Thinx Case

For the exclusive use of P. Burkova, 2023.
9-720-443
REV: NOVEMBER 6, 2020
REMBRAND KONING
ELIE OFEK
NICOLE TEMPEST KELLER
Thinx, Inc. - Breaking Barriers in Feminine Care

Maria Molland, CEO of Thinx, Inc., opened her laptop in October 2019, bracing herself for the flurry
of emails she was expecting the morning after the launch of Thinx’s first national TV ad campaign,
MENstruation. Founded in 2014, Thinx was a New York-based company that made underwear that
could be worn during menstruation as a substitute for, or a supplement to, traditional menstruation
hygiene products. The company also made underwear that could be worn for bladder leaks. The
concept of “period proof” and “pee-proof” underwear was hailed by some as a welcome innovation in
the feminine care market, which had seen virtually no innovation in over half a century. However, the
company faced major hurdles changing menstruation care habits that were passed from one generation
to the next, while also contending with the taboo against discussion of the topic. The startup was also
competing against deep-pocketed incumbents, including Procter & Gamble and Johnson & Johnson.
From its inception, Thinx had taken a provocative approach to building brand awareness. A 2015
New York subway ad campaign was considered so suggestive that the Metropolitan Transit Authority
(MTA) initially rejected the ads. However after a public outcry, the ads were allowed to run. The edgy
approach worked, and Thinx’s sales took off, especially with Millennial women in coastal, urban
locations. However, in March 2017 the startup faced a crisis after the founder resigned amid allegations
of sexual misconduct and unfair human resource practices at the company.
In July 2017 Molland was hired as CEO. After spending her first year refining the company’s
internal business practices, she shifted her focus towards growing the startup beyond a niche player.
She launched a new product line for teens and expanded distribution from D2C to high end retailers
in the U.S. and Europe. Yet Molland knew she needed to do more to grow the company from $50
million in revenue in 2018 to her goal of $500 million within 5 to 8 years. After closing a $25 million
series A round of funding in 2019, she decided to launch the MENstruation national ad campaign
which turned the gender tables by presenting an imaginary world where men had periods.
Molland was now grappling with the decision of whether to expand distribution into mass retail,
including Target and Amazon. The existing Thinx product was too expensive for mass retail, and yet
the company could not sacrifice performance (absorption) in developing a cheaper line. She also
considered if a lower-priced product would cannibalize the existing higher priced product sold online
and in high end retailers like Nordstrom. Since mass retailers made purchase decisions at least 9
months in advance, Molland had to decide soon on whether and how to pursue the mass retail channel.
Professors Rembrand Koning and Elie Ofek and Senior Researcher Nicole Tempest Keller (California Research Center) prepared this case. It was
reviewed and approved before publication by a company designate. Funding for the development of this case was provided by Harvard Business
School and not by the company. HBS cases are developed solely as the basis for class discussion. Cases are not intended to serve as endorsements,
sources of primary data, or illustrations of effective or ineffective management.
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This document is authorized for use only by Polina Burkova in MSF 2023 taught by Petra Paasonen, Aalto University from Jan 2023 to Feb 2023.
720-443 Thinx, Inc. - Breaking Barriers in Feminine Care
Background on the Feminine Hygiene Market

Approximately 52% of the global female population was of reproductive age (between 15 to 45
years) and thus menstruating monthly. 1 The feminine hygiene market, which comprised sanitary pads,
tampons, menstrual cups, and vaginal health products, was a $30 billion global market, with a
projected annual growth rate of 6.8% through 2023. 2 The largest geographic markets included the Asia
Pacific region ($14.5 billion), Europe ($6.7 billion), and the U.S. ($4.3 billion.) Latin America, Africa,
and the Middle East were still in the early stages of development. The Asia Pacific region was projected
to grow fastest due to growing awareness of feminine hygiene needs, an increasing number of women
participating in the workforce, and rising per capita incomes. 3 Of the array of menstrual hygiene
products, sanitary pads were the most popular globally with estimated sales of $21 billion in 2018, and
were the preferred product in many countries, including China, India, and Australia. 4, 5 Tampons were
the next most popular product with sales of $5 billion in 2018, but only had appeal in Western
countries. 6 Menstrual cups had minimal awareness, with global sales of just over $1 billion. 7
The customer buying process for traditional feminine care products could be characterized as a
habitual purchase. Brand and product preference were usually passed down from mothers to
daughters, and the first product used was typically the one women stuck with  historically there was
very little switching between brands. However, increased awareness about the components in
traditional products (chemicals, dyes, preservatives, fragrances, etc.) in addition to concerns about the
environmental impact of disposing of menstrual products, were considerations that were leading more
women to switch to natural and sustainable options. Menstrual pads and tampons used plastic as a
core component, which took an estimated 500 years to decompose. 8
The average monthly menstrual cycle ran 7 days with some days of lighter flow at the outset and
the end, and several days of heavier flow in the middle. Tampon consumers used on average 4 to 5
tampons per day during their monthly cycle. Tampons were typically sold in boxes of 34 or 36 units at
a price of $6.99 per box. 9 Pad wearers used on average 15 pads per cycle. Pads came in boxes of 32 to
36 units and sold for an average price of $6.99 per box depending on pad size and features. 10 Thinx
estimated that 98% of traditional menstrual care products were purchased in mass retail stores (e.g.,
Target, Walmart). 11 Often the need for these products was immediate, leading to last minute purchases.
Taboo
The feminine hygiene market faced challenges related to global stigma surrounding the topic of
menstruation. The stigma dated back centuries, stemming from superstitions and narratives that
menstruating women were impure. The taboo lived on today, and was especially visible in Africa and
India, leading to major challenges for young girls in school who lacked access to feminine hygiene
products and faced discrimination during their periods. As a result, girls were often forced to stay
home from school during their menstrual cycle, missing 10 to 20% of school days. 12 UNICEF estimated
that approximately 1 in 10 girls in Africa missed school because of their periods, and in India it was
estimated that 1 in 5 girls dropped out of school after getting their periods. 13
The topic of menstruation equity had recently gained global attention. A documentary that explored
the taboo of menstruation in India, titled Period. End of Sentence, won an Oscar in 2019 for Documentary,
Short Subject. 14 And women’s advocacy groups in the U.S. were gaining traction in their fight against
the “tampon tax,” which referred to a state sales tax on menstrual products. Critics of the tax, levied in
35 states, argued that menstrual care products should be treated like groceries and medical supplies
that were tax exempt because they were classified as necessities. 15 Adding to their argument, men’s
erectile dysfunction drugs like Viagra were classified as a necessity and not subject to taxes.
Thinx, Inc. - Breaking Barriers in Feminine Care 720-443
Lack of Innovation in Feminine Hygiene

