Bobble came to light with one big mission: ending period poverty. MWAW spoke to Malisse Tan, a cancer fighter, mother, huge advocate for women and youth ad founder of Bobble to further understand this.
"I wanted to do something that would impact the people."
Bobble & Period Poverty
Period poverty means lacking the access to sanitary products and having little to no knowledge of menstruation. In poor countries like Bangladesh and Kenya, the women can't afford period products. Did you know that Bangladeshi women working in textile factories resort to putting some leftover fabrics from work in their pants? Yes, period poverty is that bad.
According to UNICEF, 2.3 billion people worldwide have no access to basic sanitation services. In poverty-stricken countries, only 27 percent of the population can afford to have water and soap at home. Women and adolescent girls from these countries won't be able to manage their periods properly. This is another form of period poverty.
Bobble came to light with one big mission: ending period poverty. MWAW spoke to Malisse Tan, a cancer fighter, mother, huge advocate for women and youth ad founder of Bobble to further understand this.
Coping With Life Changes
Back in 2017, Malisse Tan gave birth to her first born, Aleya Carina. Two months later, she was diagnosed with lyphoma cancer. If motherhood wasn't a roller coaster enough, being diagnosed with cancer was a completely different story.
After going through chemotherapy sessions, she decided to change certain household items to to those with more natural ingredients and less chemicals in them. Now that she was dealing with cancer and had a child, the house needed to be safer and eco-friendlier.
Naturally, she also looked for eco-friendlier period products. She was looking for organic cotton alternatives and realized that Malaysia didn’t have that in 2017. “There were eco-organic period brands in countries like the US and UK, but they’re expensive and didn’t ship here. I thought it was a big problem.” she said.
Producing a Sustainable Brand
Organic cotton a better option – Malisse says, “Using organic cotton is healthier and better for the vagina,” There are eco-friendly alternatives like re-washable pads or menstrual cups, but they're less practical for women. who work outside their homes all day.
Bobble manufactures in China as they have the right machinery to assemble and seal period products for hygiene purposes. The raw materials used are sourced from around the world, which include Germany, UK and Japan. Their organic cotton used is GOTS certified, meaning that the organic cotton is farmed without the use of toxic chemicals and bleaches, and sourced from farms that meet the highest of supply chains standards and fair wages to workers. The products are then shipped to Malaysia for final product packaging before being sent out to customers.
How adamant is Bobble to keep every part of their process eco-friendly? The packaging for each box of Bobble is made from biodegradable FSC certified paper - sourced from sustainable forests where every tree that is cut down, a new one is planted. With regards to printing, soy ink is used instead of the usual digital ink, which contains petroleum and not eco-friendly. Malisse confessed that the packaging takes a bit of their margin, but they decided it was necessary in order to strengthen their eco-organic message.
Bobble is predominantly an ecommerce business however they have retail presence in Klang Valley, Johor, Kuching and soon to be in Penang and Singapore. They offer a subscription service and encourage customers to transition to this way of conveniently receiving their period product needs - by offering a 3 month subscription, customers are able to save money and reduce carbon footprints.
Why Pads as a Business?
Bobble is Malisse Tan’s third start-up business. Her first start-up was with a couple of male partners, but the business fell through. Her second start-up had a hand in property tech but it also didn’t work out. After a while, she found her calling.
She said, “I wanted to do something that would impact the people.” As an advocate for women & youth and now a mother to a daughter, she felt that better access to safer and sustainable pads was lacking. Not being the most glamourous industry to be in, Malisse felt this is a big problem for womankind that needed to be fixed and to work towards achieving some of the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals in any small way she can.
Malisse firmly believes that period products shouldn’t be a luxury item. She said, “When you go to a hotel, you get free cotton buds and cotton pads but why can’t you get free sanitary pads there? They give you the bag (to dispose of them) but they don’t give you the pads.” She commends New Zealand’s move to provide free sanitary pads in schools, as Canada and Scotland have done as well. She believes that Malaysia should strive to do the same.
Grateful For The Customers
Malisse is thankful that the customers they’ve met so far were either aware or curious about safer and organic period products. She shared, “The best part is there were even men among our customers who would buy for their sisters and mums!”
The organization does their own research on what customers look for in period products. They learnt that most of their customers preferred unscented pads in comparison to scented pads as scented pads often left them with discomfort and itching.
Their company also researches on innovative period products for future plans. They’ve found many brands that experiment and use materials other than cotton to help with period complications. They even discovered a brand that produces pads made of cannabis as it reduces menstrual cramps! While she’s amazed at the innovation, Bobble hopes to own their own factory with the ability to launch newer innovations in the period care industry some day.
“The best part is there were even men among our customers who would buy for their sisters and mums!”
Changing The World
Malisse wanted pads to be available not only for herself and her daughter, but for other women out there as well. She said, “Accessibility and affordability are a few things that Bobble wants to achieve.”
A part of their mission in Bobble is to work with their customers to empower the affected communities, particularly in the lower income groups. For now, she tries to approach her sales channels, one of them being corporate offices, to experiment with giving pads at the washrooms.
Another crucial mission is to educate the public about matters pertaining menstruation and menstrual wellbeing. Malisse shared, “There are still women who flush their pads or tampons down the toilet.” They try to educate through their channels (ie: social media) about how menstruation works, other than promoting their products.
"Ask yourself if the problem you're solving is big enough or a short-term one."
Meeting Challenges Head On
Keeping a business afloat during economic recessions is challenging. Where the year 2020 is concerned, it’s entirely a different tale due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Malisse was indeed thankful for the sales and revenue that kept them afloat. Other than the production and packaging processes, they run other aspects of business carefully. They make use of small social media ad packages for the first few months of business and it helped sustain them thus far.
As the team is gradually expanding, they’re now looking into ways to scale up. They’re currently searching through their network of friends who are willing to invest in their business. The company would still stay afloat as Malisse has set aside some capital to aid them should an emergency rise.. However, they are also keen on making progress with business expansions.
Vision For Bobble
When Malisse sets a vision for Bobble, she dreams big. She wants Bobble to be THE eco-organic period product company in South East Asia. As the company wants to launch different products (i.e plant-based applicators for tampons, maybe?), they’re looking to expand into Singapore and Jakarta in the future.
On a worldwide scale, they want to bring the community to people in the world. Bobble aims to create a community that will sponsor girls in poverty-stricken countries every month.
Other than that, they aspire to be a voice that educates people about the menstruation process. They hope to collaborate with government, corporates and community organisations where together, they can move the needle in changing how period care and menstrual health is being taught in schools and at home. They hope this will lead to the social stigma around menstruation to be eradicated for our children and children's children this way.
Advice For New Female Entrepreneurs
Malisse’s biggest advice to young female entrepreneurs is to not jump into business blindly. She said, “Female entrepreneurs must understand their risk appetite and they must have a financial plan.” Not only that, she feels that understanding their business model is crucial to know where the revenue channel is coming from.
With regards to survival in the business world, she says, “Ask yourself if the problem you’re solving is big enough or a short-term one.”
“Female entrepreneurs must understand their risk appetite and they must have a financial plan.”
Would you like to stay informed about period health, menstrual well-being, exclusive deals and more? All you'll have to do is visit Bobble.Co!
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