2023/01/11

PoC of menstrual pad service brings together various facilities for a more inclusive future

Aiming to make menstrual life more comfortable and improve the mobility of menstruators

Omotete, Inc. (Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Urara Takaseki), which develops "unfre.", a service that makes period life more comfortable by enabling users to obtain sanitary napkins in any restroom, has conducted pilot experiments with the following partner companies in which users can obtain sanitary napkins in individual stalls of restrooms.

Omotete, the developer of unfre., a service that makes period life more comfortable, has been working with various companies to improve the service, conducting further user surveys and considering future collaborations through pilot experiments in preparation for its full-scale release next fiscal year. In addition to the experience of obtaining sanitary napkins, the pilot experiments surveyed issues related to menstruation and sanitary products, as well as service demands, through questionnaires and interviews.

■ List of Partner Companies and Facilities

※ Companies listed in chronological order of pilot experiment.

1. Conducted as part of the RING HIROSHIMA 2nd Bout.
2. Conducted as part of the FY 2022 Subsidy Project for Demonstration Projects for Femtech and Similar Support Services.

■ Comments from Omotete, Inc. CEO

We have been working with the cooperation of many companies to deepen our understanding of user needs in addition to studying the implementation and operational aspects of our service. It is my great pleasure to be able to present some of our initiatives to date.

Although each partner company has a different approach to "menstruators (people who menstruate)" and a different background that led to their interest, we were able to envision the same future after many discussions, and we are now working together as partners to shape future norms. The representative for each company has a strong desire and drive, and recognize the need to build collaborative relationships among multiple companies in order to realize the future that we envision. I feel very encouraged to have such a strong team of partners.

Through these pilot experiments, we were able to hear from many of the menstruators about their concerns with menstrual life and their expectations for our services, which provided us with many insights that we would like to utilize in the development of our services. We also had many opportunities to learn from each other through dialogues with those responsible for this project at each of our partner companies, and we would like to take this opportunity to thank them all again for their support.

We will continue to build a platform that enables society to support "menstruation," which until now has been considered a self-responsibility of the individual, and we aim to create a free and comfortable world for more people.

Urara Takaseki, CEO, Omotete, Inc.

■ Comments from each company (Companies listed in chronological order of pilot experiment)

We first met when Omotete participated in "Marui Co-Creation Pitch #02," a pitch event we held in December 2021. In her pitch, Ms. Takaseki described the world to be realized with "unfre." We felt that it was a perfect match with our company's goal of "an inclusive and prosperous world where all people can be happy," and we decided to work together with her as a co-creation partner. We hope that unfre. will help to realize a wonderful world where no menstruators will be left behind, and at the same time, we would like to do our part to help create such a world. Employees who experienced unfre. for the first time have said it was "easy and convenient" and "helpful in times of emergency," indicating their high expectations for the service. We look forward to the future launch of this service.

Sho Ohsawa, New Project Development Department, MARUI GROUP Co., Ltd.

We learned about unfre. when we were approached about the pilot experiment through RING HIROSHIMA. As a Femtech service that has been attracting attention in recent years, we felt that it would contribute to the creation of a comfortable work environment and SDGs. We also wanted to verify its usability in offices and consider their potential as a future collaboration partner, so we cooperated in the pilot experiment. Many people think that the topic of "menstruation" is difficult to share across genders, but we recognize that some people are unable to purchase sanitary products for financial reasons, and that the various symptoms associated with menstruation cause huge labor losses, and that this is an issue that society as a whole must work to resolve. I think it is very significant that Omotete is taking the lead in solving problems to realize a world that is more comfortable for everyone to live in.

Ayane Kimura, Digital Innovation Department, Hirogin Holdings, Inc.

I first heard about unfre. from Akira Ishii of Roboffice, a tenant of fabbit Hiroshima Ekimae and mentor of RING HIROSHIMA, the Hiroshima Sandbox. The timing and number of napkins needed depends on the condition of the woman at the time, such as irregular menstrual periods. In a predominantly male environment, I have sometimes felt embarrassed to go to the bathroom with a pouch. In the future, I would be happy if unfre. becomes more accessible at such times with its services and benefits. Please keep up the good work.

