Period unhappy & PMS blues? Wellness startup &Me has some answers for you

Next time you feel the lows of mood swings knock you out when your menstrual cycle is just round the corner, try reaching out for a bar of ‘period chocolates’ that boast of lifting up your energies and removing fatigue.

If that sounds too good to be true, think again. Sample this: 1 in 5 women in India are known to suffer from Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), a hormonal disorder; as many as 3 out of 4 women face Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) and an overwhelming 50% lack adequate calcium and iron intake.

Such statistics were sufficient to compel 30 something IITians Ankur Goyal and Sheta Mittal to brainstorm on a product that could exclusively cater to women’s health in the country. Goyal, in fact, was keen to do something when he saw his mother suffer from Osteoporosis, an ailment that reduces bone density, when she visited him in 2015 for his Stanford Business School graduation.


Together the duo founded food and beverage startup, &Me, in 2017 to fix the obvious and inherent gap prevalent in the women’s health segment. “A widespread need, lack of healthy solutions and growing awareness excited us to make a dent in women’s health and wellness space. The overall health and wellness segment is one of the fastest growing consumer categories at above 18% CAGR, with Indian women’s wellness space alone pegged at $18bn in 2020,” says Sheta Mittal, Co-Founder, &Me.

What the fuss is all about
In less than a year of product launch, the brand claims that they grew to serve over one lakh consumers and had an online engaged community of 90,000 followers. Seed funded in September 2017, &Me received the second round of funding in February 2019 jointly from Matrix Partners and Sauce.vc.

So what exactly is the hullabaloo all about? The startup plans to be a differentiator in the space by its offerings of PMS and PCOS health drinks that can alleviate the stress points experienced by women at this time. “Women’s health has a strong latent market need in India. 50% of the world’s population are women who go through unique life stages, which puts unique needs on the body. For instance, 75% of women experience severe premenstrual discomfort symptoms every month, over 80% suffer from hair fall and skin acne post pregnancy. The hormonal changes affect women differently, but the topic being taboo is not discussed much,” avers Mittal.

Each of their drinks is packed with five Ayurvedic super herbs, 12 vitamins and minerals and 2-4 fruits and vegetables. Apart from solving functional needs, each 200ml bottle supplies 30% of women’s daily micronutrient requirements and keeps the taste buds intact too. “Each of the ingredients is well researched and we work with experts to finalise the formulation. We then work on taste to ensure that even with no preservatives, no added sugar, artificial flavours or colour, each of the product rates ‘very good’ on mass sensory taste tests,” she adds.

Their current portfolio includes six health drinks for women that can help during the symptoms of cramps, bloating and mood swings. They also have a beauty range focusing on healthy hair and skin as well as a drink for recurring Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) among women. Earlier in October, the company launched their sugar free dark chocolates with herbs and micronutrients tailored for period comfort. “Our new product ideas come from listening to consumers. Usually they reach out to us about other problems we could solve. PCOS and UTI were frequent queries. That's how we launched our PCOS and UTI drinks,” reasons Mittal.

Demand in a market like India
During their research, the founders saw that Indian women have an aversion to pill and powder-based solutions due to taste and synthetic attributes. “The awareness and acceptance of pills in India is very low due to chemicals present in them. Women would rather have curd, but that doesn’t quite fulfill their nutritional requirements. We packed in Ayurveda and nutrition science into one for a more well rounded solution,” she recalls.

The first launch of the products offline, however, saw mixed traction. Mittal recalls that women were, in fact, glancing past it. They tried varied strategies such as expanding stores, enhanced retail marketing and even a sales team overhaul. Finally, in April 2019, they experimented with online and starting from their first ad post, their business saw a growth of 30-40% every month. “Building the awareness online has helped drive offline sales for a new category in the market that earlier women weren’t expecting to find in the store and we were also getting overshadowed by the larger brands. When women see the ad, they get intrigued because the need is high. They are happy to try because an alternate doesn't exist,” shrugs Mittal.

Moreover, she feels, digital unlocks the opportunity for them in a country like India, where women’s health discussions are still not the norm. Incidentally, more than 50% of their product sales come from outside the top 10 cities.

Next wave of growth
In the next three years, the company will be focused on driving digital growth on the website and marketplaces, expand physical presence geographically in key cities and launch new products designed for women’s health. They aim to build a Rs 100 crore brand by 2022 on the back of ecommerce driven growth, offline presence in more cities and being a part of bigger retail chains.

Currently, the company enjoys a 30% month-on-month repeat clientele, with their PCOS drinks being a fast seller off the shelves. The recently introduced period chocolates too are fast finding a foothold in the market.

Mittal says that smartphones, ecommerce and targeted advertising is, in fact, making them reach out to their core consumers in a far easier and direct way now. Each 200ml bottle retails at Rs 80 and their most popular monthly packs of 30 bottles are priced at Rs 2400.

Going forward, the brand has its agenda concretely chalked out. “We want to be every woman’s go-to health brand across menstrual health, beauty and fitness from the age bracket of 10 to 60 - that is our core vision and we are on track to achieve that,” adds Mittal.