KORAMANGALA: A city-based company will soon receive a patent extension for a personal hygiene product in the US, even as the patent request remains pending in India.
Yashram Lifestyle manufactures Adira period panties, which has been in the market since 2009. The undergarment is designed to prevent leaks and staining when women have their period.
“It has extra padding in the front, back and inner thigh areas because this is where you stain most easily. It’s completely skin-friendly and breathes,” says Deepa Kumar, founder of the company who has also designed the panty.
The layer exposed to the skin is cotton, which soaks up the flow, while the next layer is made of a high-tech fibre that is leak-proof, she explains. “Since the first layer is cotton, it doesn’t make a sound when you walk around, or cause a rash. And it’s washable,” she adds.
Though this is not a substitute for sanitary napkins, wearing the panties let women go through the day without worry, says Arathi P Balaji, a businesswoman who has been using the product for four years. “My daughter started her period after Adira was launched, so she has always had a comfortable time. Even though her uniform is light gray, we’ve had no trouble, even during the initial months,” she says.
From what Deepa has observed, her customer base continues increasing as mothers who earlier bought the panties for their daughters are now picking it up for themselves.
Currently, she estimates that Yashram, a profitable business, manufactures about 5,000 pieces a month. The product is sold on the company’s website and online retail sites, in Health and Glow stores and 100 other standalone shops.
It owns other brands, including leak-proof garments for nursing mothers, and totally produces around 15,000 units across all its lines, she says.
The panties are reusable, but according to V Balaji, regional merchandiser, Health and Glow, regular customers come as often as once a month to buy them. “If we are out of stock, they even place an advance order, and come back to pick it up the next day,” he says.
Ask Deepa, a telecom engineer by training, what got her interested in fabric technology, and she says, “This is something that all of us have gone through. Women also work long hours now. So if you don’t have access to a rest room and can’t change, you can still pull through,” she says.
Empathising with young girls is what has inspired her latest line of products—Little Lady bras. “This is for pre-pubescent girls. That’s when it’s hard to make do with a slip but it’s too early for a bra,” she says.
The Little Lady bras give you a flat look,” she says. Demand for this product is yet to pick up as it was launched just a few months ago, she adds.
Their office is in Koramangala, while the production unit is near Kurnool, where they’ve employed around 45 underprivileged women. They have a distributor in Europe and two online retailers in the US. The prices of the period panties range from `1,005.30 to `1,301.85, depending on size and other variations. For details, log onto www.myadira.com