Chisato Yoshida, fabbit Hiroshima Ekimae

I learned about unfre. when they applied for our program, and was attracted to Ms. Takaseki's personality and sympathized with her vision of making menstrual life more comfortable and infrastructural. As a company responsible for public transportation, we were eager to contribute to solving the social issues such as menstrual poverty, but we also expect this service to be practical in improving the quality of lives through infrastructure, thereby reducing the burden of unhappy days. We have received many words of support from our employees who have experienced the pilot experiment, and we feel that we have come closer to creating a comfortable workplace that will lead to improved performance by addressing the feelings of menstruation that had been latent up until now. As a group with many public facilities, we feel that we can play a part in Omotete's support of menstruators in the world.

Shino Furukawa, Sales Promotion Department, JR East Start UP Co., Ltd.

The Ecozzeria Association is a general incorporated association that promotes urban development in the Otemachi, Marunouchi, and Yurakucho areas. We conduct surveys and research on social issues, release information, and hold various events, all in partnership with businesses in the area. Based at "3×3Lab Future" on the 1st floor of the Otemon Tower ENEOS Building, we promote open innovation in collaboration with large corporations, social ventures, universities, etc. Through Omotete’s pilot experiment, we recognize that it is very important for the future of Japan to create a comfortable working environment where women can play an active role, from the center of Tokyo. We would be happy to continue working with Omotete toward deployment of the service following the pilot experiments.

Chikara Kanda, Director, Ecozzeria Association 3x3 Lab Future / Manager, Area Management Planning Department, Mitsubishi Estate Co.

We are very excited and supportive that Ms. Takaseki, a former member of our company, is now working on a business to design a new way of urban life focusing on sanitary products and toilets. Omotete has been an early member of "The Seat Halki," our Hongo innovation ecosystem center, and we are pleased to cooperate with them as we believe this could be a new model case for collaboration with the city. We look forward to seeing how the issues of sanitary products influences visits to the city and facilities because these are places where various people visit and interact with each other.

Tatsuki Yamanami, CEO, scheme verge, Inc.

■ Description of each program (Organizations and programs are listed in alphabetical order)

• About the FY 2022 Subsidy Project for Demonstration Projects for Femtech and Similar Support Services

In FY2021, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) launched the Subsidy Project for Demonstration Projects for Femtech and Similar Support Services, which aims to prevent unwanted job turnover caused by life events such as pregnancy, childbirth, and menopause among working women, enhance individual well-being and corporate human resource diversity, and increase corporate value over the medium to long term. In FY2021, the first year of the subsidy, companies, local governments, medical institutions, and other organizations throughout Japan collaborated with Femtech companies to implement a variety of measures aimed at solving women-specific health issues. In FY 2022, the second year of the subsidy, projects with more novelty and originality, including diversification of technologies to be developed and utilized, were adopted and are being implemented with the aim of further expanding the variation of the demonstration projects.

Source: Translated from Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Subsidy Project for Demonstration Projects for Femtech and Similar Support Services Homepage.

https://www.femtech-projects.jp/assets/pdf/femtech_20220830.pdf

• About RING HIROSHIMA 2nd Bout

RING HIROSHIMA, part of the Hiroshima Sandbox initiative, invites "challengers" from all over Japan to participate in projects to solve a wide range of apparent and underlying social issues, and provides partial support for the costs associated with pilot experiments.

This is the second time this program has been held, following last year. In order to enhance the effectiveness of the pilot experiments, mentors called "seconds" will accompany and support the selected projects. The selected projects will conduct pilot experiments for business creation and expansion in Hiroshima Prefecture over 6 months.

https://hiroshima-sandbox.jp/ring/

• About Hiroshima Sandbox

With the motto "Make Hiroshima Prefecture all digital technology demonstration field!" the program is a place where companies in Hiroshima Prefecture can create value-added products and improve production efficiency by utilizing the latest technologies such as AI/IoT and big data. The program is also a place where companies can attract human resources with technology and know-how from inside and outside the prefecture. It is a place for open pilot experiments.

• Origin of the name Hiroshima Sandbox

We wanted to make Hiroshima Sandbox "a place where people gather and create, like a 'sandbox' where people can try again and again.

https://hiroshima-sandbox.jp/

■ Company Profile

Omotete, Inc.

Omotete, Inc., with a mission to “Deploying solutions that shape future norms.” is working on the development of “unfre.”, a service that makes period life more comfortable by enabling users to obtain sanitary products in any bathroom.

https://ja.omotete.jp/