Essity FemCare’s taboo-breaking work to support women everywhere is as important as ever

Amidst the global pandemic, we have powered ahead with a major relaunch of our brand identity and remain committed to our central aim – to empower women and to combat the issues and taboos which hold them back. In response to the COVID-19 emergency we have also undertaken specific, locally led measures in each of our markets, to support women directly and indirectly impacted by the current health crisis (read further details on these measures HERE).

New brand identity; on-going brand purpose

At the core of our work is our belief that women’s bodies – especially the intimate area – are powerful and wonderful. Through pleasure and pain, light flows to heavy flows, from first period to last, between or beyond them, they deserve the very best care and attention.

Issues affecting women and their bodies are prevalent and continue to be so, during the current crisis.  As reported by Amnesty International, the COVID-19 crisis is affecting access to sexual and reproductive health services, thereby directly impacting women’s lives and health. As a brand we remain committed to supporting all women and their differing needs, as we navigate these challenging times.

In addition, there are still countless taboos that hold women back.  Our research shows that nine out of 10 women hide the fact they’re on their period  and many beliefs still exist which fuel and perpetuate these taboos – for example, that women should keep their intimate area firm and youthful and that female body leaks should be controlled. 

We’ve been taking bold steps to help bring about the transformation needed to break down these kinds of taboos around women’s V-Zones*.  In 2016 we released our award-winning, taboo-breaking advertising campaign Red.Fit, followed by Bloodnormal in 2017 and Viva la Vulva in 2018, helping bring blood, vaginas and vulvas out of the dark and into the light. But after listening to our customers, we had to admit that our packs and logo could do a better job at celebrating women’s bodies and flows. Thus, the latest step in this journey is our biggest ever global brand identity re-launch to provide a meaningful brand experience for women that’s distinctive, ownable, relevant and positive. 

Defining the V-Zone

Through our global research and customer insights, we uncovered a wealth of evidence about the taboos women face. For example, 61% of women believe society puts pressure on women to ensure their vulva looks a certain way and 47% of women are embarrassed talking about their vulva with friends.  In response, we’ve proudly defined the V-Zone as the vagina (internal part), the vulva (exterior of the genitals) and the V-shaped front that one 

We’ve shunned sparkles and heroed the V

Co-designed with over 5,000 women around the world, our V-Care ™ packaging design is based on over 250 hours of customer feedback. While our brand names, Libresse, Bodyform, Nana, Nuvenia and Nosotras will stay the same, we’ve swapped out the bow, shunned all sparkles and introduced a new strong and confident V-shaped symbol identity. We’ve added a short V-Zone explanation on the back of packs so consumers understand what it means. 

Because period blood isn’t blue, we’ve also banished the conventional blue drops from our packs and introduced our bold RED V-Flow Indicator to indicate different flows.

We’ve ramped up the openness in our voice too: no clichés, no hiding, no shaming. We refer to the size of our towels or liners as ‘regular’, not ‘normal’: it’s not about a woman’s body or flow. 

We’ll keep working as long as taboos still exist.

Our journey to bring our purpose to life through our new brand identity hasn’t been a short or simple one. But it has been rewarding and meaningful. We’ve made great progress but we are just at the beginning. Across all generations, cultures, shapes, sizes and colours under the sun, we’re proud and committed to breaking V-Zone taboos so that all women can live shame-free when it comes to their V-Zone.