Considering the importance of menstrual needs and female hygiene, something that is often overlooked, a 24-year-old young man has opened the first store in the Northeast, dedicated to women's sanitary needs.

My Medy, located in Panbazar, Guwahati has all kinds of essentials related to women's menstrual needs like sanitary pads, menstrual cups, tampons, and much more. And unlike the traditional sanitary pads that usually come in a fixed size, this store offers a range of sizes to choose from- L, XL, XXL. These also come in two variants- Anion Sanitary pads and Non-Anion Sanitary pads. The anion pads have an anti-bacterial strip and the non-anion pads are the basic cotton ultra-thin pads.

The store also has other essentials for women's hygiene and toiletries like intimate wipes, intimate wash, toilet seat cover, sanitizers, mists, and pad disposable bags.

Sujay Dey, the proprietor, is an engineer by qualification but says his passion for doing something for the women in society has driven him to start his new venture.

"I invested a little over Rs.5 lakhs on this family-owned space to start the first concept store on menstrual needs of the NE. Although we have a number of items even now, I am looking forward to adding many more".

“In many parts of the NE women still use cloth instead of sanitary pads- either because they are unaware or mainly because they cannot afford to buy. I wanted to introduce good quality pads at affordable prices so that women from all segments of society can wear sanitary napkins. Even though the government has introduced many schemes regarding the free distribution of sanitary napkins, yet not many have availed the benefits”, said Sujay.

At My Medy, prices of pads range from Rs.6.5 and Rs.9.5 each, panty liners are ranged between Rs.3 to Rs.4, menstrual cups between Rs.210 to Rs.250, tampons between Rs.15 to Rs.17 per piece, and intimate wipes at Rs.10. The store also makes monthly kits for period necessities which consists of sanitary pads, intimate wash, and other female hygiene items.

"We will soon facilitate delivery services. Products will be delivered within 3 hours in Guwahati and will also deliver across the Northeast. We are also working to start a manufacturing unit that will bring down the costs of pads even further. Presently we are procuring it from elsewhere," he said.

“If My Medy gets a good response then we will also distribute our manufactured pads to rural areas so that the women of rural areas do not have any problem regarding using it since it will sell at a lesser price as compared to the pads that are already available in the market”, he added.

Speaking to Business NorthEast about his inspiration behind the venture, Sujay said, "Talking about menstruation has always been a taboo. Especially as a man, we are told that menstruation is a dirty thing. But I believe everyone should celebrate menstruation as it is a part of reproduction and a very pure thing. No woman should be ashamed while buying pads and in My Medy we don't consider menstruation a stigma."

My Medy will soon be launched online whereby customers can customize their orders- the number of pads or tampons, as per their requirement instead of buying in large packs.

ALSO READ : My Medy, Northeast’s first ever female hygiene store .