The menstrual taboo had contributed to a lack of innovation. During WWI, a small Wisconsin paper
company at the time, Kimberly-Clark, won a contract to use its cellucotton material as a wound
dressing. When the war ended, the company was left with a surplus and learned that French nurses
had been using the product as a sanitary pad  an idea Kimberly-Clark decided to commercialize. 16
The introduction of the Kotex disposable napkin in the U.S. by Kimberly-Clark in 1921 kickstarted the
feminine hygiene market. Tampons  which were originally used for deep wound care  were
patented for menstrual use in 1931. The original design, with the cardboard applicator, became the
Tampax brand, and Proctor & Gamble acquired the parent company, Tambrands, in 1997. The reusable
menstrual cup was patented in the 1930s, and while it offered a cheaper and more eco-friendly
alternative to disposable products, it failed to gain traction due to a lack of awareness and user concerns
about coming into contact with bodily fluids. The only notable innovation in pads or tampons since
their introduction came in the 1970s when Playtex introduced the plastic applicator to replace the
cardboard applicator. Further highlighting the taboo around menstruation, it was not until 1972 that
menstrual products could be advertised on American television. 17 Most TV networks still banned
showing feminine hygiene products in use.
The Rise of FemTech

The Female Technology (FemTech) industry, a name coined in 2016, was comprised of companies
focused on digital and standard products for women’s health, including menstrual care, pregnancy
and child birth, fertility management, sexual health, and menopause. After attracting only $62 million
in venture capital in 2012, the sector was poised to secure nearly $1 billion in funding in 2019, driven
in part by an increasing number of female partners in VC firms. 18 Several startups in the FemTech space
focused on menstrual care, starting to fill the void in innovation. These companies were addressing
three key issues: 1) 55% of women expressed concerns about how chemicals in sanitary protection
could affect their health, 2) concerns about sustainability, given that the average woman used 11,000
tampons in her lifetime and it took centuries for a tampon or a pad to decompose, and 3) 61.3 million
women in the U.S. used sanitary pads despite the fact that pads were viewed as lacking comfort. 19
Dominant Incumbents
The new startups faced stiff competition from the major industry incumbents. Procter & Gamble
(P&G), which owned the Always and Tampax brands, dominated the industry with a 25% global share,
and almost a 50% share in the U.S. and U.K. 20 In addition, P&G had an estimated 10% share of the adult
incontinence market with its Always Discreet brand. Kimberly-Clark owned the Kotex and Depend
brands. Depend, a disposable underwear product, was the dominant brand in the adult incontinence
market with over 50% market share in the U.S. 21 Edgewell Personal Care marketed products under the
Playtex brand, and within North America it marketed products under the Stayfree, Carefree, and o.b.
brands. Johnson & Johnson owned the Carefree, Stayfree, and o.b. brands outside of North America.
Unicharm, a Japanese multinational company, owned the SOFY and Eldy brands. Profit margins in the
industry were estimated at 50%. 22 With deep pockets, these companies could invest heavily in
advertising and partnerships.
History of Thinx
Thinx was founded in 2011 by Miki Agrawal, Radha Agrawal (Miki’s twin sister), and Antonia
Dunbar. Miki Agrawal later took on the role of CEO. A native Canadian with mixed Japanese and
Indian ancestry, Miki Agrawal graduated from Cornell University and initially pursued a career in
investment banking. However, the September 11 terrorist attacks caused Agrawal to step back and
reassess her life goals. She came up with the idea for period underwear in 2005 after seeing how little
innovation there had been in the menstrual products category.
Agrawal raised $65,000 in a 2013 Kickstarter campaign to develop her underwear design. 23 The
washable, reusable Thinx underwear used a four-layer technology that made the product absorbent,
antimicrobial, odor-fighting, and resistant to leaks and stains (See Exhibit 1a and 1b). They were
designed to substitute traditional disposable feminine care products. Agrawal hired young, passionate,
and progressively-minded people to work at Thinx  mostly women. Early employees cared deeply
about Thinx’s support of gender equality, including LGBTQ rights. The company used transgender
models in its early ads and was careful about not using gendered language internally or externally.
Thinx raised an additional $1.4 million in 2015 from its manufacturer in Sri Lanka, MAS Holdings.
The capital was used in part to launch a new product line, Icon (later renamed Speax), which was “pee
proof” underwear for women with mild to moderate bladder leaks. The market represented a huge
untapped opportunity  it was estimated that 1 in 3 women, mainly over 45 years old, faced
incontinence issues, and many resorted to wearing a sanitary pad daily for protection. Icon was
designed to be a more comfortable everyday alternative.
The capital raised also was used to launch a provocative ad campaign in 2015 in the New York City
subway, designed to drive brand awareness among the 5.7 million annual subway users. The ads
featured women in non-sexualized poses wearing full-coverage underwear. However, the ad came
under scrutiny for its use of the word “period” in the slogan, “Underwear for Women with Periods,”
and the use of egg and grapefruit imagery to symbolize women’s reproductive organs. The
Metropolitan Transit Agency (MTA) initially rejected the ads, leading to a public backlash which
blamed the MTA for “period shaming.” 24 Facing intense pressure, the MTA eventually ran the ads (See
Exhibit 2). The notoriety put Thinx on the map and sales took off. TIME magazine named Thinx period
proof underwear as one of the best inventions of 2015. 25 The company’s ability to tap into a number of
favorable trends  a wave of new feminism, the D2C business model, and female founders 
contributed to its early success.
However, just two years later, Thinx faced a crisis when Agrawal was accused of sexual harassment
by a former employee and allegations of systemic, anti-women human resource practices surfaced.
Amid the media frenzy, Agrawal resigned as CEO in March 2017, leaving the company leaderless.
Maria Molland Takes Over As CEO

Molland received a bachelor’s degree in economics from Northwestern University and an MBA
from Harvard Business School. She went on to serve in a number of strategic and operating roles,
including Director of Business Development at Yahoo!, General Manager at MarketWatch and Barron’s
Online, Chief European Officer at fab.com, and advisor to the CEO at eBay.
After spending five years undergoing IVF treatments to conceive her first child, Molland became
interested in companies focused on women’s reproductive health. She placed Thinx on her short list of
compelling companies, and she had been contacted by the company’s investors in early 2017 to discuss
joining the startup. While she was intrigued, she was not quite ready for the move.
When news of Agrawal’s departure from Thinx broke, Molland was at home with her newborn.
She recounted: “I was completely shocked. Can you imagine? I didn’t want to touch this with a 10-foot
pole.” 26 Yet the board, mostly based in Sri Lanka, convinced Molland to meet with the Thinx leadership
team in New York City. She was impressed by what she learned: “The unit economics were great. The
company was profitable. I loved that the product had excellent customer reviews. The team was just
amazing  completely passionate about the mission.” Molland signed on as CEO in July 2017.
Molland’s Early Moves

Molland’s first task was to rebuild the company’s HR infrastructure and processes. Molland
“rightsized” employee salaries to align with industry benchmarks and instituted more generous HR
policies, including a child-care stipend and the addition of four weeks to the family leave policy for a
total of 12 weeks. 27 She then shifted her focus to instituting performance management systems and
tools, including a clear reward and recognition program and instituting an Objectives and Key Results
(OKR) goal system. While some employees bristled at the perceived “bureaucracy” of the new systems,
others welcomed the more professional, transparent approach and believed it would help them grow.
Chantelle Mowbray was brought in as VP of People Ops to implement many of these changes and
help rebuild the culture. Mowbray commented:
The first thing I found was a complete lack of HR infrastructure, meaning performance
management tools, systems, things to help us do our job. Second, the culture was in an
interesting place. We had grown up as a scrappy startup organization. Yet with Maria
coming in, we were really trying to professionalize the business. And that can be such a
dirty word at a startup. People can feel like, ‘Oh, you’re corporate America. I’m leaving.’
In fact, 12 out of 32 employees left the company after the CEO transition. However, this gave the
company a chance to upgrade certain positions and restructure teams.
Introducing a New Product Line

