Sunny: Simplifying menstrual care with an easy applicator
Innovative period cup combines the best of tampons and period cups by adding an applicator
Because they’re reusable, period cups can save people who menstruate a lot of money while reducing their carbon footprint. On average, people have their first periods at age 12 and continue menstruating for 40 years – imagine how much time and money they spend on trips to the drug store for pads or tampons. Many people would love to switch to period cups, but feel intimidated or think they’re hard to insert. Sunny cofounders Cindy Belardo and Drew Jarvis have solved this problem by creating the first ever FDA-cleared menstrual cup with an applicator.
A chance meeting leads to a sought-after period product
When Cindy Belardo chose to major in pre-med and environmental studies at University of Oklahoma, she never expected to focus on menstruation. She first heard about period cups in an environmental studies class in the context of sustainable menstrual hygiene options. Surprised she’d never heard of menstrual cups in pre-med or high school health classes, Belardo set out to learn more.
Soon, Belardo became a “menstrual cup evangelist” on campus. She started a menstrual cup club, then collaborated with friends to earn a grant to survey 200 first-time menstruators in India about period cups. Belardo’s research uncovered that people would be more willing to use period cups if they were easier to insert. Her research inspired her to design a menstrual cup applicator – and led to meeting her cofounder Drew Jarvis.
Jarvis had been working on a cup applicator design since high school. After winning a pitch competition with her business idea, she connected with an engineering firm to design her product for manufacturing. By coincidence, Belardo contacted the same firm for her period cup applicator. The firm told her it would be a conflict for them to work on two different menstrual cup applicators, and suggested that Jarvis and Belardo team up to design one product.
When Jarvis and Belardo met, they knew they needed to work together – they were both passionate about creating more accessible and eco-friendly menstrual care products, fighting period poverty, and educating people about menstrual care. They named their new company Sunny.
FORGE’s impact
The journey to scaled production for Sunny wasn’t always easy. The fledgling company faced rejections from male venture capitalists who were uncomfortable talking about periods and didn’t see the value of Sunny’s product. Sunny was the first (and so far, only) company to receive FDA 510k Clearance for a menstrual cup and applicator. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted its supply chain.
But, despite all Sunny’s struggles, its Sunny Cup and Applicator gathered 23,000 pre-orders. The company shipped its first 5,000 units to an eager audience in 2024.
“So many people want to try period cups, but they’re intimidated by insertion,” Belardo said. “The enthusiasm we’re seeing shows we’ve given a lot of people the confidence to make the switch!”
Jarvis and Belardo joined the Massachusetts Founders Network, where another entrepreneur told them that FORGE was a great resource for medical device startups.
“I’m so glad they made the intro, because we’ve used almost everything FORGE has,” Belardo said.
Sunny first engaged with FORGE for a referral to a new manufacturer in the area. Their existing supplier was not producing the product at the quality levels needed, requiring Sunny to scrape most of its production or pursue costly post-processing. FORGE was able to connect Jarvis and Belardo to an alternate medical device manufacturer based in Sunny’s home state of Massachusetts.
Next, Sunny participated in the pitch competition at FORGE’s 2024 Spring Startup Showcase, winning second place and a $2,000 Product Development Grant and meeting other vendors and founders during event networking.
After its first production run, Sunny was ready to start ramping up to full-scale production and needed a new manufacturer to get there. FORGE’s manufacturing advisor recently helped Sunny find and assess suppliers.
“We’ve gone to meet the new supplier in person twice. Their facilities are clean and amazing. The manufacturing advisor asked more questions while we were getting samples, which was so good for trust and building our supplier relationship,” Belardo said.
The bright future of menstrual care
Sunny’s manufacturing upgrade will help it meet its large volume of back orders, stock inventory, and start earning consistent profits. Then the company can start looking for new distribution channels, like selling on Amazon and becoming Health Savings Account/Flexible Spending Account eligible.
Belardo sees Sunny’s success as part of a growing wave of period tech.
Belardo said, “Talking about menstruation is still so taboo, but we’re starting to see investors get more comfortable seeing femtech as less of a niche. Lots of investors have never bet on this type of product before – but they’re becoming more willing to hear us out.”Sunny is building a community where it can dispel the taboo of talking about periods and help people get comfortable with trying a menstrual cup. If you’d like to follow along, follow Sunny on Instagram or TikTok.
By the numbers
- $2.8 million in equity funding
- 10,560,000 disposable period products saved from landfills
- 20,000 periods served across the U.S.
- $7,500 donated to support menstrual and social equity
- One Sunny cup replaces 528 disposable tampons, saving users upwards of $6,000 over the product’s lifetime