Shristi Pahari and Nabina Subedi came up with the idea of a period subscription box, a monthly care package for females, in 2017 as they were studying in India to become chartered accountants. When they returned to Nepal in November 2017 after a five-year stay in Delhi, they became busy with their jobs and could not find any time for this business. So they both quit their jobs in October 2018. Since then, they have been investing their time and energy in their venture ‘The She Thing’, which has already delivered around 120 menstrual kits in Kathmandu. This is the first period box delivery service in Nepal.

 “There is a subscription model for many things in the world such as newspapers. But for something that women have to deal with every month, there isn’t any in Nepal,” Subedi says. Business has been steady; they sold around 20 boxes in the first month. Pahari says, “We are not focusing on making profits for now. We are not even expecting a stable income for the next two years. We first want to build a loyal customer base. We know it will take at least two years for our business to become stable.”

They say that the main challenge for this business in Nepal is the lack of menstrual hygiene awareness and the unavailability of some menstrual hygiene products. “Here, women try to get through their period with Rs 100. People question why they should pay several times for this box (read on). Menstruation means pads in Nepal. But it is more than that. Proper menstrual hygiene products are equally essential,” says Subedi. Pahari adds, “There is a chapter on menstruation in Grade 8 in Nepal, but nowadays many girls start getting their periods from Grade 6 or 7. In our society, menstruation is still a taboo subject. We want to make a girl’s experience of getting her first period to be as comfortable as possible.”

The two women rue the absence in Nepal of even basic menstrual hygiene items—such as a pee-buddy (which allows women to stand and pee), pain relief patches (which relieve pain from period cramps), period panties (which help block leakage), and instant period stain removers. They import most of these items from India, paying high taxes and transportation costs, to include them in their period box.

Because of this, the box might seem expensive to some. A normal box for a normal period flow is priced at Rs 650, a heavy box for a heavy flow at Rs 1,199 and a “red fairy” box for a girl’s first period at Rs 2,500. The items in the boxes are divided into five categories—sanitary napkins, surprise gifts, menstrual hygiene items, snacks and chocolates, and health and beauty. Moreover, the theme for each month is different. “For January, it was ‘New beginning’ and for February, it is ‘Valentine’. Basic items remain the same, but we include surprises every month,” says Pahari.

Asked if they have thought about including tampons or menstrual cups in the box, Pahari says, “We probably won’t include menstrual cups in our box, since the idea of a box is mostly based on providing sanitary pads every month. But we may sell the cups separately.”

 Their target customers are women such as college students and professionals “who don’t have time to pamper themselves during their period days”, according to Pahari. But as many as 30 percent of their customers are men. “Our first customer was a man who bought a box for his wife. We don’t have many regular subscribers now, just around 10, maybe because periods can be irregular, but we do have quite a few repeat customers,” says Subedi. “We keep a note of the expected period date of women and deliver the box a few days ahead. On average, we send a parcel or two every day. And we also do immediate deliveries.”

 Pahari says they faced a problem in categorizing their business while registering their company. “We could not find the category ‘Sanitary napkins’ or anything menstruation- related while applying for a Permanent Account Number (PAN). We were suggested that we register under cosmetics, which we did.”

 They don’t have a store yet. They operate out of a room they’ve recently rented and they get business queries on social-networking sites such as Facebook and Instagram. Their long-term goal is to manufacture in Nepal all menstrual hygiene items in the box.