I’m really proud to see TOTM’s full range of organic cotton feminine hygiene products adorning the “shelves” at Ocado. A great deal of work from all the team here at TOTM has gone into developing a healthy, sustainable, environmentally responsible product and a brand which sits comfortably alongside the market leaders and which has the potential to disrupt things in a big way.
This marks an important step in the company’s development and launches our wholesale strategy. Growth in D2C online sales continues to accelerate and our association with Ocado will help drive brand awareness and build credibility.
It also highlights the important role that online supermarkets like Ocado are playing to help newer brands like ours gain a foothold in such a competitive industry.
The problem is that most of the big supermarkets only carry a couple of the major brands alongside their own and still consider the organic cotton segment to be too small to be included in their range. Space on the shelves is at a premium (and continues to be squeezed) and introducing a new brand becomes a major issue for them. This creates a chicken and egg situation because until consumers are offered a healthy choice, they can’t exercise one. We’re confident that UK consumers would welcome such a choice in a market which is dominated by man-made, synthetic, chemically treated products. If we are to make a difference to women’s health on any meaningful scale the distribution reach of the supermarkets will be important so we’re hoping for some leadership from one of them.
In the meantime, Ocado aren’t restricted by shelf space and don’t need to make an outsized order to stock hundreds of stores nationwide, so they’re able to provide a really important route to market. It’s also a big plus for consumers because they get access to a wider choice of products rather than being force-fed the same mega brands.
Consumers are increasingly seeking healthy, chemical free solutions and health professionals are becoming more direct in their warnings about mainstream tampons. Organic cotton products are, without doubt, a safer alternative and we are positioning ourselves in what is now a niche market but which has the potential to become the default choice for consumers of the next 30 years.
“Be kinder to your vagina” is our slogan and we intend to take the organic cotton segment into the mainstream here in the UK and Internationally. Thanks to Anastasia, Charlie and the team at Ocado we’re one step closer to achieving that.