In addition to introducing novel styles to the existing Thinx product line, the company launched a
new period proof underwear line for teens, Thinx (BTWN), in September 2018. (See Exhibit 3 for Thinx
styles and Exhibit 4 for the BTWN line.) The line was designed to give teens an alternative to pads and
to ease anxiety about menstruation. The line also completed the lifespan of Thinx product offerings,
from teens (BTWN) to adults (Thinx) to older women (Speax). (See Exhibit 5.) While BTWN was
marketed to teens through social media, many of the buyers were existing Thinx customers purchasing
for their daughters. The Thinx (BTWN) product was priced at $23 per pair, below the average Thinx
underwear price of $34 per pair. Sales of BTWN reached $700,000 in the first four months.
One of the more popular items in the BTWN line was a Fresh Period Starter Kit, which included
three different pairs of underwear along with a brochure that helped teens understand what first
periods were and how to use the BTWN product. The idea was to help facilitate the discussion for
parents and teens around early periods to ease the transition.
Expanding Distribution to Wholesale Retail

In order to grow the business and increase brand awareness, Molland believed that Thinx needed
to expand its distribution channels beyond D2C by adding high-end retailers to the mix. Thinx
partnered with Nordstrom in the U.S., Selfridges in London, Galleries Lafayette in Paris, and David
Jones in Australia. Wholesalers matched Thinx premium pricing, but typically took a 50% retail margin.
The 2018 launch in Selfridges brought up the period taboo issue again, even in a modern city like
London. Molland explained, “We were in Selfridges setting up, and the male manager came over and
said ‘What is this product? It says, ‘period underwear?’ We can’t use the word “period” in our store.
Men don’t want to see that.’ They wanted us to display our product without actually saying the word
period. How does that work exactly?” However, similar to what had happened with the NY subway
ads, Londoners were outraged. The press covered the issue, consumer interest soared, and Selfridges
ended up dedicating a front window of their flagship Oxford Street store to the Thinx display.
Thinx did not sell its premium priced products, Thinx or Speax, on Amazon. Like many D2C
companies, Thinx was concerned that selling on Amazon might dilute its brand equity, reducing it
from a brand to a product. Furthermore the “faceless” nature of Amazon, coupled with its refusal to
share data, threatened to weaken Thinx’s tight connection with its customers, which started when
customers visited the Thinx website. Finally, Thinx worried about the financial impact of Amazon
cannibalizing Thinx’s online sales, since Amazon retained a 30% retail margin. Thinx considered its
lower-priced BTWN product as more of a mass market product, so BTWN was sold on Amazon.
Understanding the Thinx Customer

Thinx’s market research suggested that their customer base consisted of two main segments.
Management referred to these segments using customer persona monikers “Elena” and “Diane.”
Looking into the characteristics of each persona revealed that Elena was a working woman in her late
20s, single, with a household income of between $60,000 to $70,000. Elena was very active, spent time
outdoors, and cared about the environment. She did yoga, tried to maintain a positive body image, and
practiced self-care. She supported companies that had a social mission, and her favorite brands
included Warby Parker, Outdoor Voices, and Trader Joe’s.
Diane, on the other hand, was a working woman in her mid-30s, married with two children, and a
household income of $150,000 to $170,000. She strived to create a nurturing environment for her family
and valued healthy and safe products, especially for her kids. With her busy schedule, she valued a
convenient shopping experience. She preferred to buy in bulk and used coupons. Her favorite brands
included Costco, Target, and The Honest Company. (See Exhibit 6 for persona descriptions.)
The Importance of Education in the Customer Journey

Thinx had divided the customer buying process into five chronological steps: Discover, Engage,
Educate, Persuade, and Decide. During the Discover phase, the prospective customer would see an ad
for Thinx on Instagram or Facebook, relate to the ad and possibly visit the Thinx website; for Thinx
(BTWN) the company also found mailers to be effective. The Engage phase began when the customer
went on Instagram and saw a Thinx ad pop-up on the Explore page. The customer would be intrigued
and decide to follow Thinx on Instagram. The Educate phase began when the customer visited the
Thinx website or clicked on a YouTube video to watch a product demo to learn how the Thinx product
worked and how to care for it, as well as how it could fit their needs. Retargeted ads were often served.
During the Persuade phase the customer would compare Thinx to other products in the marketplace.
Finally, during the Decide phase, the customer would shop for specific products on the site and make
a purchase. (See Exhibit 7 for a Customer Buying Journey Map.)
Francisca Maier, Thinx’s Chief of Staff, discussed the importance of the Education step: “There is a
lot of initial skepticism about our product. We are asking people to get beyond the cringe factor and
change behavior. So we need to describe, show, and tell customers in great detail how our product
works. This includes explaining how much it holds, how to take care of it, what the fabric composition
looks like, how the different layers work, and why it is worth the price.”
Thinx had taken a number of actions to increase conversion, including offering free shipping, a
generous return policy (60-day, no questions asked, full refund) and discounts. If a customer contacted
Thinx about how to return a product, the company told the customer to simply dispose of the
unwanted underwear, rather than send them back. While the return policy was generous, Thinx’s
return rate was relatively low  between 3 to 5%.
Thinx offered discounts throughout the year. Each May, the company held a 5-day, 30% off sale,
which consistently generated 20 to 25% of total company sales for the year. The company had also seen
positive results with discounts offered during the holiday buying season  such as “Buy 2 pairs and
save 10%”or “Buy 4+ pairs and save 15%.” Re-purchase rates were about 30% across all brands.
Launching the Leaders Program

Thinx had found that educating customers by starting the conversation about periods opened the
door to a closer relationship and led to greater trial of its products. In one example, the company had
rented a 40-foot container truck and converted it into a “PMS showroom” (Period Management
Services, a play on the phrase “pre-menstrual syndrome”) where visitors could book an appointment
to have a conversation about their period and learn about Thinx underwear. Not only did the bookings
completely fill, but 100% of the visitors bought a pair of Thinx, with a higher-than-average order size.
Building on the success of personal conversations about periods, Thinx launched its “Leaders”
program in 2018 which leveraged micro-influencers to blog about the Thinx product  discussing
personal experience with it, favorite styles, etc. Leaders were only contractually obligated to post one
piece of content per month, but they had an incentive to do more since they earned a commission if
their followers bought Thinx products: 10% on up to 50 orders; 15% on 50 to 100 orders, and 20% on
over 100 orders. In 2019, the Leaders program was expected to generate $2 million in sales, well
exceeding its plan. Molland described:
These are everyday women who may have a wellness or lifestyle bent to their
Instagram and have a few thousand followers. They recommend our product through
events at their homes and through Instagram. Each influencer has their own personalized
Thinx website where users can click through to the various styles that the influencer
recommends. We have found that these micro-influencers are often better for us than the
bigger stars because there is more of an emotional connection and more authenticity.
Taking Stock After One Year

