media and community constructing, Nua has been capable of construct a safe area for women to brazenly explicit their worries around reproductive and sexual well-being. Perhaps, that is one of the important reasons why Mumbai-based totally Lightbox Ventures invested $4 Mn into Nua. The deal also marks the first investment made with the aid of the assignment capital company from its 1/3 fund of $2 hundred Mn which became anticipated to close by using the cease of 2018.
Prashant Mehta, accomplice at LightBox Ventures advised Inc42, “We wanted to spend money on a agency that is based on delivering an extremely good enjoy and not only a product. And I assume what Nua has surely captured is developing a leading emblem in ladies wellness through imparting a kickass experience.”
Nua plans to make investments this new fund in making smart use of technology, hiring satisfactory expertise and enlargement of the product line.
Conversations Over Advertising
With the rise of social media, community-constructing has have become an vital a part of connecting with capacity customers on-line. But in the market of ladies’s wellness and hygiene merchandise traditional marketing has had more misses than hits in terms of addressing issues over menstruation.
And this is wherein NUA shines thru.
This Mumbai-primarily based startup cofounded by means of Ravi Ramachandran and Swathi Kulkarni in 2017 gives a customisable p.C. Of 12 sanitary napkins with doorstep shipping. The purchaser gets the flexibility to personalize the variety of heavy (320mm), medium (280mm) and light drift (240mm) pads inside the p.C.. The company also offers women a subscription % with the beginning charge of INR 169, coupled with period synced domestic delivery of the percent each month.
Currently, Nua has a following of 25.5K on Instagram and 29.3K Facebook web page likes. NUA’s cofounder Ravi Ramachandran claimed that the Nua’s Instagram engagement is more than many influencer’s deal with.
Nua has initiated social media collection which include #PeriodStories in which women had shared tales about their first duration stories to premenstrual syndrome (PMS).
“You could be amazed through how many girls write to us. Saying we are going via duration rashes, can you assist me? What we do is, we try to reply to these queries by using connecting them with experts in our community. For instance (cofounder) Swati Kulkarni’s father is a gynaecologist and we performed a question and solution consultation with him.” The corporation has also hosted Facebook live periods with Cloudnine Hospital’s gynaecologist to reply the big influx of questions.
“Community building isn't always a one way street, it must be manner communique.” Ravi Ramachandran stated.
The Currency Of Trust
“The unmarried largest cause why someone buys a well being product or brand is agree with. Trust is what underpins this zone specially, as a consequence our consistent endeavour is to build agree with in our clients. This is why the holistic enjoy facilitates, the more we do for them, the extra their accept as true with builds. I assume online is the high-quality location to do it, at least the satisfactory place to start with,” Ravi said.
A clean metric in their achievement is the truth that even as being exceptionally city in their branding, extra than 50% of NUA’s customers are from Tier 2 towns. Which indicates that the corporation virtually is familiar with that the fundamental human desires for being understood and having a feel of belonging, transcend market demographics.
Commenting on the product adoption in mid-tier towns, Nua’s cofounder Swati stated, “The large hole in Tier 2 towns is even get right of entry to to some of this stuff. When we communicate to our purchasers there, small such things as domestic delivery is a large value addition, due to the fact they don’t have to go out to buy or ask their elders to get it from them.”
From a product point of view, Tier 2 consumers see a first-rate price in the product and with the expanded internet penetration, a whole lot of people have come up and engaged with the content material too. From the content point, the large gap is women don’t have access to expert reviews. Girls from very small cities have used Nua’s social media structures to ask questions about hormonal issues or honestly voicing their length reviews, Swati added.
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Talking of the corporation’s direct to client model, Ravi stated, “If you do now not have an immediate to patron model, you may lose out in nowadays’s international. Post the emergence of Jio, India’s net intake has gone off the charts. There has been tremendous improvements in ecommerce, and financial payments. This is a channel wherein every emblem within the usa ought to invest. Not to say, offline channel is lifeless, it will stay. But fortuitously or unluckily online is wherein the sector is headed.”
Today, menstrual hygiene is no longer an afterthought. According to IMARC Group, “Indian Sanitary Napkin Market: Industry Trends, Share, Size, Growth, Opportunity and Forecast 2019-2024”, the Indian sanitary serviette marketplace reached a cost of $511.5 Mn in 2018. Further, the marketplace is expected to attain a cost of $ 992.Eight Mn by means of 2024, developing at a CAGR of extra than 12% among 2019-2024.
Recently the femtech segment in India has visible the foray of a couple of new age startups specializing in girls’s sexual and reproductive health. Starting with Gurgaon-based totally startup Sirona that's supplying innovative merchandise like Pee Buddy which permits ladies to pee while status. And, many menstrual cycle trackers like Maya and Clue. Stressing at the ability of femtech zone, a 2018 Frost & Sullivan take a look at stated that Femtech should become a $50 Bn international marketplace by means of 2025.
