Sanfe: Building a D2C Brand Around Menstrual Health The startup is eyeing on expanding into retail and planning to scale up its product portfolio
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"The key to building a D2C brand is to have a clear objective in mind," said Harry Sehrawat, co-founder, Sanfe.
Building a D2C brand around women's menstrual health was an uphill task. "It is not about how difficult it is to build a D2C brand. It is more about responsibility to focus on the right issue and then address those concerns. One of the major challenges was the inability of women in India to share their experiences in relation to menstruation pain and unhygienic public washrooms. A lot of it has to do with the social stigma around periods and hygiene for women."
Sanfe was founded in Delhi in 2018. It is a new-age feminine intimate hygiene and skincare brand that aims to be an enabler for women to raise their voice and embrace freedom. Its product portfolio includes stand and pee devices, intimate wash, intimate wipes, panty liners, organic sanitary pads, pain relief roll-on, and menstrual cups.
"When we started our journey, we wanted to reach a higher audience which is possible by building a digital-first platform as all the products are made to cater to the Gen-Z and millennial population."
In FY21, Sanfe earned INR 9 crore in revenue and over time it has catered to over 10 million customers with 28 million-plus products. "We have an active community of over five million users, with over 25 percent month-on-month growth."
From a business perspective, the brand has performed well in the last two years. "We have an additional advantage of being digital-first which is working well for us as the customer base is mostly online. In 2021, we forayed into the beauty category under the name Sanfe Beauty. These skincare, haircare, topical skin application products are dermatologically tested and are cruelty-free."
The brand has raised $1 million in a Series A funding round from LetsVenture, mCaffeine CEO Tarun Sharma and a clutch of angel investors including Ajay Garg, Arjun Vaidya and Dhimant Parekh. Last year, we raised $1 million from Shankar Naryanan, Rohit Chanana and Titan Capital, among others. The company plans to use the fresh capital to expand into new markets and introduce new product lines.
The startup is eyeing on expanding into retail and planning to scale up its product portfolio. "We also plan to spend heavily to create brand awareness and increase visibility on marketplaces and other channels."
