Ruby Raut is the founder and CEO of Wake Up Kick Ass (WUKA), a female-led start up, making the UK’s first reusable and leak-proof period wear. This coincides with WUKA’s new ad campaign, launching this month, which aims to ignite powerful conversations and resonate with millions of women, especially in the South Asian community.
Ruby, an Environmental Scientist, had a taboo-fuelled and difficult start to her period while growing up in Nepal. She was given old sari rags to use for her bleeding, which happened to be reusable and eco-friendly, but not hygienic, she was sent to a relatives house and banished to a room away from everyone. As an immigrant in the UK, Ruby found similar taboos around the topic within many communities, and although period products are more visible, there is still a taboo to be dealt with. This is what inspired her to found WUKA, to break the taboos and to make sure everyone has access to healthy and sustainable period products. Ruby was named Great British Entrepreneur of the Year in 2022. Here’s her exclusive interview with Asian Voice.
What inspired the idea of your startup?
My personal upbringing in a Nepal where I was banished for bleeding during my first period under the rules of a now illegal ritual called “chaupadi” was a transformative experience and is one of the early catalysts that led me to want to make a difference in my career- challenging societal norms and promoting female empowerment.
Upon relocating to the UK, I studied an Environmental Science Degree during which time I discovered that 200,000+ tonnes of tampon/pads were sent to UK landfills every year, contributing to the mounting tide of plastic pollution. I knew something had to change about the way we handle menstruation and the idea for WUKA was born.
Inspired by using my mother’s old sari rags for pads as a child, I created a modern day, sustainable alternative- WUKA period pants. To date, WUKA has prevented a staggering 1.2 billion tampons and pads from ending up in landfills. This environmentally conscious approach has had a positive influence on the lives of over half a million women and girls in the UK and around the world, providing them with a more comfortable and eco-friendly menstrual experience.
WUKA stands for Wake Up Kick Ass and was the first reusable period underwear product in the UK. We are now an award-winning, inclusive and sustainable brand stocked in retailers nationwide with over 500,000+ customers worldwide.
2. What kind of monetary support and sustainable support do you have as a female founder to keep the brand afloat?
Teaching myself how to sew on YouTube, me and my husband Dave created the first prototype and launched WUKA on Kickstarter in December 2017, securing the necessary funding for production.
Since then, the brand has grown exponentially and without any outside investment. We have worked tirelessly to grow awareness of the brand and to teach millions of people about the benefits of switching to reusable period products.
As an entirely bootstrapped business, all profits are reinvested back into the business into the areas required to grow- often these are marketing, people and stock. Being a boot-strapped start-up has required us to be lean and meticulous when it comes to budgeting. Our team is used to flexing their muscles and learning new skills to meet the needs of the business - no-one is above doing anything at WUKA. We all chip in and roll our sleeves up to make it work!
3. What are the challenges of running such a brand?
As a woman, an immigrant and a founder of a menstrual health brand, I have faced many challenges along the way but I believe with the right “kick ass” attitude combined with passion, perseverance and a collective approach, you can build a successful business that is not only profitable but positively impactful too.
Some of the challenges include people suggesting our business would do well in developing countries such as India and Africa. People - especially those who don’t have periods- often mistake the issue of period poverty as being something that doesn’t exist in the UK. It’s at this point that I remind them that UK period poverty has risen from 12% to 21% in the last year alone. We must do more to make period products more accessible to all women and girls.
Access to resources and investment as a female founder. There are 30% fewer female entrepreneurs in the UK compared to the US, and only 3% of funded British businesses are female founded. The fact is if women started businesses at the same rate as in other developed countries that would add an extra £200 billion to our economy. If this doesn’t highlight how uneven the playing field is I don’t know what does!
The impact of this is that 81% of 11-18-year olds are unable to name one single female entrepreneur and that has to change. WUKA is proud to be a member of the Buy Women Built community which champions amazing brands built by women so that we can together unleash the powerful contribution these businesses can make to our economy, our future, and our communities.
