LOLA
Jordana Kier and Alexandra Friedman asked what was actually in a tampon, built a transparent, organic period-care brand around the answer, and raised tens of millions. The ending was quieter than the hype.
Jordana Kier and Alexandra Friedman looked at the tampon aisle and asked a question no one seemed able to answer: what’s actually in these? In 2015 they launched LOLA, organic-cotton period care sold by subscription with a promise of full transparency, and raised more than $30 million to disrupt a stagnant $15 billion industry. It ended up sold to an Amazon aggregator.
LOLA rode the wave of transparent, direct-to-consumer women’s-health brands, expanded from tampons into sexual wellness, and became one of the most-hyped names in the category. But selling a low-margin commodity through an expensive subscription model got harder over time, and in 2023 LOLA was acquired by Forum Brands, an Amazon roll-up. Raising a lot and disrupting a category doesn’t guarantee the ending the headlines promise.
At a glance:
| Founded | 2015, by Jordana Kier and Alexandra Friedman |
| Product | Organic-cotton tampons, pads, and liners, later sexual wellness |
| First funding | $1.2 million; grew to more than $30 million raised |
| Model | DTC subscription |
| Positioning | Radical transparency about ingredients |
| 2023 | Acquired by Forum Brands, an Amazon aggregator |
The Story
The question about the tampon aisle
The insight that started LOLA was almost embarrassingly simple: nobody could say what was in a tampon. The feminine-care giants weren’t required to list ingredients, and a $15 billion category had gone decades without meaningful change. Kier and Friedman saw an industry that treated its customers as an afterthought, and built a brand on the radical premise of just telling women what they were putting in their bodies.
Organic period care by subscription
LOLA launched in 2015 with organic-cotton tampons, pads, and liners, sold direct to consumers on a customizable subscription. It started with $1.2 million in funding and a clear pitch: transparency and organic materials in a category that offered neither. The founders talked openly about periods in a way the incumbents never had, and the brand quickly became a media darling.
The hype and the expansion
The money followed the buzz. LOLA raised more than $30 million, landed on lists like Entrepreneur’s Brilliant Companies and CNBC’s Upstart 25, and expanded beyond periods into sexual wellness with condoms and lubricants, positioning itself as a full women’s-health brand. For a while it was one of the most talked-about names in DTC.
The quieter ending
The trajectory didn’t match the hype. Selling a cheap, repeat commodity through a subscription model meant thin margins and rising costs to acquire each customer, a squeeze that got harder as DTC advertising grew more expensive across the board. In 2023, LOLA was acquired by Forum Brands, an Amazon aggregator that buys up e-commerce brands to operate at scale. It was a real outcome, but a modest one next to the disruption the brand once promised.
The Strategy (and Its Limits)
Transparency in an opaque category
LOLA’s wedge was honesty in an industry that hid its ingredients. Being the transparent option in an opaque category is a genuine differentiator, and it earned LOLA attention and trust. But transparency alone doesn’t change the underlying economics of selling a low-priced commodity.
DTC subscription to own the customer
Selling direct on subscription let LOLA own the customer relationship and build recurring revenue. The problem is that period products are cheap and margins are thin, so the cost to acquire each subscriber was hard to earn back, especially once digital advertising got more expensive. A subscription works best when the margins can carry the acquisition cost, and a $10 box of tampons is a tough place to make that math work.
Expanding the category, not fixing the model
LOLA’s move into sexual wellness broadened the brand, but adding products doesn’t repair unit economics that don’t work. When the core model is under strain, expansion can spread a company thinner rather than save it, which is part of why even a well-funded, well-loved brand ended up as an aggregator acquisition.
The Marketing
Talking openly about periods
LOLA’s best marketing was its candor. By discussing periods and women’s bodies plainly, without euphemism or pink packaging, it earned press and loyalty in a category that had always whispered. That openness was genuinely differentiating and generated real earned attention.
The DTC playbook
LOLA ran the classic direct-to-consumer playbook of the 2010s: subscription, social media, and content that destigmatized its category. It worked to build a brand, but the same playbook got dramatically more expensive as every DTC company competed for the same ad space, which is a big part of what pressured the business.
The Numbers
| Year | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 2015 | LOLA launches with $1.2M and organic-cotton period care |
| 2016–2018 | Raises additional rounds, totaling more than $30M |
| Later | Expands into sexual wellness (condoms, lubricants) |
| 2023 | Acquired by Forum Brands, an Amazon aggregator |
A modest exit after big funding: LOLA raised more than $30 million and generated years of buzz, but ended up sold to an aggregator rather than to a strategic buyer at a premium. The gap between the funding and the outcome is the lesson: hype and capital are not the same as a business model that works at scale.
What You Can Learn
Disruption isn’t a guaranteed win. LOLA genuinely disrupted an opaque category and still ended in a quiet sale. Being first, transparent, and well-funded matters, but none of it overrides economics that don’t work.
Subscription needs margin to survive. A cheap, repeat commodity is brutal to sell on subscription, because the cost to acquire a customer can exceed what they’re worth. Make sure your margins can carry your acquisition cost before you build on a subscription.
Adding products doesn’t fix a broken model. LOLA’s expansion into sexual wellness broadened the brand but didn’t repair its unit economics. When the core math doesn’t work, more SKUs usually spread a company thinner rather than save it.
Not every exit is a headline. An aggregator acquisition is a real outcome, but a modest one. Raising a lot of money raises expectations, and a sale that would be a win for a bootstrapped brand can look like a disappointment for a heavily funded one.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who founded LOLA?
Jordana Kier and Alexandra Friedman founded LOLA in 2015, building an organic, transparent period-care brand after realizing consumers couldn’t find out what was in conventional tampons.
What happened to LOLA?
After raising more than $30 million and expanding from period care into sexual wellness, LOLA struggled with the economics of selling a low-margin commodity by subscription. In 2023 it was acquired by Forum Brands, an Amazon aggregator.
What did LOLA sell?
LOLA sold organic-cotton tampons, pads, and liners on a customizable subscription, and later expanded into sexual-wellness products like condoms and lubricants, all built around transparency about ingredients.
Why did LOLA struggle?
Period products are inexpensive, repeat commodities with thin margins, and LOLA’s direct-to-consumer subscription model made customer acquisition costly, a squeeze that worsened as digital advertising became more expensive across the DTC industry.
Sources
- BeautyMatter, “Period Care Brand Lola Acquired by Forum Brands”. Founding, funding, and the 2023 acquisition.
- Modern Retail, “Amazon aggregator Forum Brands acquires organic period care brand Lola”. Acquisition details and brand background.
- Observer, “LOLA Period Startup Raises Funds,” 2016. Early funding and the $15 billion category opportunity.
- Columbia Magazine, “Time to Talk about Tampons”. Founding story and the organic, transparent product line.