Robyn McLean and Mary Bond have been friends since they were eleven, and even back then they would bounce around ideas about the future and what they might build together. Years later in 2017, that vision became reality when they launched Hello Period, a New Zealand company creating award-winning sustainable period care and today a proud FernMark Licensee.
Hello Period began with the Hello Cup menstrual cup and has since grown into a complete range including period underwear, reusable pads, and the world-first Hello Disc. Co-designed by renowned menstrual cup and disc expert, Kim Rosas, the Hello Disc features a patented double-looped tab that makes it easy to insert and remove. Each product is designed with safety, comfort and durability in mind, lasting years instead of hours. As Robyn puts it: “No matter how good a product is for the environment, people won’t use it unless it works. Quality and trust come first, with sustainability following naturally.”
For Robyn, the business is also deeply personal. She had lived with heavy, painful periods since her teenage years, and when she eventually discovered the menstrual cup as an adult it was life-changing. She remembers feeling “cheated” that she hadn’t known about it earlier. At school, she recalls, periods were never talked about, and you would make excuses to leave class rather than say the real reason. Later, in the workplace, she would phone in sick and say she had a headache, when in fact she was buckled over in pain. “That silence shaped our mission,” she says. “We wanted to normalise periods, smash the stigma, and design products that really work.”
That commitment to quality has also helped Hello Period shift from niche health stores into mainstream pharmacies and supermarkets. Robyn describes the pride she feels when she sees their products displayed in large chains such as Chemist Warehouse. “We never set out thinking we’d be a mainstream product. To see our cups, discs and underwear on shelf is huge, because it makes sustainable period care normal. Retailers are backing it, even though reusables don’t have the same repeat purchase rate as disposables. It shows a commitment to their customers and to the environment.”
From its early beginnings, the company has grown into a global business with the majority of orders now coming from outside New Zealand. The team’s strategy is focused on partnering with trusted retailers in key markets, while also improving access for direct-to-consumer buyers through international distribution hubs. Looking ahead, Hello Period is expanding its product lifecycle coverage, creating high-quality reusables for every stage of life, from preteens to postpartum care.
In 2025, Hello Period became a FernMark Licensee, a step Robyn describes as both symbolic and strategic. With the company’s international growth accelerating, the FernMark provides an immediate signal of trust and quality. “Being from New Zealand already gives us an edge. People trust that we don’t cut corners. The FernMark reinforces that,” she says. For global consumers, the silver fern is more than a logo. It represents integrity, sustainability and ingenuity, values that align closely with Hello Period’s own.
For parents buying for teenagers, or for retailers making shelf space decisions, the FernMark offers reassurance that Hello Period’s products live up to New Zealand’s reputation for excellence. “It gives us instant credibility against much bigger global players,” Robyn says. “It’s a small symbol with a big impact, our way of flying the fern and showing the world what we stand for.”
For Robyn, the real pride comes from cultural change as much as business success. “Every time I see our products on a store shelf, it means conversations about periods are becoming mainstream. It means more people are choosing sustainable options. And it means the next generation might grow up never thinking periods are something to hide.”