In their own words, the Daye team
aims to ‘leave an impact but not a
trace’ on the environment and with
their new line of CBD tampons, they
have done just that. In an industry that
is notorious for waste – the average
woman uses 2,640 sanitary pads or
tampons every decade – that is no
easy task.
This CBD tampon, which at a glance
looks like your typical mainsteam
product, was invented by Valentina
Milanova at just 22 after years of
suffering painful periods.
“I’ve had painful periods since I was
nine-years-old. I used to read medical
research papers on gynaecological
health in my spare time. I discovered
research on hemp, which has very
absorbent fi bres and fl owers that
have analgesic properties and
thought to myself, why has no one
tried to make a hemp tampon that’s
infused with CBD?”
Daye’s business model is impressive.
Every part of the process is on
display online from the cost
per tampon to clinical
testing and the supply
chain. Admirably,
the language
is open, honest
and designed
to be easily
understood. The
tampon industry
isn’t exactly known
for transparency
and the law doesn’t
require brands to reveal
any ingredients. This makes for a
refreshing change and it’s working.
The brand’s pre-launch wait list this
year was 20,000 strong suggesting
women are embracing the change.
“You shouldn’t need
a medical degree to
understand your own
body.”
Originally from Bulgaria, Valentina set
up a team of 20 in London to take on
roles in start-up fi nance and tech. Even
with this experience, she still struggled
with pitching a female hygiene product
to a mainly male audience.
“The tampon industry is completely
monopolised and entirely run by men.
I’m yet to meet a woman in charge
within tampon manufacturing. On top
of that, I had to pitch to almost 200
investors, all of them male. They simply
didn’t see the product differentiation
and didn’t think period pain was a
relevant enough cause to invest in.”
How informed are tech-bros about
heavy fl ows or period pain?
“Not very informed! They would ask me
questions like, “why do your tampons
have strings?” or “why are there 18
tampons in a box?” I don’t know
anyone who has 18-day periods!”
Just 22% of health
business founders are
female
Some venture fi rms did understand
the potential as Daye managed to
secure £5.5 million funding at the
age of 24. Unfortunately, gender
balance in funding is a feminist issue
with just 22% of health founders
identifying as female in 2019,
according to the Atomico
State of European Tech
report. It shows that of
the funding received
for start-ups, just
0.4% went to female
businesses while men
received 91.6%. The
menstrual health industry
was estimated at £9 billion
in 2019, with a 6.5% growth
expected for female hygiene products
by 2025.
“Our main goal is to bridge the
gender gap in medical research and
innovation, starting with female
pain. Endometriosis affects 1 in 10
people with periods and it takes on
average 7.5 years to diagnose. One
of our fi rst clinical trials is tackling
this debilitating condition, which
has been overlooked by the medical
community.”
An NHS consultant in a North London
hospital has introduced Valentina’s
products to be studied, to investigate
the effects of CBD tampons on
endometriosis pain with results due at
the end of August.
The movement for ending period pain
and waste has gained mainstream
attention with a spotlight pointed
directly on this issue by Meghan Markle,
The Duchess of Sussex, in recent years.
Girls rights charity, Plan International
UK estimates that 10% of British girls
have resorted to using rags, newspaper
and toilet paper as they are unable to
afford period products.
“Any effort to make periods accessible
to everyone is a good initiative.
Menstrual products are a right, not a
privilege.”
The problem with tampons is…
- Manufacturers do not legally have to
disclose what is in their products
- Most pads contain polyethylene
plastic adhesive which is
environmentally harmful
- Periods generate 200,000 tonnes of
waste per year
- Tampons can contain rayon, chlorine
and dioxin which are dangerous
chemicals that are absorbed by the
earth in landfi lls and then released
into the air.
Tried & Tested
By Caroline Barry
With a 20,000 person wait list, we had to
see if Daye was worth the wait. My period
pain relief has always been the following:
Take two Ibuprofen with a strong hot
chocolate, one carefully-applied hot water
bottle and a double dose of Netfl ix on the
couch. I’m open to anything that allows
me to keep calm and carry on during that
time of the month. The Daye tampon
works incredibly well, delivering a dose of
30% CBD concentrate without it feeling
any different from a regular tampon. I’m
not surprised to hear that the tampons
have been chosen to partner with a
hospital to be tested on endometriosis
pain. Packaging waste can be an issue but
the level of sustainability that Daye have
gone to is impressive. The paper wrappers
are water soluble and even the re-fi ll pouch
is compostable. The applicator is also made
from bio-based sugar cane. Ordinary
tampons have their Daye-s numbered.