By 2018, Thinx revenues had reached $47 million, up from $40 million in 2017, $26 million in 2016,
and $6 million in 2015. However, year over year growth had slowed and revenue for the first half of
2019 was only tracking at a 9% growth rate over the same period the year prior. (See Exhibit 8 for
revenue data.) Thinx’s NPS a score was 73 and customer reviews were positive. (See Exhibit 9 for
sample customer testimonials.) The wholesale retail channel had proven moderately successful, but
had not led to explosive growth. Molland believed that retailers were hesitant to make too big of a bet
a Net Promoter Score (NPS) asked customers how likely, on a scale of 0-10, they were to recommend a product/service to a
friend or colleague. NPS = % Promoters (score of 9 or 10) - % Detractors (0-6). NPS scores above 60 were considered excellent.
Online shopping sites averaged 43, according to HubSpot https://blog.hubspot.com/service/net-promoter-score-benchmarks.
given the inventory risk and that the “period taboo” spooked some retailers. The wholesale channel
was projected to account for 9% of Thinx revenue in 2019. Finally, Thinx (BTWN) remained a small
product line, representing just 1% of total Thinx revenue.
While Thinx had initially ridden the wave of D2C businesses taking advantage of low-priced social
media advertising, Thinx’s Facebook and Instagram ad rates had increased 31% between 2016 to 2019,
making those channels less cost-effective. Daniella Sakhai, Senior Performance Marketing Manager,
explained how this impacted Thinx’s media mix: “Over 90% of our paid digital spend used to be on
Facebook, but given how expensive it has become, we are down to 65% on Facebook. We’ve diversified
a ton  we now have 8 or 10 different acquisition channels.” One channel that had proven especially
successful had been direct mail. Thinx had initially tested direct mail in early 2019 for its Speax product
since Speax customers tended to be older and spent less time online. With success there, the company
adopted the direct mail strategy for the Thinx line, which also proved successful. The plan was to
further increase spending on direct mail in 2020.
Thinx focused on two key marketing metrics: Return on Advertising Spend (ROAS) and Customer
Acquisition Cost (CAC). ROAS stood at 3.2 (about 2.2 when including promotional activity) and
Thinx’s CAC was tracking at $45 in 2019.
Pricing as a Barrier
Some senior managers believed that Thinx’s high price point created a barrier to growth, although
research showed that price was third on the list of product concerns  after functionality and how to
wash the product. The company’s early capital structure had been partly responsible for its initial
pricing decisions. With virtually no outside funding, Thinx had depended on profitable unit economics
to self-fund. Consequently, pricing had been cost-based. Stephen Lamberton, Thinx’s CFO, explained,
“Our pricing has always been very linear. If one style has a little more fabric, it’s priced a little higher.
Another style with less fabric is priced a little lower. Pricing hasn’t been based on what the customer
is willing to pay or what the competitive set is.” Since Thinx had been the first mover in the period
underwear category, there had been little need for competitive benchmarking initially. Competitors
who had entered the market more recently had priced their products just below the Thinx price point.
Speax
On the incontinence side, Speax sales had grown from $10 million in 2017 to $13 million by 2018,
representing 27% of total Thinx revenue. However, sales had declined in 2019 and were projected to
only reach $10 million by year end. Speax was a conundrum for the company. On one hand the
incontinence market was large and growing due to an aging population. Moreover, the products on
the market were considered bulky and diaper-like. However, it was a difficult market to break into
since the large incumbent brands selling disposable products were investing heavily and driving
marketing costs up  a challenge for Speax given its low brand awareness. Moreover, the relevant
customers were older and less accustomed to buying online. And the stigma associated with bladder
leaks was even greater than for periods, since incontinence was perceived as an embarrassing
“problem.” The taboo impacted marketing. CJ Frogozo, VP of PR noted, “I had an influencer budget
for Speax last year and we weren’t having great luck, so I offered to double the budget. But the agency
couldn’t spend it all because they couldn’t get people to talk about bladder leaks.”
Further contributing to problems for Speax, one of Speax’s primary competitors, Knix Wear, had
successfully secured a patent for “bonded” underwear in early 2019. Thinx used the same bonding
process on its Speax line and had unsuccessfully applied for similar patents. News of Knix Wear’s
patent had forced Thinx to fast-track a redesign of Speax, which was launched in 2019.
International Growth
Thinx was sold in six countries outside the U.S.: Australia, South Korea, UK, France, Germany, and
Canada  markets that had a strong focus on sustainability. International sales represented
approximately 30% of Thinx revenues. Thinx planned to take a cautious approach to global expansion
in the short term. Molland explained:
I have pretty deep international experience, and while I believe we need to be a global
brand, my experience is when you try to go too fast internationally, and you haven’t really
figured out your core market, you end up breaking the system. There is such an effective
playbook that you can get if you go deep in one market. The U.S. represents $5 billion of
the total $30 billion global feminine care product market and it’s the biggest market unless
we went into China  which has its own set of complexities. So I believe we should focus
on the U.S., figure out how we get it right here, and then we can go deeper internationally.
A challenge Thinx faced in Europe was that it could not fulfill D2C orders from its European
distribution center, in part because the company did not have an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
system. Consequently, orders from customers in Europe were shipped from the U.S., subjecting them
to customs and VAT charges. Shipments often were held at post offices awaiting customers to come
pay the customs tax before receiving the product. Many of the products never were picked up, leading
to customer retention problems. However, Thinx was implementing an ERP system in 2020 to address
the problem and was considering other potential solutions. Andrea Bortolosso, VP of Operations
explained, “We are exploring running one global fulfillment center directly from our manufacturing
site in Sri Lanka. That will allow us to have huge flexibility in terms of inventory, a short supply chain,
and a lower landed cost. But we need to make sure the systems and internal capabilities are in place
first. If we get it wrong and the customer has a bad experience, we will lose that customer for good.”
Issues Blending Culture with Brand Image

