Menstrual cups (sometimes known as “moon cups”) are already around since the thirtiesand it’s been a damn long time since we’ve seen much innovation in that category. em just closed a $1 million funding round to add some smarts. The company is adding an applicator and an app tracking feature to keep an eye on things.
We spoke to the company’s founder to learn more about where she sees the market going in the near future.
“What drives me is the firm belief that information about your body can make a life-changing difference to your health outcomes. That’s why what we do at Emm is important: we focus on health with our detection platform and we also focus on quality of life with product performance. And that combination of innovation in technology with design is magical,” said Emm founder and CEO Jenny Button in an interview with londonbusinessblog.com. “My vision for the next generation of consumer health technology makes me the perfect person to lead Emm, and it means my team (who help bring that vision to life) and I are working to make a meaningful impact on what is one of the most important industries in the world.”
The Emm and its companion app. Image Credits: em.
The £891,000 ($1.1 million) round came from a mix of angel groups and government organization Innovate UK. The aim of the round is to hire the core team and work towards broader market validation. The company is currently in a beta testing phase and is planning a product launch next year. The company has spent the past two years developing and testing its product.
Emm is not the first smart menstrual cup on the market. in particular Looncup ventured into the market with a Kickstarter project back in 2015, which grossed $160,000 or so, and was slated to ship its products in 2016. the lender’s commentit seems the product was never shipped, and the latest update from the Looncup team was that the company received FDA approval in 2019. Looncup did not respond to a request for comment for this article.
“Our ultimate goal is to improve individual and collective health through new and unique biodata. And if all goes according to plan, consumers will have access to tools that don’t currently exist that provide a unique insight into how their bodies work and their state of health,” explains Button. “This means they can better manage their health care with this next generation of wearable technology.”
Like many companies, the company has had some bumps in recent years, largely due to supply chain disruptions.
“My favorite thing about working on Emm is working with a brilliant team of designers, researchers, engineers and scientists who are equally passionate and committed to improving health outcomes,” says Button.