By Larissa Schlueter
A review of market trends for feminine products has brought change at Tampax. After fourth quarter reports showed that the teen line of tampons featuring vibrant and emoji-covered packaging was tanking, the company has flushed the teen brand and redirected and relaunched a new line for a demographic much in need–mothers.
Where feminine products have typically been discreet light pink, floral clad, uninspiring necessities, the company plans to launch a more current product to uplift and humor women for a handful of days each month. We spoke with Scarlet Stainn, the woman behind R&D at Tampax who led the change within the company:
“We saw that mothers, more than teens, needed the motivational quips that we can provide with each tampon wrapper. Our discussion panel with the 13-17-year-old demographic regarding the product we had been producing for teen girls with phrases such as, ‘You go girl!’ and ‘Be strong. Be unique. Be you.’ was quite profound. We had been doing something for these teens that was going unappreciated, unnoticed, and frankly we were sick of it. During our panel review, we were unable to record any useful feedback, as eye rolls, scoffs, and Tik Tok videos mocking the brand’s teen line of tampons did not meet standard R&D feedback requirements.” Stainn says that’s when they decided to pull the plug and give the line a makeover for mothers needing a pick-me-up.
The new line, Mom’s Stuff, will aim to please a demographic that doesn’t have time for this shit each month. It will include Tampax tampon’s traditional absorbencies, and will now include an Ultra Mega Plus absorbency that can hold an impressive 120 grams of fluid (that’s 10x that of a traditional super tampon).
The Mom’s Stuff line will also have reinforced packaging that can sustain the wear and tear of rolling around a purse for the other three weeks of the month. Mothers will love the neon colors and glow-in-the-dark feature as well–that torpedo will never be lost in the bottom of your bag again.
Early feedback reports the most exciting change will be “real” inspiring motivational wrappers on each tampon.
“Similar to unwrapping a Dove chocolate and finding a quotable notion, women everywhere will smile a little more during a time of the month where everyone’s an idiot and on your last nerve,” says Flo Alotte, Head of Marketing.
“There’s going to be something really uplifting for a woman to take one of our tampons out of the box and read something that truly resonates with her.”
Examples of what to find on the Mom’s Stuff wrappers include:
“You’re not ruining these underwear, not today.”
“This is your time… of the month.”
“Your hormonal acne gives you one hell of a glow.”
Now, we don’t want to spoil the whole box for you–which we should mention does come in a 180 pack–but our first few days using Mom’s Stuff did not disappoint. One tester felt a real connection with her sample pack.
“I pulled an Ultra Mega Plus out of the box, I almost had to use two hands it was so large, but as I turned it over, the quote really spoke to me. It said, ‘Enjoy this moment alone. Those little fuckers are waiting for you on the other side of the door.’ And you know what?” said the mother of three small children. “I really did take that moment alone behind a locked door, fingers sliding under the crack and small fists pounding incessantly, regrouped and went back to dealing with those rugrats. Tampax really gets me.”
Ladies, it looks like we finally have something to look forward to each month other than those stretched out yoga pants and heating pads. Mom’s Stuff hits shelves this spring.
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About the Author
Larissa is a regular mom, not even a cool mom, trying to keep it together in the suburbs of cold and snowy St. Paul, Minnesota. She spends her days working full-time as a dental hygienist and her nights finding creative ways to hide from her blended family. You can follow her misadventures on Instagram