Thinx also was grappling with how to adapt its company culture. In its early days, Thinx had
publicly supported a number of feminist issues, including reproductive rights. However, as the
company grew, some of these cultural norms had been tested. In 2019, Thinx joined a consortium of
seven businesses in running a full-page ad in the New York Times denouncing Alabama’s abortion ban
and calling on corporate America to support choice. While this type of advocacy fit with Thinx’s
progressive roots, Thinx suffered the greatest “unfollow” rate of any company included in the ad. It
was a wake-up call for Thinx that its customer base had expanded beyond a highly liberal, urban base
and its culture had to reflect the broader base.
Siobhan Lonergan, Chief Brand Officer for Thinx, said, “As a small company with limited resources,
we realized we had to be really clear about exactly what we stand for. Is reproductive choice core to
who we are as a company? In fact it’s not, whereas it might be for Planned Parenthood and some other
companies.” After an internal review, the decision was made to narrow the brand’s focus to women’s
empowerment around managing their periods.
Competition in 2018
Thinx faced minimal competition from other startups in the period underwear space as most had
not yet scaled. Knix Wear and Modi Bodi were the closest rivals. Toronto-based Knix Wear, founded
in 2012, had approximately $5 million in revenue. 28 The company closed on a $15 million funding
round in 2019  their first significant outside investment. Sydney-based Modi Bodi, founded in 2014,
raised about $20 million in mid-2019 from a private equity firm in Australia, and had an estimated $6
million in revenue. 29 Molland discussed the lack of competitors in the space, “I would welcome more
competition, so that they could help educate the customer and give women more options.”
More broadly, Thinx faced competition from sustainable feminine care product startups. Lola, a
New York based D2C startup founded in 2014, was a subscription service that sold 100% cotton
tampons, pads, and liners, using no synthetic fibers, fragrances, or dyes, making them natural and
biodegradable. 30 Lola had raised $35 million in capital as of 2019. San Francisco-based Cora, founded
in 2015, sold organic tampons and pads, with discreet packaging and portable cases. Cora was a
subscription-based service with a customizable, mix-and-match element per order, but it also sold a
non-customizable option through Target. 31 Cora had raised $13.5 million as of 2019. 32 New York based,
Sustain, founded in 2013 by Seventh Generation co-founder Jeffrey Hollender, made all-natural
tampons and condoms, and had recently launched a line of leak-proof underwear. 33 Sustain had raised
$2.5 million in capital, but in August 2019 the company was acquired by Grove Collaborative.
Yet Thinx’s most formidable competition came from the large incumbents who were also exploring
more natural, sustainable products. For example, P&G launched a Tampax brand reusable silicone
menstrual cup in 2018 and Edgewell Personal Care introduced all-cotton o.b. tampons in 2019. 34
Additional Funding
By 2019 it was clear to Molland that the company needed outside capital to grow. The company had
only raised a total of about $2 million, which represented far less outside capital than other similarly-
aged D2C startups in the space. Molland knew that growing Thinx would require a greater investment
in brand awareness to drive sales. She explained, “We haven’t had enough money to do the big things
that you need to, especially in the Consumer Branded Goods (CBG) space where you have to build a
brand. We have been doing paid social and little else. But the incumbents in the market spend 98% of
their dollars on TV and print, so it’s pretty clear they feel TV and print are essential.”
Since Thinx’s manufacturer was its lead investor, the company had not needed inventory financing.
Lamberton explained: “Because our vendor is our owner, we had default 90-day terms. So we never
had any kind of inventory financing. We were never forced to ‘grow up’.”
On the fundraising trail, Thinx again faced issues related to the period taboo, but found success
focusing the discussions around innovation. As Lonergan explained, “There has been no innovation
in this space, and recognizing that and leveraging that as a conversation opener is a really good way
to talk about the subject, shifting the focus from intimacy to the business opportunities.”
In September 2019, Thinx closed a $25 million Series A round of funding from Kimberly-Clark. For
Kimberly-Clark, the move enabled them to capitalize on growing consumer interest in natural and
sustainable products. For Thinx, the funding would allow greater investment in advertising and the
opportunity to leverage Kimberly-Clark’s relationship with retailers to help gain access to more stores.
10
New Growth Opportunities

With fresh capital on hand, Molland shifted her focus to new growth opportunities, with the
overarching goal of becoming a $500 million globally recognized brand within 8 years. An internal
strategic task force was assembled to assess various growth opportunities. Two guiding objectives were
agreed upon: 1) maximize the number of underwear drawers that Thinx was in, and 2) maximize the
share of underwear in drawers that Thinx was in. The first objective was linked to customer acquisition,
and the second was linked to customer retention. Since brand awareness and trial were considered the
brand’s greatest challenges, 75% of the focus would be on customer acquisition and 25% would be on
customer retention. Molland explained:
Someone told me during the fundraising process that you don’t want to be the one
building the highway, you want to be the one building cars for the highway. Right now
we are building the highway. How do we use our marketing to make people aware of our
product and how do we break down the cultural norms around the use of pads and
tampons to generate trial?
Diversifying Marketing Initiatives

National Ad Campaign Approximately $5 million of the new funding was earmarked for
Thinx’s national television ad campaign, launched in October 2019 and running until the end of the
year. The MENstruation campaign involved a tongue-in-cheek twist on women having periods. In the
ads, men get periods and deal with the same challenges women do, such as unexpectedly needing a
tampon, the embarrassment of tampons falling out of a school locker, and worrying about leaks onto
clothing. The tag line was, “If we all had periods, maybe we’d be more comfortable with them.” The
ad was run on 18 networks across the U.S. and audio segments aired on Spotify and on podcast ads. 35
The campaign fit with Thinx’s “push the envelope” approach. However, it was so provocative, that
according to Fast Company, “The ad won’t run in its entirety on every channel. The most daring scenes,
which show a blood stain and tampon string, didn’t pass muster with certain channels due to
advertising guidelines.” 36 Molland knew the ad would be controversial, but welcomed the discussion
it would generate. She said, “I sent the ad to one of the funding decision makers at Kimberly-Clark and
he reacted, ‘At first, I was shocked. Then I thought it was hilarious, and then it made me think.’”
Whereas Thinx had always been highly focused on financial performance metrics for its advertising
spend, the goals for the TV campaign revolved around brand awareness, perception, and purchase
intent. (See Exhibits 10 and 11 for baseline metrics prior to the campaign.) The company knew that the
TV campaign would increase CAC. In fact, Thinx’s ROAS goal for the TV campaign was only .43. If the
ad performed well (above .43 ROAS), Thinx would spend an additional $9 million on the ad in 2020.
Third Party Validation Given the behavior change that was required to purchase Thinx
underwear, the company believed that third party validation of the product and its efficacy was
important to drive sales. Molland explained, “We have found that when friends or family or an
influencer who someone feels close to recommends the product, it is highly effective.” The company
planned to build out its Leaders Program, expand its referral program with a $10 cumulative credit for
each friend referral, work with influencers and celebrities who were authentically passionate about the
product, and develop a Doctors Program to grow brand awareness within the medical community.
11
Innovation
Product Innovation and Development Thinx planned to establish an Innovation Advisory
Board, comprised of material science experts from leading universities, to bring more innovation into
the company. Thinx also planned to separate product development from product innovation. Product
development would focus on colors, styles, and merchandising, whereas product innovation would
focus on materials and technical design. By building an in-house product innovation team, Thinx
hoped to secure more patents. Some innovations under consideration included Thinx activewear,
shapewear (tight-fitting undergarments to control and shape the figure), and travelwear, as well as
new materials for cooling and cramp relief. For example, better cooling technology could help with
cramps and reduce the feeling of warmth and stuffiness some women experienced while wearing pads.
Thinx was also considering a variety of product innovations that could serve as “bridge” products
 designed to familiarize customers with the Thinx brand and its sustainability values, while not
requiring the scale of behavior change that period underwear required. One idea was to develop a fully
compostable pad to take advantage of the growth in natural, sustainable feminine care products.
However, some at the company worried that a disposable product would take away from the brand’s
work towards promoting reusability. Another related idea was to develop a reusable pad that would
simulate the absorbent layer in Thinx underwear. The pad would be removed, washed out, and reused,
thereby giving customers the opportunity to become familiar with the Thinx technology and how to
care for the product, while still being in the form of a traditional pad.
Purchase Process Innovation The company was considering creative ways to further break
down purchasing barriers in order to increase trial. One idea was to borrow a page from Warby
Parker’s playbook and send customers a box of sample products so they could see and touch them and
better understand the differences between styles. Customers would keep the pairs they wanted and
return the rest. There were differences in opinions about this idea internally, and logistical challenges
would need to be addressed, but it was an example of ideas being discussed.
Expand Distribution Channels

