Saathi Pads is an Indian manufacturer of sanitary napkins made of bamboo and banana plant fibers, offering an eco-friendly and healthy alternative to traditional sanitary napkins. The pads are just as effective as traditional pads found in grocery and drug stores, but they are produced with a more sustainable process, completely biodegradable, and don’t contain any toxic chemicals. Saathi is committed to empowering women around the world and helping to #breakthetaboo around periods by providing access to information about women’s health and creating an engaged community on social media. They also partner with local NGOs in India to give back to the community by donating pads to women in rural communities.
Our partnership with MIT Solve has led us to support another one of their Solver teams who is changing the world through improving feminine hygiene products. The project helped them to plan their extended reach into the US and expand the impact of their mission driven business modelCurtis Underwood, Partner, Oliver Wyman
Scope
Over the course of the six-week project, Oliver Wyman designed a strategy for entering the US and marketing the product. The team spent a lot of time thinking about the best way to communicate with potential consumers since the product would be somewhat unique in the US market. We reviewed potential competitors, determined the ideal consumer set, evaluated different marketing and channel strategies, and interviewed potential buyers and similar start-ups. Our team also considered both short-term and long-term visions for the organizational design and growth of Saathi both in the US and globally.
Working with Saathi was such a rewarding experience, because we got to take what Oliver Wyman does best, consulting, and generate meaningful impact for a client bringing a unique, mission-driven approach to the feminine hygiene space. Saathi is passionate about their product and female empowerment which made it even more exciting to help them strategize how best to spread their message and build a consumer followingOlivia Reed, Consultant
Impact
In an effort to kickstart Saathi’s US launch we identified the top three retailers and channels for Saathi to target in their initial entry and made introductions to three potential buyers of the product. Our team also narrowed down a broad list of potential marketing agency partners to two top choices and created an action plan for continuing the conversation. We helped to distil the three key pillars of Saathi’s branch and present them in a way that differentiates the product from those already on the market in the healthy and natural space. Finally, we helped to polish a pitch deck that can be brought to investors over the next few months.
