VMLY&R Commerce Colombia and India Create an Innovative Solution to Break Menstrual Taboo

VMLY&R Commerce Colombia has partnered with VMLY&R Commerce India to unveil Tea Cycle, an innovative solution to break the taboo around women's periods while also empowering them to know their menstrual cycles. The campaign seeks to generate conversation and normalise a completely natural process for approximately half of the world's population.

The cultural taboo around menstruation causes millions of young women in India to go through their cycle without really knowing what is happening in their bodies. This lack of information perpetuates a preventable cycle of silence and shame, even causing 23% of Indian girls to drop out of school when they start menstruating. That is why VMLY&R Commerce decided to use a traditional and comforting beverage that is part of India's DNA to open the conversation and guide young women through each day of their menstrual cycle.

The Tea Cycle is a 360° calendar with 28 unique tea blends, one for each day of the cycle. The product is designed to guide girls through the physical, hormonal, and emotional changes that occur during their cycles. Each tea bag not only informs them about what is happening, but also helps relieve the symptoms that appear that day.

The kit design was based on the menstruation cycle itself, which is cyclical.  With a beginning and end that is repetitive, the kit's colors connect with what girl’s experience, along with fun illustrations that make it easy to share and understand. Thus, allowing the girls to feel comfortable while learning about their own cycle together.

With execution handled by VMLY&R Commerce India, the kit reached 32 schools within the first week of distribution, with more than 5,700 adolescents and more than 1,200 women in rural areas impacted through community awareness sessions.