Another way to generate trial was to open pop-up stores that let customers touch, feel, and talk
about the product. The company believed pop-ups could play an important role in brand awareness
and customer conversion. The goal was to use the stores to drive traffic to the online site. With customer
acquisition costs climbing, other D2C companies pursued a similar pop-up strategy, including make-
up company, Glossier; shoe company Allbirds; and mattress company, Casper. Thinx had successfully
tested the pop-up concept in the SoHo district of New York in December 2018. Going forward, Thinx
planned more New York pop-ups, in addition to other markets, including Australia and Canada.
Thinx also planned to expand its wholesale footprint. In the U.S., Thinx was in talks with QVC and
working with Nordstrom to add stores. As of 2019, Thinx was sold in 25 of Nordstrom’s 115 full-line
stores. 37 Internationally, the company was in talks with retailers in existing Thinx markets, and was
testing distributors to gain entry to Korea and China in the future.
The Mass Market Dilemma

While adding pop-ups and expanding the relationship with existing retail partners were seen as
effective ways to increase sales, Molland felt the company should consider bolder moves. In particular,
management believed that there was an opportunity to substantially grow the company by capturing
more “Diane-like” customers. To do so, Thinx pondered whether it made sense to pursue a mass retail
12
strategy, including presence in stores such as Target, Walmart, and Boots in the UK. Since Thinx was
positioning itself as an alternative to traditional menstrual care products, the company felt it was
important to be present in the channel where most customers shopped for them. Outside of the
traditional bricks and mortar retailers, Thinx wanted to include Amazon in their mass market strategy.
Thinx knew it would take some effort to convince mass retailers to carry the Thinx product, since it
would not have high inventory turns given its reusability. However, if Thinx could break into the
channel, the market opportunity was significant. Management recognized that going mass market
would require making changes to its product, pricing, and packaging to sell through the mass retail
channel. Another consideration was what promotion strategy to use to target consumers shopping in
the mass retail channel  the customary paid social might not be the right approach. The company
also faced the risk of cannibalizing its premium product if it launched a lower-priced mass market
alternative. Shama Amalean, Chief Product Officer for Thinx, summed up the challenge, “Can we
maintain the integrity of the brand and the equity that we’ve built in the existing premium brand while
still going mass market, and how do we do that?”
To understand how other consumer branded goods companies had managed the bridge between
premium and mass retail, Thinx looked at shapewear maker, Spanx, which offered its premium line
through its website and at high end retailers, but had then launched a separate line named Assets by
Sara Blakely (named after the Spanx founder) for the mass retail channel. The Assets line was priced
almost 50% lower than the Spanx line, used different materials, offered less compression, and came in
fewer styles and colors. Harry’s, the men’s razor and personal care products company, acquired by
Edgewell Personal Care Company in 2019, pursued a slightly different model. 38 Harry’s sold the same
product with the same premium pricing ($9.99 per razor) in mass retail as they did on their website,
but with different packaging. Thinx was leaning toward the Spanx model.
Key Elements of a Mass Retail Strategy

Value Proposition While Thinx was still refining its value proposition for the mass retail
channel versus the premium channel, the current thinking was that the mass market product strategy
would be positioned around convenience. The product allowed women to be ready for their period
without the worry of spotting, and it offered the convenience of being worn all day during a woman’s
period. It would be sold in a convenient distribution channel at an accessible price.
The premium product line, sold through the online and wholesale channel, would be positioned
around innovation and sustainability. The line would offer new styles and colors, and new products,
such as shapewear and activewear (i.e. running shorts, leggings). While the product would be premium
priced, it would be marketed as a sustainable alternative to traditional feminine care products with a
lower overall cost to consumers compared to traditional products, given the reusability and long
lifespan of the Thinx product.
Pricing To compete effectively in the mass market channel, Thinx believed they needed a lower
price point. The company’s market research showed that the optimal price should be under $20 per
pair ($15 to $19). While this represented a significant discount to Thinx’s average price of $34 per pair,
it was still significantly above the price of a box of pads or tampons. While Thinx was reusable, the
sticker shock remained a risk. Even compared to underwear, the Thinx price could seem high, since
mass retail underwear was often sold in packs of 5 pairs for $20.
Thinx also was considering whether reducing the list price of its premium product (possibly
between $25 to $30) would be a wise strategic move for the company, given that they had seen high
13
price sensitivity through the success of their sale promotions. While the lower price point would
sacrifice some margin, Thinx was starting with a 70 to 75% gross margin on its premium product.
Product To achieve a lower price point for the mass market product, changes to the product
would be required. And yet, there could be no reduction in functionality since absorbency and leakage
protection were critical to the brand promise. Amalean commented, ”For mass market we would use
a basic cotton fabric that might not last as long as our premium fabrics  maybe one year instead of
two. And then doing a basic design without any lace or mesh or any of those extra things. And offer it
in just the top selling silhouettes  bikini, hip hugger  with our basic palette colors, black and beige.”
However, Thinx already offered a cotton product in its premium line so that product would need
to be phased out to clearly distinguish the material used in a mass market offering from the premium
offering. Thinx had found a vendor who could deliver a $20 cotton product with acceptable gross
margins  just 8 points below Thinx’s existing gross margin. Thinx would also likely have to add plus-
sizing to its line if requested by mass market retailers.
Packaging A mass market offering would require different packaging to distinguish it from the
premium product. Thinx was considering a simple packaging design, preferably made of recyclable
materials. Molland expected some retailers would want their own branded packaging, for example
Thinx Target. However, this could lead to inventory risk down the road with no way to re-sell the
retailer-branded product. It also would add operational complexity due to additional SKUs.
Placement Thinx was hoping to be displayed in the feminine care aisle, alongside pads and
tampons, since that was where consumers made their purchasing decisions for menstrual care
products. However, with lower turns and a higher price point, Thinx was not sure retailers would give
them that placement. The other in-store placement alternatives included the health and wellness
section or the lingerie section alongside underwear and socks.
Potential for Cannibalization

Perhaps the greatest risk of pursuing the mass retail channel was the potential for cannibalization
of the premium product sold on the website. The early thinking was to not sell the mass market product
on the Thinx website; it would only be available in mass retail stores and on mass retailers’ websites.
Part of the issue with putting both products side by side on the Thinx website was that it would be
difficult to visually see the aesthetic differences in the products in a photograph  the differences were
more noticeable in person by feeling the product. Molland acknowledged the cannibalization risk:
It definitely makes me nervous. But we will always be a niche brand if we’re doing just
what we do today. And do we have it all mapped out as to what is going to limit
cannibalization? No. But you could make an argument that being in mass retail could
blow the D2C business out of the water because of the fact that the vast majority of people
buy their feminine care products in mass retail.
If it turned out that Thinx did very well in the mass retail channel, then the company would
reconsider selling it on their website. Amalean explained, “If it just absolutely exploded, then we would
want to put it on our own website. This would be our volume driving product and you can’t give all
of your volume-driving product to somebody else and not sell it on your own website. But we would
have to offer enough differentiation to warrant having good, better, and best products on our website.”
14
Thinxing Ahead
Molland was proud of the progress Thinx had made  revenues had grown, systems had been
implemented, new products, ad campaigns and channels had been launched, and the company had
raised the necessary capital to grow. With a strong strategic partner on board, Molland welcomed the
opportunity for guidance and mentorship. She reflected: “I’m a first time CEO – I want to get this right.
I’m pretty confident in my decision making, but what I have found challenging is the loneliness, and
the ability to get the right advice from experts in the areas where we most need help. With the new
fundraise we will have a board with experience building global brands.” She knew she would need
their help in deciding whether and how to pursue the mass retail channel.
15
Exhibit 1A Thinx Underwear
Source: Company documents, shethinx.com.
Exhibit 1B Thinx Product Technology
Note: Care instructions were to rinse the underwear first, then wash on cold cycle and hang dry. Users were instructed not
to use bleach or fabric softener.
16
Exhibit 2 Thinx New York Subway Ads – 2015
Source: Company documents.
17
Exhibit 3 Thinx styles
Source: Thinx Management Presentation.
Exhibit 4 Thinx (BTWN) – Period-Proof Underwear for Teens and Tweens
18
Exhibit 5 Thinx Lifecycle of Products
Source: Thinx Management Presentation, March 2019.
19
Exhibit 6 Thinx Customer Personas
Source: Thinx Inc.
20
Exhibit 7 Phases of the Customer Journey Map
Source: Thinx, Inc.
21
Exhibit 8 Revenue data ($ millions)
2015 2016 2017 2018 YTD June 2019 YTD June 2018
Thinx Gross Revenue 5.8 22.1 29.7 34.6 21.3 18.3

