Have a comfy period

Extra care and comfort is all that is needed during the time of periods for girls and women. Lately the awareness about giving out love and affection during the five days of the month is being implemented. Making this time even more special the two ladies Anju Arora and Chirantana Kar have come up with an innovative concept.

'Period Hub' a platform that has been working on its idea for five years launched their products recently in Hyderabad, at Workafella Business Centre.

Anju and Chirantana share their part of the story of this start-up.

Anju: "We have been working in this space for more than five years, I am a period activist and used to work with women where I used to talk to them about sustainable menstrual practices and encourage them to use cups and cloth pads."

Chirantana: "As an environmental engineer I used to work on sanitation and hygiene, mostly I used to talk to children about hygiene. When it comes to menstrual hygiene the knowledge was very limited, it was just about buying a pad and using it.

There were discomforts around it and people did not want to talk about it. The most surprising part is that of late when I took a session where I invited 17 and 18-years-old young girls to talk about menstruation, they were shy. Then I thought that it is an issue that has to be taken very seriously; we do not see any major changes despite advertisements related to this."

These thoughts led them to come up with solutions that help women to think that period is not a burden or end of life, and address their issuesbut to address these issues.

Sharing about what makes this start-up different from the others Anju shares, "'Period Hub' is not just about using pads, it is more than that. We provide holistic wellness solution, so that they can celebrate their inner self.

While working on the idea of 'Period Hub' we were reading a lot and found the other aspects of periods and we thought that women loose lot of blood and they need iron and nutrition.

They are often told to suffer in silence, so we wanted to create a comfort by taking care of oneself, wanted this to be a hub where a woman can decide over what she wants to do and be."

Mentioning about the kits that they sell the two ladies said, "We call it as a period survival kit, we give one compostable pad , which is made using tapioca base by a group in Tamil Nadu. We were very particular that we should not use plastic pads.

We are also giving a period wash as a part of the kit, which is an intimate wash, a massage oil and one till laddu. Traditionally sesame seed was given during the time of period because this is high in iron. We also have dark chocolate that is high in iron. The whole concept is that women should get to eat stuff that is healthy during their period."

About customers reaching them to buy these products they say, "Right now we are available on Facebook, Instagram and Linkedin, we also have a page called www. Periodhub.com.

we are also working on an explicit site. Physically we will be present at the 'Conscious store' at Banjara Hills very soon. We are also working on getting these products in co-working spaces."

'Period Hub' also allows women to customise their own kits according to their preferences. They also provide products that are needed for women during their monthly cycle.

Surprisingly, men also showed interest in this initiative. The duo plan to showcase these kits in colleges so that young girls get to see and have a feel of it. The price range of these kits starts from Rs 400, which is the basic product kit of our company and we also have other add ons that can go upto Rs 1800.

Talking about the future of this start-up they said, "We will definitely accept orders from all over the country, we have been approached by a couple of international companies. Our agenda is to give people fresh food so we are particular about getting a kitchen particularly in India."