Nine years ago, Nadya Okamoto, co-founder of Gen-Z period brand August, remembers when even saying the word “period” on public radio was “radical.” Now, she is posting nearly 100 period-related pieces of content a day to August’s social media accounts, including videos of her on a toilet with pads soaked with fake blood and having candid conversations about menstruation with an Uber driver.

Beyond the shock value, these posts, a mix of product highlights, absorbency checks and period humour, lead to sales. Okamoto said that three-year-old August, which is sold on the brand’s website and at 400 Target locations, has grown 554 percent year-over-year.

In the last five years, the menstrual cycle category and the conversation surrounding it has surged into the mainstream. Brands like August, The Period Company and The Honey Pot are prioritising cleaner ingredients and daring messaging. They may still sell tampons, but now their packaging is plastic-free, and you can pick up some skin care that soothes vaginal dryness too. Menopausal and perimenopausal brands like Womaness, Stripes and Pause Well-Aging offer solutions to night sweats, hot flashes and hair loss on shelves at Ulta Beauty, Walmart, Target and CVS

Euromonitor notes that the sanitary protection market was valued at $3.6 billion in 2022. Retailers, too, are making it a meaningful part of their stores and online assortments. Ulta Beauty, for instance, sells period, perimenopause and menopause offerings from big brands like No7 and Vichy alongside emerging lines like Blume.

“It’s a huge market with a lot of potential,” said Sally Mueller, co-founder and chief executive officer of Womaness, a line that sells a neck firming cream dubbed “Let’s Neck” and supplements to address brain fog and sleep. “This woman is desperate for solutions and has been frustrated at the whole experience.”

Destigmatising the Taboo

Unlike previous generations that tiptoed around the topic of sexuality and hygiene, emerging lines are diving headfirst into the conversation with unapologetic realness.

The Period Company, which launched in 2020, entered 600 Walmart stores in May. The line features bright red displays “that scream ‘Period,’” in the retailer, said Karla Welch, co-founder and CEO. “We weren’t going to dumb it down.”

Like August, the brand’s in-your-face marketing has paid off. To date, The Period Company has shipped over one million pairs of period underwear. Welch says the brand is doing eight-figure sales and has been profitable since its fifth month in business.

Gen Xers have been similarly open in their storytelling. During an episode of her daytime talk show in March, Drew Barrymore paused mid-interview, experiencing what she believed to be her first perimenopausal hot flash. Guests, Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler, both leaned in to address her symptoms and offer support in real-time. Barrymore has since appeared on Oprah Winfrey’s menopause-focused series, “Menopause Talk,” along with journalist Maria Shriver to discuss relatively untapped topics ranging from brain fog to lack of sleep and hormone replacement therapy.

It’s part of a larger cultural shift, Mueller said, “People are tired of living in secrecy or silence.”

Addressing an Unserved Market

While a focus on openness may have bolstered the proliferation of the female cycle category, a plethora of reasons has spurred its growth. A lack of research and education around reproductive health is at the root of the newer brands coming to market, said Giovanna Alfieri, vice president of marketing at The Honey Pot.

“The overall lack of research and education that has disempowered people from asking questions, seeking medical advice and even seeking medical support,” she said. ”We’re often only taught that ignoring our symptoms and ignoring our experiences is the only option because there’s such a vast element of the unknown.

The Honey Pot, which sells feminine washes, wipes and tampons, shuns using euphemisms for the vagina on marketing channels or product names, working to destigmatise the vaginal care conversation through plant-based products that can be folded into a daily personal care regimen.

Womaness and Stripes are creating products that target perimenopause and menopausal symptoms, which, contrary to how they have been characterised in pop culture, extend far beyond a hot flash.

“Menopause has over 40 symptoms. The drop in oestrogen leads to changes in skin, sleep, bone health, hair and libido. We want to create a total body solution that is accessibly priced and available where she’s shopping,” said Mueller. Since launching direct-to-consumer in 2021, Womaness is now sold at Target, Ulta Beauty and QVC; sales have doubled since 2022.

Much like any beauty brand, a mix of offline and online events has kept customers engaged.

TikTok is the primary channel Okamoto uses to market Gen-Z-focused August’s organic tampons and pads. Stripes, meanwhile, prioritises in-person events, panels and educational forums. In March, actress and founder Naomi Watts hosted a menopause symposium called The New Pause. Womaness recently held an evening of “Menopositivity,” where speakers including Emily Morse of “Sex with Emily” and Dr Suzanne Gilberg-Lenz, OB/GYN and author of Menopause Bootcamp, provided insight into the various symptoms of menopause. The brand also has a private Facebook group called The After Party, where its 4,600 members can talk discreetly about their needs.

“It’s about this woman’s life,” said Mueller. “She has told us she is not defined by menopause, but she wants to live what are the best years of her life without it getting in her way.”