Speax Gross Revenue 0.1 4.2 9.9 12.6 6.3 7.0
5.9 26.3 39.6 47.2 27.6 25.3
Source: Thinx Inc.
22
Exhibit 9 Thinx Verified Customer Testimonials
LOVE LOVE LOVE THEM! - Danielle L.
I wasn’t sure if I’d be ok with these... I’ve always used tampons and don’t like pads. These are
honestly like wearing underwear and no worries about leakage. I’m super heavy the first night/day
and I was fine - so were the sheets. And they don’t look or feel like diapers :). Very very happy I finally
tried thinx !
COMFY AND SUPER ABSORBENT - Patricia s.
I’ve bought 3 pairs thinking about having enough for the first 1 to 2 days as my period is very heavy
and I have to change them often. I’ve tried them for the last period and I am in love, they are super
comfy to wear, even with leggings, and they could handle round 20 hours each during the most heavy
days... They worked even better than I expected.
AMAZING - Jacqueline P.
Discovering Thinx has actually been life changing for me. I will never use anything else ever again.
My thinx are SO comfortable, I literally can’t wear anything else when I have my period now.
CONVENIENT - Milma E.
Good for when your period just started or ending. Seamless under clothes
SO CONVENIENT! - Amber L.
These work exactly as advertised! I don’t worry about leaks at all, even overnight. They are very
discreet, as the black liner hides everything. They are easy to clean. I was worried about ‘rinsing’ them
first, but that was really not a big deal. There is much more mess with pads.
GREAT! - Laura C.
Love wearing these at night. Don’t have to bother with awful pads that leak.
GREAT PRODUCTS – Elizabeth H.
I love my Thinx products so far! It’s a great reusable option to make your monthly cycle more eco-
friendly. I usually wear a small in Aerie underwear but needed a medium here because the small were
a bit too tight.
Source: Company documents, https://www.shethinx.com/pages/thinx-reviews.
23
Exhibit 10 Aided Brand Awareness as of September 2019
Exhibit 11 THINX brand perception as of September 2019
Purchase
Intent as of
September
2019:
10.6%
24
Endnotes
1 “Global Tampons Market 2016-2020,”technavio, December 2016, https://www.technavio.com/report/global-health-and-

wellness-global-tampons-market-2016-2020, accessed November 23, 2020.
2 Thinx internal Management Presentation.
3 “China Sanitary Protection Market 2017-2022,” PR Newswire, September 25, 2017, https://www.prnewswire.com/news-
releases/china-sanitary-protection-market-2017-2022-300525123.html, accessed February 12, 2020.
4 “Feminine Hygiene Market,” Study ID: 57876, Statista, https://www.statista.com/study/57876/feminine-hygiene-market/,
accessed November 15, 2019.
5 “Global Feminine Hygiene Products Market 2018-2019 & Forecast to 2023,” GlobeNewswire, May 20, 2019,
http://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2019/05/20/1828964/0/en/Global-Feminine-Hygiene-Products-Market-
2018-2019-Forecast-to-2023.html, accessed November 23, 2020.
6 “Feminine Hygiene Market,” Study ID: 57876, Statista, https://www.statista.com/study/57876/feminine-hygiene-market/,
accessed November 15, 2019.
7 Ibid.
8 Borunda, Alejandra, “How Tampons and Pads Became So Unsustainable,” National Geographic, September 6, 2019.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2019/09/how-tampons-pads-became-unsustainable-story-of-
plastic/#close, accessed November 23, 2020.
9 Target Corporation. ”Tampons.” Target.com. https://www.target.com/s?searchTerm=tampons, accessed November 23,
2020.
10 Ibid.
11 Casewriter interviews.
12 Reuckert, Phineas, “Why Periods are Keeping Girls Out of School & How You Can Help,” Global Citizen, May 30, 2018,
https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/menstrual-hygiene-day-education/, accessed November 23, 2020.
13 Ibid.
14 Ayyar, Kamakshi, “Behind the Oscar-Winning Documentary Challenging India's Taboos About Menstruation,” Time,
February 24, 2019, https://time.com/5526055/india-period-end-of-sentence-oscars-2019/, accessed February 12, 2020.
15 Zraick, Karen, “22 States Considered Eliminating the ‘Tampon Tax’ This Year. Here’s What Happened,” The New York Times,
July 12, 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/12/us/tampon-tax.html, accessed November 23, 2020.
16 Shure, Natalie, “Why Has It Taken the Menstrual Cup So Long to Go Mainstream?” Pacific Standard, June 14, 2017,
https://psmag.com/news/why-has-it-taken-the-menstrual-cup-so-long-to-go-mainstream, accessed February 12, 2020.
17 “A Long Overdue Disruption in Menstrual Products.” The Economist, March 31, 2018,
https://www.economist.com/business/2018/03/31/a-long-overdue-disruption-in-menstrual-products, accessed November
23, 2020.
18 Clark, Kate, “Femtech’s Billion-Dollar Year,” TechCrunch, April 3, 2019, https://techcrunch.com/2019/04/03/femtechs-
billion-dollar-year/, accessed 12 Feb. 2020.
19 Thinx internal documents.
20 O’Connor, Tamison, “Is a Revolution Finally Coming to Feminine Care?” The Business of Fashion, March 8, 2018,
https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/intelligence/is-a-revolution-coming-to-feminine-care, accessed November 23,
2020.
21 Lash, Erin, “Kimberly-Clark Opts to Up Brand Spend as It Strives to Maintain Recent Momentum and Competitive Edge,”
Morningstar Research, March 11, 2020, http://analysisreport.morningstar.com/stock/research/c-
report?&t=XNYS:KMB&region=usa&culture=zh-
TW&productcode=QS&cur=&urlCookie=8997523520&e=eyJhbGciOiJSU0EtT0FFUCIsImVuYyI6IkExMjhHQ00ifQ.eY-
s57E4rNn2aO0mdtQy4usd4MgSf5udSvrSfPlx1CR8UvQL-J2fAl-VM8li_sYc2QXO6QycfEv8yVzZ2N7bvNHC1yYrw-7azD4-
Pf7enaNTK3hrGGLRpuQvnb2fsYaVrl-
25
rfNY9qF3MT8zv4yY_C5NnYALL7i3LU5WCtOqboUw.iwvYb9QzHz9tiTU6.b1EtzaNCVJLTwN7nrWWU9ZQn7_OGtfjIvpEdx
G7NfHa1yz5DACf2DqQpY81QZyqOxd0tKNnorEdis7OdtDYff3cciQOYIv1UMV7KsWI5niMGxHHw1nh4ozFv3nYYdqLDS71T
H6mxu-rpQGcH18aD8HBBdTvFussfYiSI7U88YebdZhlGyZVxBAiYvgZteGXZN1xQKJTWc1Z2pQPdzn9-
KaIDqVz2XsG87r6LOGk.SkvwYrJFtA4f2pft6D_Jxg, accessed November 23, 2020.
22 “A Long Overdue Disruption in Menstrual Products,” The Economist, 31 March 2018,
https://www.economist.com/business/2018/03/31/a-long-overdue-disruption-in-menstrual-products, accessed November
23, 2020.
23 Lagorio-Chafkin, Christine, “Thinx Almost Imploded. Meet the Woman Who Rescued It and Wants to Turn It Into a $300
Million Underwear Empire,” Inc.Com. https://www.inc.com/christine-lagorio/thinx-maria-molland-new-ceo.html, accessed
February 12, 2020.
24 Yang, Melissah, “Why Are NYC Subways Allegedly Banning Period Talk?” Bustle, October 22, 2015,
https://www.bustle.com/articles/118701-nyc-subways-dont-want-period-on-its-walls-claims-menstruation-underwear-
company-thinx, accessed November 23, 2020.
25 “The 25 Best Inventions of 2015,” Time.com, November 18, 2015, https://time.com/4115398/best-inventions-2015/, accessed
November 23, 2020.
February 12, 2020.
27 Ibid.
28 “Knix Wear,” Crunchbase, https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/knix-wear#section-patents-and-trademarks-by-

