Ohne — for empowering ‘bleeding babes’
It began with two university friends, a night out, the need for a sanitary pad and one big ‘what the !?’ moment.
Co-founder Nikki shares: ‘We were at Leah’s one evening, I had my period and was unprepared, so I went into the bathroom and found a pad. I opened it up and there were purple hearts on the actual pad’. Nikki pauses here and her face says it all, ‘I was just like… why do we accept this? With everything else we buy, we can choose sustainable, ethical, mission-driven brands that actually suit something of our personalities… and it’s such an intimate thing that we use every single month: why is there no choice?’.
The result of that moment and the conversations that followed it? Ohne.
Like any great challenger Ohne has a really clear view of the business it is in and it’s not ‘period products’. Whether it’s a monthly, tailorable period product subscription, CBD period pain relief or hormone balancers, Ohne is challenging the way you perceive and experience your cycle. Designed by friends ‘for friends’ its role is to empower you to own your cycle and so far it has helped 50,000 ‘bleeding babes’ do just that.
Founded in 2018 by Leah Remfry-Peploe and Nikki Michelsen, it’s certainly one to watch. The company shipped over 1 million organic tampons across the UK in 2020, launched a successful range of ‘cycle care’ products, doubled their Instagram following and engagement from March, grew revenues by 240%, launched fully biodegradable period pads (packaging included) and donated 50,000 tampons to the NHS through a highly successful crowdfunding campaign.
Ohne’s currency is conversation, and in a market that’s already rather crowded, it’s the way the brand enters and frames the conversation that makes all the difference. Co-Founder Nikki shares, ‘You’ll have around 540 cycles in your life, so it’s about your period, your hormones, and everything that happens in between. We want bleeding babes to really understand what’s going on with cells and their cycles every single month and that’s quite powerful. Conversations with a brand about these things were just not happening before. We are bold, sassy, and we create an atmosphere that makes women and people that bleed want to learn about their bodies, not be ashamed to talk about discharge or the type of period blood they have’.
And powerful it is. Ohne is a semiotician and designer’s dream, not just an investor’s. With all design delivered in-house, based on a deep belief in their mission and identity (‘We were creating the brand for us, for our friends and our siblings’) everything Ohne creates feels sassy, deeply fabulous, and dare I say it – a new kind of sexy.
From Ohne’s use of bodies of all sizes, colours and contexts (their imagery leaves even Fenty wanting), to their red and orange branding, they have broken through the ‘sea of sameness’ at every level of execution.
With more innovation on the horizon and the direct to consumer structural shifts from 2020 set to stay, for anyone looking for a challenger in the personal health category, keep your eyes firmly on Ohne.