Female execs seek to shake up sanitary pad market

From left: Rael's COO Paik Yang-hee, CEO Aness An, CPO Won Bin-na / Courtesy of Rael

By Kim Bo-eun

Counter-intuitively, men have had a dominant presence in manufacturing female-specific products such as sanitary pads.

Perhaps this was one of the reasons women experienced discomfort in using the products.

In the U.S. in particular, the cover sheets of many sanitary pad products are still made of plastic material.

This is why four Korean women in the U.S., who were previously professionals in their respective fields, decided to leave their jobs and start a business manufacturing organic sanitary pads.

Aness An, a former best-selling author and journalist, is one of Rael's CEOs.

Over the course of her former career, she met many influential women, whom she wrote about.

“I wanted to publish content that women needed and wanted to read,” An, 37, said.

“After doing so, I started thinking about venturing into making products and services that women need and want.”

In Korea last August, sanitary pads became an issue due to studies that stated they contained harmful components.

An said in the U.S. this had already been an issue.

This is how Rael came into being. An joined hands with Won Bin-na, 35, a designer she collaborated with when publishing her books. Paik Yang-hee, 38, a professional in management, and Ko Yoon-mi, 38, a former lawyer, joined the team.

The cover sheets of Rael's pads are made from organic cotton produced in Texas. The adhesive used in the pads has been tested by health authorities including Switzerland's SGS, Won said.

In a year since Rael began, its products are now number one on Amazon's organic sanitary pad section, and number three on the general sanitary pad section.

“I think people started buying the products based on the online reviews ― there are around 3,000 reviews on Amazon,” Won said.

Recently, Rael attracted investment from the U.S. retailer Thrive Market and SoftBank Ventures Korea.

Headquartered in LA, Rael opened an office in Seoul two months ago. Rael began online sales in Korea, and soon it will be on the shelves of a major offline retailer.

Through Amazon, Rael is seeking to expand into markets around the world. Its products are available online in Japan, Australia and other countries in North America and Europe.

“The safety issue of sanitary pads is a global issue,” Won said. “Our goal is to shake up the market for sanitary pads, to offer better products for women.”

“Starting with sanitary pads, we hope to expand our line of products to others that can provide comfort to women and enhance their health,” An said.