NUA, MAKING THE PERIOD JOURNEY SIMPLE – RAISES $7.1 MN IN ITS PRE-SERIES B ROUND LED BY LIGHTBOX VENTURES & DEEPIKA PADUKONE.

The feminine hygiene & grooming market has largely remained untouched and the wellness woes of women go largely unnoticed in the confines of the “beauty” realm. The taboo around periods that still thrives in large parts of the society, has made talking about the importance of maintaining and promoting menstrual wellness & hygiene a difficult one. Understanding this, Ravi Ramachandran, an NIT Trichy graduate & MBA from Oxford founded Nua, a women’s wellness D2C brand in 2017. The feminine care startup based in Mumbai offers Nua products such as cotton pads, menstrual cups, panty liners, cramp comfort kits, period nutrition drinks, foaming intimate wash & intimate care-curated kits.

A feature that sets Nua apart from its competitors is allowing the users to build a customized package to suit your unique period flow. Nua follows a subscription-based model which provides door-to-door delivery of various product offerings at their chosen frequency. With an aim to create a holistic solution of customizable safe products & a safe space where women can share their stories and experiences. Having seen a 6x growth in the year before the pandemic, Nua has a community of over 4 lakh members with over 2.5 lakh loyal consumers. Keeping the objective of promoting easier access to menstrual hygiene as their core focus, the brand has launched two social initiatives named Project Prerna. With the pandemic having a devastating effect on our healthcare system & low-income individuals, and Nua in 2020, supported 30,000 women in low-income neighborhoods with menstrual hygiene kits. With their second initiative in 2021, Nua joined hands with the Rotary Club of Bombay and Pride NGO to help over 15,000 women frontline workers, including doctors, nurses, and healthcare support staff, supplying them with menstrual & personal hygiene products. Keeping Project Prerna an ongoing effort, Nua plans to make the next distribution round in Karnataka & conduct Menstrual Hygiene workshops partnered with CRY. 

On June 28th, 2021, the Mumbai-based startup raised $7.1 Million in its Pre-Series B round led by Lightbox Ventures & Deepika Padukone. The round also saw participation from Kae Capital, & Vindi Singh Banga, former president (Global Foods, Home & Personal Care) at Unilever, and Kamini Banga of the Banga family office. Speaking on the investment, Prashant Mehta, Partner at Lightbox said, “Since inception, Nua has displayed a deep understanding of women’s evolving needs for wellness. They’ve pioneered the subscription model for menstrual products in India that lends itself perfectly to this category. This was possible due to the strong community they’ve built on trust, giving consumers a deeper connection with the brand. We are confident of the team’s approach and capabilities to change this category for the better.” Having previously raised $4 Million in 2019 from Lightbox Ventures & Kae Capital, and now with the involvement of well-known celebrity Deepika Padukone, who plans to create new wellness solutions & work closely with the brand, Nua can strengthen its foothold in the feminine hygiene management market. 

Find out more about their products here and order your own customized kit, delivered to your doorstep.