INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
LOLA, a subscription service delivering tampons and pads, and now other products, including condoms, lubricant, and feminine cleansing
wipes, has closed on $24 million in Series B funding
While the startup touts its products& &100% organic& nature, it also well-received because of the customization offered and its
direct-to-consumer nature.
The new round of financing was led by private equity firm Alliance Consumer Growth (ACG), with support from
existing investors Spark Capital, Lerer Hippeau and Brand Foundry Ventures.
To date, LOLA has raised $11.2 million, from investors including
also BBG Ventures, 14W, the founders of Warby Parker and Harry&s, Sweetgreen, Bonobos, and Insomnia Cookies
Celebs likeSerena Williams, Karlie Kloss, Lena Dunham, and Allison Williams have also invested.
Launched in 2015, LOLA founders Alex
Friedman and Jordana Kier had the idea to challenge industry giants, like Tampax and Playtex, with a 100% organic product.
&We founded LOLA
with a simple and seemingly obvious idea & as women, we shouldn&t have to compromise when it comes to our reproductive health,& explains
Kier.&Like most women, we&d been using the same feminine care products since we were teenagers
But when we found out that brands & including the same ones we were loyal to all those years & aren&t required to disclose exactly what in
their products, it made us wonder: what in our tampon&
&If we care about everything else we put in our bodies, products for our reproductive
health shouldn&t be any different,& she states.
LOLA tampons, pads and liners are made only with organic cotton, not synthetic fibers,
like those used mainstream brands
Nor do they contain fragrances or dyes.
The nature of its products appeal to consumers & especially, young millennial women & who are more
conscious of the chemicals in their products, as well as those who want to buy organic for the environmental benefits.
That said, there&sa
bit of debate over how dangerous (or not) it is to use traditional feminine care products
Skeptics, including somedoctors, insist there no threat from conventional products.
But even women not concerned with buying organic may
find LOLA appealing because of its model.
Its subscription service lets you create a box with your own mix of tampon sizes (with or without
applicators, which can be either cardboard or plastic)
That something you can&t do when buying off the shelf.
Plus, LOLA boxes aren&t any more expensive than those bought in the store
Its 18-count box of applicator tampons is $10 per month; or it $9 each, if ordering two or three boxes per month
Non-applicator tampons are a dollar less.
In addition, LOLA sells other period-related products, including an essential oil blend for
cramps, a multi-vitamin that protects against PMS, and a first period starter kit.
In May, the startup broadened its mission to become
more of a female health company with the launch of SEX by LOLA
This product line includescondoms, personal lubricant, and all-natural feminine cleansing wipes for women
It the startup first product line outside of feminine care.
&Until now, there wasn&t really a place for women to turn to for honesty,
reliability and information when it comes to their sex products,& says Kier of the new product lineup
&Historically, sexual wellness companies have been primarily marketed towards men and promote products that contain obscure ingredients and
unnatural additives.&
SEX by LOLA products, on the other hand, don&t have &irritating& additives, the founder explains, but still deliver
the sensation and reliability you&d expect, she says.
These new products are also offered on subscription,starting at $10 per month for a
12-count box of condoms or 12-count box of cleansing wipes.
The company plans to use the Series B funds to finance product development,
expand customer outreach & including through events, partnerships and offline & and expand its 19-person, currently New York-based
team.
More importantly, perhaps, is throwing more fuel on the fire, as LOLA is no longer without competition.
There are a number of
subscription startups for feminine products on the market today, including Le Parcel(which also ships chocolate); organic rival Cora, which
focuses on discrete, portable tampons and carrying cases; Jessica Alba The Honest Company(which just got $200M) and sustainable competitors
like Flex tampon alternative, as well as other reusable menstrual cups, like Diva Cup.
And, of course, you can subscribe and save on Amazon
to almost anything, including tampons.
LOLA declines to share details related to the size and growth of its customer base or its revenue, so
it difficult to rank LOLA in terms of its competition.
Where LOLA may have some leverage, however, is encouraging more open discussions
about female reproductive health, and engaging its customers through social media
The startup touts 6 times the number of Instagram followers compared with mainstream brands, for example, and says 1 in 4 customers have
directly engaged with its brand over a variety of communication channels, including calls, emails, DMs, texts, and letters.
ACG investment
could help LOLA become more of a household name
The firm has previously backed brands like Harry&s, Pacifica, Shake Shack, Plum Organics, PDQ, barkTHINS, EVOL Foods, Suja Juice, Nudestix,
and others.
&LOLA is at the epicenter of the shift towards transparency in the women health category, and we couldn&t be more impressed with
the brand Alex and Jordana have built and the impactful conversation they&ve driven,& said Alliance Consumer Growth Managing Partner, Trevor
Nelson, in a statement about its funding
&We&re thrilled to welcome LOLA into the ACG family and support their continued evolution and product innovation, enabling them to meet
their consumers& needs,& he added.
