By Peck Ying Tan and Caleb Leow, co-founders of Blood
The menstrual care space is starting to make waves around the world, but even though change has made its way closer to home, quality period care in Southeast Asia has yet to spread as far as it should.
While period education has at least been integrated into the school systems in countries like Singapore, some countries still lack basic access, with little to no emphasis on menstrual education – leading to stigmas, health risks and limited opportunities.
Although women in more developed countries in Southeast Asia have greater exposure to menstrual health and access to affordable products, they have also not been entirely spared from such limitations and stigma.
For example, Singapore’s female athletes say periods are still a taboo topic in sport. And it’s not just women in sport who are afraid to bring up this “sensitive topic” – the hush-hush nature of periods is prevalent in the workplace too.
Through a survey commissioned by our period care company, Blood, we set out to better understand attitudes, perception and the real impact menstruation has on women in the workplace today.
The results indicated that many are not supported by a stigma-free and open environment – amongst the 1000 surveyed, a staggering 71% feel pressure to be at their desk, even though they are unable to perform to the expected standard due to period pain during the first few days of their cycle.
More than one in two also admitted to lying about their reason for absence to avoid ridicule or discrimination in the workplace. And regardless of age, 76% of respondents revealed that they go to great lengths to hide their sanitary products at work.
These insights have further encouraged us to raise awareness of menstruation and its real impact, reinforcing Blood’s brand mission to revolutionize periods. We believe that by taking steps towards changing the mindset surrounding period care in Singapore (and Southeast Asia), we can help women feel supported and for their periods to be validated.
As a woman who has personally been at the brunt of severe period pain, I understand this need completely. In my youth, I searched for and tried endless solutions for menstrual cramps, but was unable to find any effective enough without having to resort to regular consumption of medication. The idea for Blood (then known as pslove) came to life when Caleb, my then-boyfriend, and now husband, gifted me a warmer bought on a school trip in Taiwan.
Although the warmer provided some relief naturally, it was neither long-lasting nor warm enough. This led to our realization that there was a significant gap in the market for effective, non-pharmaceutical period care products.
This then formed the building blocks of our first product, MenstruHeat – an air-activated 100% drug-free cramp relief patch that is discreet with optimal heat, allowing many others to combat period downtime while avoiding an over-reliance on painkillers.
From there, pslove was born to bring MenstruHeat to market. The name pslove was chosen to convey a personal, endearing, and comforting presence during periods – something that can be overlooked as many menstruators have resigned themselves to the fact that a painful menstrual cycle is just part of being a woman.
Channeling personal pain into a purpose-driven company
In 2019, we decided to take a bolder step forward and renamed our brand to Blood, serving as a statement and reminder to everyone that there is no shame in menstruation.
It also allows us to better share and include consumers in all that the company stands for – that Blood can truly revolutionize the period experience and with that, better days and endless possibilities await modern women around the world.
Beyond cramps, we are cognizant that there are other aspects that contribute to one’s physical comfort and emotional state during menstruation.
We spent a year researching various materials that came to mind: organic cotton, hybrid mixes, and even bamboo — all with little success, until we came across corn, albeit in a different setting. We found that corn, being naturally hypoallergenic, is extremely gentle on the skin and eliminates period rashes completely.
It also has properties that enable it to absorb three times faster than cotton, while staying dry to touch. Impressed with its performance, we were able to map it onto the topsheet of our sanitary pads to achieve both exceptional functional performance and increased biodegradability.
Now available on Blood’s website, online marketplaces, and major local retailers like NTUC FairPrice and Watsons, our 100% corn topsheet pads are the first of its kind globally and have been making a marked difference for women all over Singapore, with more than 1 million pads sold so far.
Blood has just wrapped up a successful seven-figure Series A funding round led by DSG Consumer Partners with returning investor AngelCentral. Beyond expanding our retail footprint, the funding raised will go towards our fearless founding passion: to constantly create products that understand the need to support people who bleed.
