Chicago start-up Fillow launches reusable period disc

The Chicago-based start-up Fillow has launched a reusable period disc to create a more sustainable and convenient period care experience.

The new menstrual product comes with an applicator and combines “the ease and convenience of tampons” with the reusability and all-day-wear of period cups.

The disc is made from medical-grade materials and helps women struggling with traditional cups, yet still seek a more sustainable period product.

Founded by Phoebe Seoyeon Choi, Helena Kim, Camryn Ross and Mary Woo, Fillow is on a mission to revolutionise the “historically gendered” and “stigmatised” period care industry.

The four entrepreneurs, who started the venture as college students, became the first and only all-female team to win first place at the University of Chicago’s venture competition hosted by the university’s Booth School of Business.

Their business, awarded US$75,000 in the competition, has already made a name for itself in Chicago’s startup scene and now aims to change the period care market by breaking down taboos and creating a more inclusive conversation around menstruation.

With the launch of their first product, the founders are hoping to pave the way for a more sustainable and convenient period care experience.

“After years of listening to menstruators on the struggle to find a sustainable, long-lasting, and easy-to-use period product and through countless design reiterations, we’ve created a reusable menstrual disc that can be inserted and removed just like a tampon for a no-mess, no-fuss, all-day wear experience,” they said in a statement.

Last year, the start-up was recognised in Chicago Inno’s 25 under 25.