ipqwery, accessed November 23, 2020.
29 “How Kristy Chong of ModiBodi bootstrapped her $3 million Business from Scratch,” https://businesschicks.com/kristy-
chong-modibodi/, accessed November 23, 2020.
30 LOLA, “About: Our Story,” mylola.com, https://www.mylola.com/pages/about, accessed November 23, 2020.
31 O’Connor, Clare, “Subscription Tampon Startup Cora Raises $6M To Launch New Period Products,” Forbes, November 6,
2017, https://www.forbes.com/sites/clareoconnor/2017/11/06/subscription-tampon-startup-cora-raises-6m-to-launch-new-
period-products/#66c69fbe4896, accessed February 12, 2020.
32 “Cora,” Crunchbase, https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/cora-2/company_financials, accessed November 23,
2020.
February 12, 2020.
34 Terlep, Sharon, “Going Beyond the Tampon, Big Brands Try New Ideas.” Wall Street Journal, September 17, 2019.
www.wsj.com, https://www.wsj.com/articles/going-beyond-the-tampon-big-brands-try-new-ideas-11568739657, accessed
November 23, 2020.
35 Mohan, Pavithra, “Thinx MENstruation Ad Campaign Imagines Men Getting Periods,” Fast Company, October 3, 2019,
https://www.fastcompany.com/90412779/thinx-menstruation-ad-campaign-imagines-men-getting-periods, accessed
November 23, 2020.
36 Ibid.
37 Nordstrom, “About Us,” https://shop.nordstrom.com/c/about-us, accessed November 23, 2020.
38 Kary, Tiffany, “Edgewell and Harry’s Deal Will Only Nick Gillette -- At First,” Bloomberg, May 9, 2019,
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-05-09/edgewell-and-harry-s-deal-will-only-nick-gillette-at-first, accessed
November 23, 2020.
26

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NICOLE TEMPEST KELLER

Thinx, Inc. - Breaking Barriers in Feminine Care

720-443 Thinx, Inc. - Breaking Barriers in Feminine Care

Background on the Feminine Hygiene Market

Thinx, Inc. - Breaking Barriers in Feminine Care 720-443

Lack of Innovation in Feminine Hygiene

The Rise of FemTech

720-443 Thinx, Inc. - Breaking Barriers in Feminine Care

Maria Molland Takes Over As CEO

Thinx, Inc. - Breaking Barriers in Feminine Care 720-443

Molland’s Early Moves

Introducing a New Product Line

Expanding Distribution to Wholesale Retail

720-443 Thinx, Inc. - Breaking Barriers in Feminine Care

Understanding the Thinx Customer

The Importance of Education in the Customer Journey

Thinx, Inc. - Breaking Barriers in Feminine Care 720-443

Launching the Leaders Program

Taking Stock After One Year

720-443 Thinx, Inc. - Breaking Barriers in Feminine Care

Thinx, Inc. - Breaking Barriers in Feminine Care 720-443

Issues Blending Culture with Brand Image

720-443 Thinx, Inc. - Breaking Barriers in Feminine Care

Thinx, Inc. - Breaking Barriers in Feminine Care 720-443

New Growth Opportunities

Diversifying Marketing Initiatives

720-443 Thinx, Inc. - Breaking Barriers in Feminine Care

Expand Distribution Channels

The Mass Market Dilemma

Thinx, Inc. - Breaking Barriers in Feminine Care 720-443

Key Elements of a Mass Retail Strategy

720-443 Thinx, Inc. - Breaking Barriers in Feminine Care

Potential for Cannibalization

Thinx, Inc. - Breaking Barriers in Feminine Care 720-443

720-443 Thinx, Inc. - Breaking Barriers in Feminine Care

Exhibit 1A Thinx Underwear

Source: Company documents, shethinx.com.

Exhibit 1B Thinx Product Technology

Source: Company documents, shethinx.com.

Thinx, Inc. - Breaking Barriers in Feminine Care 720-443

Exhibit 2 Thinx New York Subway Ads – 2015

Source: Company documents.

720-443 Thinx, Inc. - Breaking Barriers in Feminine Care

Exhibit 3 Thinx styles

Source: Thinx Management Presentation.

Exhibit 4 Thinx (BTWN) – Period-Proof Underwear for Teens and Tweens

Source: Company documents, shethinx.com.

Thinx, Inc. - Breaking Barriers in Feminine Care 720-443

Exhibit 5 Thinx Lifecycle of Products

Source: Thinx Management Presentation, March 2019.

720-443 Thinx, Inc. - Breaking Barriers in Feminine Care

Exhibit 6 Thinx Customer Personas

Source: Thinx Inc.

Thinx, Inc. - Breaking Barriers in Feminine Care 720-443

Exhibit 7 Phases of the Customer Journey Map

Source: Thinx, Inc.

720-443 Thinx, Inc. - Breaking Barriers in Feminine Care

Exhibit 8 Revenue data ($ millions)

Thinx Gross Revenue 5.8 22.1 29.7 34.6 21.3 18.3

Source: Thinx Inc.

Thinx, Inc. - Breaking Barriers in Feminine Care 720-443

Exhibit 9 Thinx Verified Customer Testimonials

LOVE LOVE LOVE THEM! - Danielle L.