Why WUKA created the world’s first heavy flow period underwear

By WUKA CEO and co-founder, Ruby Raut

Eight years ago, I launched WUKA with a simple mission: to make periods sustainable, comfortable, and free from shame.

At the time, period underwear already existed, but it wasn’t truly a solution. You still had to wear pads or tampons alongside it.

Most designs were made as backups, not as full replacements. To me, that defeated the whole purpose of creating a sustainable alternative to disposables.

Very quickly, the same question kept coming up in conversations with women: “But will it work for heavy flow?”

I’d hear comments like, “I have a really heavy flow, can underwear actually hold it?” or “Heavy periods are my biggest worry.”

As a woman of colour, I understood the silence around this. Where I grew up, periods were hardly spoken about.

Heavy flow, in particular, was brushed off as “normal” or whispered about as something you just had to endure. But for millions of us, heavy flow isn’t just a minor inconvenience. It is life-defining.

It dictates how we move, how we sleep, how we show up at school or at work. It decides whether we step outside with confidence or stay home in fear of leaks.

So when WUKA became the first brand in the world to launch period underwear designed specifically for heavy flow, it wasn’t just about innovation.

It was about rewriting a story that had been ignored for too long.

Heavy flow is more common than you think

For years, heavy bleeding was treated as something unusual, but research tells a very different story.

In the UK, around one in three women live with chronic heavy periods.

Among teens, the numbers are even starker: surveys show over 90 per cent of girls aged 12–18 say they bleed so heavily it disrupts their daily lives, with one in five ending up bedridden during their period.

For women in Black and minority ethnic communities, the burden is even heavier.

Studies show Black women are more likely to develop fibroids, a leading cause of heavy bleeding,  and less likely to have their symptoms taken seriously in healthcare settings.

Combine that with cultural stigma around periods, and it’s no surprise that so many suffer in silence.

I know this reality personally.

I had heavy flow growing up in Nepal, and like many women, I was told to “just get on with it.” But ignoring heavy bleeding doesn’t make it go away,  it only deepens the isolation and anxiety around periods.

Why WUKA Heavy Flow was a first

When we first launched period underwear, the industry was still stuck in a tampon-and-pad mindset. Every product seemed designed for “average” flow, as if heavy bleeders didn’t exist.

But they do — and they needed more than reassurance. They needed real protection.

That’s why WUKA created the world’s first heavy flow period underwear.

It can absorb the equivalent of four tampons’ worth of blood, without the need for doubling up with pads or worrying about leaks.

It’s washable, reusable, and made to last, offering dignity and confidence without the environmental waste of disposable products.

For women like me, it was a breakthrough: finally, underwear that could keep up with our bodies instead of holding us back.

A Founder’s Perspective: From lived experience to innovation

Launching heavy flow underwear wasn’t just a business decision. It was personal.

As a BAME founder, I have lived the challenges that many of our customers face: cultural silence, medical dismissal, and a lack of products that meet our needs.

I wanted to show that innovation in women’s health doesn’t come from labs alone,  it comes from listening to women’s stories, especially those who are ignored the most. #

That’s why we built WUKA Heavy Flow. Not to sell another product, but to offer a lifeline for people who thought their only choice was endless pads and tampons.

Changing the conversation around heavy flow

The truth is, heavy menstrual bleeding is a treatable medical condition, but a UK survey found that 62% of women didn’t know it can be diagnosed and treated. Too many women still believe it’s “just part of being female.”

With WUKA, we’re not just creating underwear. We’re creating conversations. We’re telling women and girls:

• Heavy flow is common.
• Heavy flow is valid.
• And you don’t have to suffer in silence.

Our heavy flow range is about freedom,  the freedom to go to school without missing class, to sleep through the night without fear, to live life without being defined by your period.

Looking ahead

Eight years on, I’m proud that WUKA has grown from a small idea into a global movement. But what makes me proudest is hearing from women who say, “I finally feel in control of my heavy flow.”

For me, as a founder, as a woman of colour, and as someone who has lived through heavy periods, that’s the change I wanted to see. And it’s just the beginning.

Because periods shouldn’t hold us back. Heavy or light, every flow deserves dignity, comfort, and respect.

Learn more about WUKA at wuka.co.uk