AFTER securing a $5.5m investment British start-up Daye has launched its new Femcare range which features a pain-relieving CBD tampon.
Founded in London by 24-year-old Valentina Milanova Daye, it aims to build a new brand of health products designed ‘with women in mind’.
The start-up’s first product is a newly developed tampon that uses CBD to help tackle period cramps – dysmenorrhea – as an alternative to traditional painkillers.
Supporting the company are Silicon Valley’s Khosla Ventures, along with London’s Index Ventures and Kindred Capital.
TechCrunch say Khosla’s chief-of-staff Kristina Simmons and venture partner Tim Westergren – founder of Pandora – and Hannah Seal, principle at Index, have joined Daye’s board.
Other investors include Sophia Bendz, who is the former global director of Marketing at Spotify.
Valentina, originally from Bulgaria, says CBD content allows for the creation of ‘a protective sleeve over the tampon that prevents fibre loss, decreasing the risk of bacterial vaginal infection or Toxic Shock Syndrome’.
The start-up’s medical board includes two University of Liverpool professors Ian Buchan and Louise Kenny, and Daye has carried out clinical trials in Bulgaria, supported by the Centre for Applied Science and Innovation at Sofia Medical University.
Valentina says she first had the idea for a cramp-fighting tampon in 2017 and initially used her salary from a day job, and credit cards, to fund its development.