First FemTech accelerator in Switzerland

Essity joined the Tech4Eva initiative in 2022 with Kai Thornagel as a mentor to the growth stage start-ups. Essity Ventures connects the dots between innovation and expertise to revolutionize the future of health and hygiene.

Mission and Vision of Essity Ventures

Launched in 2020, Essity Ventures is a strategic initiative of Essity, a leading global hygiene and health company with the mission to break barriers to well-being. With their strong brands they are active in 150+ countries. Their Feminine Care segment includes brands such as Libresse, Bodyform, and Nana. They are also well-known for their tissue brands, for example Tempo and Zewa, and for their globally leading incontinence brand TENA.

As a global leader, they leverage their expertise and resources to help start-ups accelerate their growth towards commercial success. They seek to partner with innovative start-ups and entrepreneurs who share their mission of shaping the future of women’s health, hygiene, and well-being.

Areas of Health and Hygiene

The menstrual cycle, menstrual pain, menopause, and generally feminine care related verticals are all high-priority areas for Essity Ventures. However, there also is a high interest in partnerships around solutions that aim to transform the hygiene industry by introducing new, sustainable, and tech-enhanced solutions in the areas of incontinence, consumer tissue, professional hygiene and baby care.

FemTech challenges in Germany and Europe

Menstruation and menopause have been taboo topics in the past. Essity is eager to break these taboos. To turn words into actions, they have launched initiatives like #Bloodisnormal and #VivaLaVulva, trying to change this reality.

Essity’s purpose is all about breaking barriers to health and well-being. That said, Essity Ventures’ ambition is to not just "break" barriers. But to go one step further by building ground-breaking new business models and tech-led solutions that enable women of all ages to "overcome" barriers to health, hygiene, and well-being in a sustainable way. To ultimately live an empowered and fulfilling life at ease!

Essity Ventures partnering with Tech4Eva

“We are convinced that collaboration is a key driver when it comes to boosting FemTech’s impact on society and women’s lives. Our partnership allows us to contribute to further building and fostering an ecosystem in the FemTech space. It gives us the opportunity to bring value to the table in the form of e. g. mentoring, co-creation, funding, and other ways of joint value creation.” Kai Thornagel, Director, Essity Ventures

For more info, visit: https://www.essityventuresilab.com/

Stay tuned for more news on Essity joining in to a co-create a session taking place during Eurotech Innovation Day in Munich on June 30 where EPFL and Tech4Eva are joining forces with other European Tech Universities of Science and Technology to boost the European Innovation Ecosystem.

More info on this event: https://www.tum.de/en/innovation/entrepreneurship/news-events/tum-entrepreneurship-day

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