A women-owned maker of organic tampons and pads startup has extended its seed round to raise an additional $2 million.
The MassMutual Catalyst Fund and Boston-based The Impact Seat's women-run investment teams led the investment in TOP, The Organic Project, a startup based in Duxbury. Additional investors included Maine Angels, Dirigo Angel Fund, Warfield Capital and nine others.
TOP said it has raised $3 million total since its founding in 2018, including a $900,000 seed round in early 2020 led by Maroon Venture Partners Fund.
CEO Thyme Sullivan and President Denielle Finkelstein, TOP’s co-founders, described their experience as corporate leaders and mothers in launching the startup. Sullivan spent more than two decades working at companies like Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and Nestlé, and Finkelstein came from the fashion industry with roles at Ann Taylor, Coach, Kate Spade and Talbots. Both of them encountered the same problem when they set out to buy menstrual products for their preteen daughters: While the majority of everyday products in their lives were organic, the tampons and pads available at the store usually were not.
“All the foods we were eating and cleaning products and makeup and beauty products were organic, and no one was talking about feminine care,” Sullivan said. “There was a real problem with the lack of transparency. There weren’t better-performing organic products out there, and there was a big environmental component.”
Finkelstein said the co-founders targeted like-minded angel investors for this extended funding round because VCs invest on average 2.2% of funding in women founders. Barbara Clarke, founder of The Impact Seat, was an early and ardent supporter who connected them with other investors.
“She thought sitting across the table from her were two very seasoned executives who knew how to drive the business and understood how to take this business to the next level,” Finkelstein said. “And that became the overwhelming response from so many of these investors. They were excited to see founders that had the experience to be able to do this smartly and strategically.”
TOP’s tampons and pads are made with 100% organic cotton, free from synthetics, toxins, pesticides, dyes and fragrances, Finkelstein said. The cotton products and the plant-based tampon applicator are biodegradable.
Other organic and reusable period products have come into the market in recent years, but Finkelstein said TOP’s niche is serving young girls and their mothers.
“There were some other brands that were out there, but they’re all speaking to millennials. We are really focused on the Gen X mom and the Gen Z daughter, and really starting when they’re getting their first period,” Finkelstein said. “Eighty percent of girls will use the same period product that their mother gave them for their first period for their lifetime. So, if we can really ensure that generation gets a better product earlier on in their life, that’s the longevity we can have and that lifetime value.”
A 16-pack of TOP’s tampons costs $8.50 and a 10-pack of pads costs $8, according to the company’s site. Customers can also subscribe to receive products every 60 or 90 days at a discounted rate. TOP’s products are also eligible as a tax-free purchase with a Health Savings Account (HSA) or a Flexible Spending Account (FSA).
One of TOP’s core principles is addressing barriers to accessing menstrual care products, also known as “period poverty.” While many people believe period poverty occurs mainly outside the U.S., Finkelstein said people across the country also struggle to access period products, at times relying on unhygienic alternatives.
“This is happening in our backyard. When we started the brand, it was one in five women or girls who did not have access to safe feminine care,” she said. “Covid changed it to one in four. So, we leaned hard into this once Covid hit because we heard loud and clear from a lot of these nonprofit organizations as well as our own community that there’s not feminine care on the shelves.”
For every purchase, TOP donates period products for every purchase. To date, the startup has donated over 800,000 products across the country. TOP has also partnered with companies and philanthropic donors to purchase its menstrual products at discounted pricing, which go to food banks and school districts.
TOP has expanded into retail stores and announced partnerships with online businesses over the past year, Sullivan said. The startup’s products are now sold in 1,500 retailers nationwide, including Sprouts, HEB, Fresh Thyme and Wegmans. TOP recently partnered with the grocery delivery service Imperfect Foods and plans to launch a First Period Gift Box later this month with Target.com.
Sullivan and Finkelstein plan to use these new funds to bolster TOP's marketing initiatives to increase brand awareness and enter partnerships with existing and new companies, Finkelstein said. The startup has five employees, including its two founders, but plans to grow the team in the year ahead.
Sullivan said that in the midst of these changes, the co-founders' mission to empower young girls remains the same. Sometimes it helps to bring some levity to the conversation, which is why Sullivan dons a full-size tampon costume for events such as the Reebok 10K in Boston or the Massachusetts Conference for Women.
“We left our careers, but we’ve not just found our purpose, we’re also having fun while we’re doing this. We really try to bring some levity and do serious things without taking ourselves too seriously,” Sullivan said. “That really made a difference because it’s such a taboo topic and now it’s opening the door to dialogue.”
— Hannah Green is an ACBJ business reporting intern.
