Semaine Health, an Atlanta-based health supplement startup for womxn's health, has hit the shelves at Urban Outfitters stores across the country.
The partnership with the clothing, home and beauty retailer for teens and young adults came just a few months after twin founders Lauren Lee-Crane and Catherine Lee released their product to the public in the U.S.
Semaine is a plant-based supplement with all natural anti-inflammatory ingredients and is designed for period relief. Each bottle contains a 7-day supply of vegan pills free of gluten, soy, caffeine, sweeteners and synthetic fillers to help with bloating, cramping and low energy during a woman's menstrual cycle. Lee-Crane and Lee developed the supplement and began their startup after the two were searching for natural remedies to treat endometriosis pain.
Though the partnership is a major step for the startup, Lee-Crane said 2020 hasn't been without its faults.
"Whew! What a year! Well, without realizing it of course, we launched Semaine right as Covid was making its way to the States," she said. "So our launch coincided with the beginning of quarantine. And even though that sounds like a pretty scary time to start a business, we were lucky that we are a D2C company and everyone was still shopping online. On top of that, focusing on health and wellness during Covid has resonated with our audience -- we know so many people whose period pain was worse because of the stress of Covid and quarantine."
Lee said on the personal side, it's been difficult to see friends and family hurting financially, physically and emotionally.
"Lauren and I have been lucky because, even with a pre-existing condition (endometriosis), we've both been healthy so far and feel so grateful for that," she said. "Starting a business is a stressful thing, coupled with a global pandemic there's definitely been additional stress, but hunkering down and spending time at home meant we could really focus on our customers and get to know them digitally as well as possible. Without quarantine we would have had a multipronged approach from the get go and had our irons in lots of fires. The focus really helped us hone in on what our consumers appreciated about Semaine and what else they were interested in."
Over the summer, Lee said the plan was to keep their heads down and work on Semaine's digital marketing strategy by adding an affiliate program and loyalty program for users. Instead, the duo struck luck and had a few buyers from nationwide chains reach out to them, she said.
"We hadn't anticipated that, but since then, have shifted our strategy so that we can go into large brick-and-mortar spaces by 2021," she said.
One of those retailers happened to be Urban Outfitters, Lee-Crane said.
"A buyer from UO reached out to us early this summer about potentially selling with them for the holidays," she said. "We were thrilled! We love how UO champions small, new brands especially in the wellness space. As we grow, we're hoping to collaborate even more with Urban and have a presence in their brick-and-mortar spaces as well."
While the sisters hadn't planned on approaching large retailers like UO until their second year in business, Lee-Crane said the new partnership was a dream come true nearly a year sooner than planned.
"And we're not just excited about the brand recognition but also the fact that Semaine can reach more customers," she said. "We know that more than 80% of womxn will experience painful periods in their lifetime. We hope that all womxn can have access to Semaine so that they don't have to experience that pain or feel isolated by that pain. Accessibility is one of our biggest goals for 2021 -- to make sure Semaine is less expensive and on more shelves. It's not just a product for the wealthy wellness world."
Lee-Crane said the most exciting connection the sisters have made since their journey as founders began is with a fellow Atlanta-based CPG company: The Honey Pot Co. The Honey Pot founders were able to share their experiences after the feminine hygiene startup landed a spot on Target shelves earlier this year.
"Beatrice Dixon and her co-founder Sy Gray, have been a huge inspiration to us from the get go," she said. "And they are helping advise us as we move into the retail space -- an area they have completely excelled at. We still can't believe we get to learn from such a great Femcare brand."
Lee-Crane said Semaine is currently in negotiations with another large retail chain to bring their product to more stores by 2021. The company also plans to expand their team by two new employees by the end of the year.
"In preparation for that, we'll be doing our first fundraising round," she said. "As we grow, we're looking at more sustainable packaging options that are cost effective, so we can continue to make Semaine available to a broader audience. We are also building our Medical and Science Advisory board so that we can provide even more education and support around womxn's menstrual health on our different platforms."
When asked how the healthy living, natural supplement company advises dealing with stress and anxiety related to Covid-19, Lee said many of their customers with period pain have higher numbers of "inflammatory markers" in the body and chronic stress is a major contributor to inflammation.
"We are always thinking about ways to lower our inflammatory levels: whether that's consistent exercise (it doesn't have to be high intensity -- I just dance around my house for 30 minutes a day) or making sure you are eating more leafy greens and less processed foods," she said. "That said, none of these healthy suggestions should cause you more stress. If you feel like Covid and the political climate is enough stress for you now, treat yourself with grace and move your body when you can and sneak in good veggies when you can. Rest when your body needs rest. We do not need to be superhuman when we come out of this. You are doing the best you can to get through this and that is more than enough."
