Femtech startup Luna Daily wants to break the taboo around female intimate care. The London-based team has closed €3.3 million to launch in international markets.
Founded in 2022 by Katy Cottam, Luna Daily aims to empower women to take better care of their bodies. It’s reported that 43% of women feel their washing routines are causing them to have a gynae issue. Luna Daily offers a product, formulated with dermatologists and gynaecologists, to strengthen, nourish, and protect the skin’s microbiome.
Now, the startup has secured €3.3 million to supercharge its global expansion, just one year after launch. The funding was led by Redrice, Joyance Partners, Velocity Juice and Angel investors.
Katy Cottam, founder and CEO of Luna Daily: “For so many women, their intimate skin is an afterthought, only prioritised when there is a ‘problem’ and they’re forced to use outdated feminine hygiene products which have ‘what’s wrong with her?’ associations. My vision is to get rid of this ‘feminine hygiene’ category altogether. I created Luna Daily to give women a choice about how they care for their bodies – as we say, from head, vulva, knees and toes.”
The company was developed with the vision of giving women more choice and more empowerment over their bodies and hygiene care. The product is microbiome-balancing body care for all skin, even the most intimate, and is designed for women and people with vulvas across all life stages from puberty, through motherhood, to menopause.
Claire Cherry, Investment Partner at Joyance said: “We invest in the future of health and happiness, and back businesses that delight and bring joy. Luna Daily fits perfectly within this ethos and meets a clear need in the feminine health market.”
Embarking on international growth, the brand will now be listed by Sephora online and across 260+ stores in North America. In the UK, Luna Daily has secured significant retail distribution to date and in January this year, it launched on Harrods.com.
Katy Cottam: “We’re proud to be leading the next evolution in the female wellness category and Sephora is the perfect retail partner, boldly championing this category and celebrating innovations from emerging brands like ours. It’s a huge milestone for a UK startup to be the first ever UK brand of our kind to launch in Sephora, helping to grow this category and educate their clients.”
Cindy Deily, VP Skincare Merchandising at Sephora: “Sephora is thrilled to partner with Luna Daily and continue bringing our clients best-in-class products that support all their beauty and wellness needs. With its inclusive approach and effective, clean formulations, Luna Daily offers products that support the unique needs of women at all stages of life and helps reinforce Sephora’s commitment to this important, growing category of intimate care. We look forward to introducing Luna Daily to our Sephora community and know it will be a wonderful addition to our assortment.”
Luna Daily has also developed a more sustainable approach to body care, with its innovative ‘Spray-To-Wipe’ product, which is an eco-friendly alternative to single use wipes. one bottle is equivalent to 300 wipes – in 2022 alone the brand estimates it saved 2 million wipes from going into landfill.
Flavia Richardson, CCO at Velocity Juice said: “Velocity Juice’s mission is to empower founders to accelerate their growth. We are proud to have backed Luna Daily as an emerging leading consumer brand focused on addressing the ever-increasing needs of female health.”
Not only will this funding support growth into North America but, it’ll also go towards establishing a female intelligence platform, including educational resources and a 24/7 live chat function with medical experts to improve education around intimate care.
Robert Senior, Founder of Fallon, ex Worldwide CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi and Partner at Redrice: “We back early-stage businesses that have the courage and insight, foresight and resilience to try and rewrite the agendas and accepted norms. Katy has smuggled the difficult conversations into mainstream parlance with a surefooted elegance, evidenced by her partnership with Sephora, whose purpose is not to shock rather to delight its shoppers. We felt Luna Daily is shockingly delightful and we’re thrilled to be a part of the journey.”