This year, Boston entrepreneur Katie Diasti thinks Valentine’s Day should be about self-love. So, she and her team at period care startup Viv have decided to roll out a special “V Day box” to let customers show themselves a little love.
“Valentine’s Day can be stressful and discouraging for a lot of young women, especially those not currently in romantic relationships,” Diasti told Built In via email. “Viv is rewriting what love truly means on V Day & wants to remind our community and customers of the importance of having self love and practicing self care.”
Through a collaboration with three other women-owned brands, Viv’s V Day box is chock-full of goodies that promote what Diasti calls the “self care while on your period moment,” including the Pure Sol charcoal and hydrogel under-eye mask, De Lune supplements to relieve period-related cramping and discomfort, and Behave pineapple candies. Some Viv-branded bamboo pads and tampons, as well as its silk sleep mask and scrunchies, are in there, too.
Viv uses organic bamboo fiber, corn fiber and biodegradable plastic to make all of its pads, liners and tampons. It also offers a bamboo menstrual cup for folks who are looking for reusable products.
The idea for the startup came about when Diasti and her co-founders Anna Sise and Kelly Donohue learned just how much plastic waste was actually produced in traditional period care products. According to Diasti, one typical menstrual pad is the equivalent of about four plastic bags, taking as long as 800 years to break down. The founders also wanted to build a brand targeted specifically at their peers — Gen Z and younger millennials — that served as a way to educate and empower people who menstruate, too.
Viv is just one of a handful of startups looking to disrupt the multi-million dollar feminine care industry, including tampon company LOLA and Jessica Alba’s Honest Company, which announced it was going public last April. While still young, Diasti says Viv has been “growing tremendously” as a D2C brand over the past year, and will be expanding into more channels in 2022.
