For new personal care brand Hempress Hygienics, hemp is the fiber of the future.
The brand, which launches Tuesday with menstrual and personal care products, was founded by Marilyn Austin and Mckenna Avery, who began working on the brand while they were college students in 2019.
“I was attending Oregon State University at the time where we had a Hemp Innovation Center, and it was the same year hemp was legalized in 2019, so there was a lot of research and conversation happening on campus about all the benefits of hemp, which really piqued my interest,” said Austin. “[We] thought it would be a really amazing fiber to utilize in a commercial setting.”
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By using hemp, the brand is aiming to create more sustainable offerings within the disposable product space.
“Hemp uses five times less water and uses three times less land than conventional cotton,” Avery told WWD. “Honestly, farmers don’t even need to water it at all. It grows like a weed.”
Furthermore, in terms of efficacy and wearability compared to traditional menstrual care products made from cotton, hemp is a commensurate alternative, if not better, according to the brand.
“It absorbs up to two times more liquids. It’s four times more durable and very versatile. In that sense when you’re wearing it, it feels less like a diaper and it’s more lightweight, breathable,” said Avery. “Then antimicrobial properties — so it doesn’t need any pesticides or herbicides to grow. It also limits and restricts the bacterial growth of E. coli and staph which often lead to a lot of cases of vaginitis or vaginosis for women.”
While the brand’s menstrual care products — which include liners, $7, and pads for day and night, $10 — are at the core of the business, it is also launching with personal care offerings, including cosmetic pads, $5, and swabs, $5. With the initial launch and future product expansion, which will include hemp tampons set to launch next year, the team is focused on disposable products.
“It’s hard to change consumer behavior. Specifically in the United States, we’re very used to the convenience culture of disposable products, and so we really see personal care is a great place for us to start because we’re women. We have our period and every month we use these products, but I think that there is a lot of opportunity for expansion,” said Austin.
While the organic personal care space is becoming increasingly crowded, Austin believes Hempress’ total use of hemp will be a key differentiator.
“The organic space is almost completely just an organic top sheet, so the rest of the products usually still include synthetic materials and aren’t necessarily biodegradable. That’s something that was really important for us to make sure the whole product was natural-based, plant-based material that would biodegrade,” she said, noting that the products are developed in the European Union, where regulatory standards are higher than the United States.
Although the brand is targeting younger consumers, Austin and Avery see opportunities to reach all ages, as they are doubling down on hemp education through blog posts on their website and content across social media platforms.
“The younger generation is easier to target being they’re more comfortable with cannabis and hemp products in general,” Austin said. “We have so much interest from all age ranges and anybody that uses period care or obviously our personal care… We try to keep it open to sustainably and socially conscious individuals, usually in locations that are open to the legalization and use of cannabis.”
The brand is now available direct-to-consumer, as well as on Amazon, Walmart marketplace and at natural grocery retailers including Lazy Acres Natural Market and Central Market with plans to expand with additional retailers in the future. Hempress is expected to amass $1 million in first-year retail sales, according to industry sources.