WEV Pivoted: Kind Cup Entrepreneur Launches Innovative Menstrual Product

WEV client Kind Cup shares their WEV Pivoted story: 

Local Entrepreneur Launches Innovative Menstrual Product 

Professor and avocado farmer creates a new menstrual cup using locally sourced materials and businesses to create a new standard for menstrual cup quality, sustainability, and social responsibility. 

Christine Brown, Founder and CEO of Kind Cup

Carpinteria, CA – Sixth generation Carpinterian Christine Brown has launched Kind Cup, a newly designed menstrual cup made from excellent quality materials that are locally sourced and manufactured in California. Brown, an avocado farmer and Professor of American Sign Language, was introduced to menstrual cups nearly 10 years ago. After some research, she discovered there were thousands of individuals who expressed pain, discomfort, or frustration at the partially effective product options, as well as a sometimes long and cumbersome learning curve. To Brown, that could all be remedied through intentional design that put the user’s needs and experiences first. Knowing there had to be a way to create a more comfortable, effective, and user-friendly cup, she set out to redesign a product that hasn’t changed much since first invented in the 1930s.

After completing a course with Women’s Economic Ventures (WEV) in winter of 2016, then later with support from a loan through WEV, Brown officially launched her business in November of 2019. Kind Cup has already gained attention and praise from cup experts in the menstrual product industry, as well as glowing reviews from new and experienced cup users alike for the innovative design and resulting product experience. 

With market and product validation, Kind Cup was about to pursue a seed round of funding to support the National Launch and product line expansion when things came to a grinding halt with Covid. Two of the three revenue sources completely stopped or slowed (although retail partners who were able to remain open saw record sales of Kind Cup, selling more in the short time they’ve carried their products than they’ve ever sold of other menstrual cups they’ve carried!) Kind Cup pivoted from their exclusive local launch to putting all of their focus into their online platform and creative collaborations. And with the national launch and product expansion now back on track with the addition of the highly anticipated Size Small cup and design, they will bring the new product directly to the public in the next few months. 

A sustainable alternative to single-use pads and tampons, Kind Cup offers an innovative, ergonomic and user-friendly design compared to existing menstrual cup brands. Using locally sourced and high-quality materials Kind Cup has placed the health of their users and the earth first. Their goal is to create a new standard for quality, without cutting corners, making the process transparent for customers to trust what they place inside their bodies. 

“It was important to source the highest quality materials and manufacture our cup, carry bag, and packaging locally so that Kind Cup not only went above industry standards in terms of material quality and sustainability, but did so within as small a footprint as possible so that we as a company practiced environmental sustainability. Creating a personal relationship with all the local businesses we work with and who align with our values was important to us so that they can carry out and support our goals,” said Brown. 

Simultaneous with their November launch, Kind Cup partnered with Direct Relief, a Goleta-based humanitarian aid organization whose goal is to improve the health and lives of people affected by poverty or emergencies worldwide. Kind Cup’s core philosophy is that everyone deserves access to healthy and reliable period products. 

“Menstrual justice is social justice,” is printed on the product box. One of the goals Kind Cup has through their Kind Impact is to continue to increase their non-profit partnerships as they continue to grow as a company. With the heightened awareness of the critical and long overdue need for systemic change within our society, and the world, Brown states that, “Periods are inherently intersectional. Once we see the movement reflect that reality, transformation in this space will be inevitable.” 

Kind Cup can be found locally at Pura Luna Apothecary, Pacific Health Foods, Heritage Goods and Supply and Rainbow Bridge in Ojai, as well as online at Kind Cup. 

For interview requests and more information please contact Christine Brown at info@kindcup.com. 

About Kind Cup
Kind Cup is revolutionizing the menstrual cup industry with an innovative design aimed at comfort, functionality, sustainability, and generosity. Kind Cup launched from Carpinteria, Ca in November 2019 and exclusively partners with manufacturing companies in California to ensure the highest quality, locally-sourced, and sustainable materials are used in the production of each cup. Kind Cup is dedicated to its core philosophy that everyone deserves access to healthy and reliable menstrual products and continues to donate cups and partner with nonprofits to achieve this goal. We urge you to be kind to your body, the earth, and others. To learn more visit https://www.kindcup.com.