Brand Series - Wear ‘em out
Wear ‘em out sells reusable period pads that are good for you and good for the planet. Owned by Lauren, she is single handedly making the switch to more eco-friendly periods easy and accessible. Did you know that a single disposable pad or tampon takes longer to degrade than the lifespan of the person who wore it? In fact, it can take up to 800 years! She tells us about the story behind her brand and how she has grown it over the last few years.
1. Tell us all about the reason behind your business?
As a long-term reusable pad wearer I couldn't find a pad that 'spoke to me', or a style of brand that I would be happy recommending to my friends and family, so I set about creating the pad that I wanted (it had to be hard working and comfortable) and a brand that I'd be happy shouting about from the rooftops (this is imperative as by the nature of the product the more we talk about, the less shame is attached)
2. What did you do before this?
I am a jack of all trades and master of none! I left school at 14 so without any 'formal' qualifications I found myself working a whole myriad of jobs from Tesco to a hairdresser and birth doula. Just before setting up Wear 'em Out I was a public speaker and published author all in the area of female empowerment
3. Would you say that any press or PR you've had for your business has helped?
All press is good press right? We are still making sales from a piece that Stylist ran on us 2 years ago and we had a really successful Instagram campaign when we launched our first design collaboration with Emily Brooks. You can set up your stall but if you don't consider press or PR how will anyone know your shop is open?
4. What the best investment you've made in your business to stimulate growth?
Our product is quite a tough 'sell', constant affirmative messaging, and gaining trust with our audience is the key to selling out products. There's a psychological shift that needs to take place for people to commit to trying reusable period pads and they need to know that there's a human there to support and guide them. I have committed to my social media (mainly Instagram ) and my email list as my first place to stimulate growth. The reason we sold out our first 4 stocks when we launched was because I started the Instagram account 6 months before we launched, and I grew my email list so much in that time that my audience were desperate to get their hands on our products as soon as we had them. It's a relentless task but when you invest in your audience then it pays back. I do think it'll be different for every business though, as I said it's a tough product to sell due to the shame attached to periods and the price point as it's a investment product
5. Why do your customers love your products?
Our customers love our product because they work, and they work hard. Each pad has been designed with confidence and comfort at the forefront, they each have a separate internal construction meaning that they have been kept as thin as possible whilst remaining highly absorbent - 96.8% of 900 people that we asked said 'they wished they'd made the switch to our reusable period pads sooner', I think stats like this say a lot
6. What's the future for Wear em out? What would you like to see?
Do you know what, I'm happy with where we are right now. I see success as a workable work/life balance. In 2020 grew, and we grew fast, we were stocked in Next online within 4 months of our launch and in all honesty I didn't' like the pace, it brought much more financial and personal responsibilities and I've spent this year asking myself 'what do you want from this business' and the answer was that I didn't' want any more growth, or at least a slower, more manageable growth. We now have around 50 stockists and a very loyal and stock direct to customer base, I'm really happy with the balance as it is so won't be pushing for more, instead be grateful for what I have
7. What one piece of advice would you give another small business owner who's earlier on in their business journey than you?
A piece of advice that I got from lovely Jade founder of Dainty London was 'in the first year, say yes to everything', I did this and I believe it paid off, now I am much more picky about where and how I spend my time but in that first year it really got the brand out there. Also, you may have a goal (I wanted to be the number one brand in the world for reusable period pads) but if that goal ever starts to feel like it may no longer be what you want, stay flexible enough to make necessary change so you live a life you choose rather than one you feel you should live. (FYI that answer would have been very different a year ago so is still open to change)
To follow Wear ‘em out over on Instagram or to learn more click here.