Founding moment and category gap

Tampons in an Ice Cream Tub

In this episode of Brand Growth Heroes, I’m joined by Tara Chandra and Susan Allen, co-founders of Here We Flo, the organic, sustainable period care brand turning one of the most shame-coded categories in consumer brands into something loud, funny, feminist and brilliantly visible on shelf. We talk about how two friends from LSE spotted a gap in women’s intimate products, started with a period care idea in a Hackney flatshare, and built a challenger brand now stocked across major retailers including Boots, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Superdrug and Holland & Barrett.

Here We Flo shows us the power of brand strategy to create value when the category ITSELF is broken. Tara and Susan didn’t just create organic cotton tampons, pads and liners; they questioned why period care was hidden, clinical and functional when other parts of consumer life had already moved towards better materials, better design and better conversations. We cover packaging as a growth lever, why their ice cream tub became a “trolley magnet”, how they think about rate of sale rather than just chasing distribution, and why their mission now stretches across cycle care, bladder care and sexual wellness.

What You’ll Learn

•  Why Here We Flo used packaging as their first “billboard” before they could afford media. 
•  How starting in independent Hackney stores helped them build product market fit. 
•  Why brand tone of voice matters so much in categories shaped by shame and stigma. 
•  How they think about growing rate of sale with existing retail partners. 
•  Why product reliability is non-negotiable in period care and bladder care. 

Key Topics Discussed

•  Building a feminist challenger brand 
•  Organic and sustainable period care 
•  Packaging as a shelf strategy 
•  Launching in independent retailers 
•  Breaking into WHSmith Travel, Boots and Tesco 
•  Making taboo categories emotionally accessible 
•  Period care, bladder care and sexual wellness 
•  Growing through rate of sale, not just distribution 
•  Education on shelf and in-store communication 
•  Sports partnerships, stigma and period confidence 
•  Building a team of 31 women 
•  Scaling towards 50–100% growth ambitions 

Like this episode?

 PLEASE share the love by sharing this episode with another founder building a challenger brand, a colleague or a mate who loves brilliant non-alcoholic drinks, or anyone trying to work out how to build a sharper, more focused growth model.

Don't forget to FOLLOW or SUBSCRIBE to Brand Growth Heroes on your favourite podcast app, and even LEAVE A REVIEW - both of these actions make a MASSIVE difference to our mission to help more founders just like you.

Join our community
Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/brandgrowthheroes)
LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/brand-growth-heroes/?viewAsMember=true)
Youtube (https://www.youtube.com/@brandgrowthheroes)

Find out more about the programmes and courses Fiona runs here (https://www.brandgrowthheroes.com/mini-mba-2026)

AND 

Do you want to lean in to unlock value from AI? We have a whatsapp group -the  NextGen CPG WhatsApp group for founders leaning in to the value that a leadership approach to engaging with AI can unlock for businesses like yours. Do you want to join? 

*** A massive thanks thanks to Brand Growth Heroes’ podcast sponsor -  Joelson, the commercial law firm ***

If you're a founder, you already know how much energy goes into building the perfect product, creating standout branding and connecting with consumers.

But scaling a CPG business also brings legal complexities that can make or break your growth journey - from contracts and regulatory compliance to protecting your intellectual property.

That’s why we’re proud to partner with Joelson, the leading commercial law firm specialising in helping founders of scaling consumer brands.

Joelson works with brands like Little Moons, Trip, Eat Natural, Bear Graze and Pulsin, and advised the innocent founders on their landmark sale to Coca-Cola - and still work with them at JamJar Investments today!

Joelson is offering a FREE LEGAL CONSULTATION to all BGH listeners (mailto:[email protected]) - we highly recommend you take them up on it!

CREDITS

Thanks to our Sound Engineer Gyp Buggane at Ballagroove.com and all the rest of the Brand Growth Heroes team.