US personal care group Kimberly-Clark Corporation, known for brands such as Kleenex, Kotex, Cottonelle and others, has announced it has acquired a majority stake in Thinx, the leader in the reusable menstrual and incontinence underwear category. The group acquired its first minority stake in Thinx in 2019. No information has yet been given on the terms of the most recent transaction.
The New York-based company was founded in 2014 after three and a half years of research and development and is now one of the most successful companies offering environmentally friendly alternatives to disposable menstrual products with annual sales in the tens of millions.
“Our investment in Thinx’s success represents a compelling strategic fit as we build our portfolio of period and bladder weakness solutions. We are excited about the opportunities this expanded partnership brings to both Kimberly-Clark and Thinx. Investing in Thinx paves the way for a collaboration and allows us to jointly drive category growth with our retail partners while continuing to support Thinx in the direct-to-consumer channels,” commented Russ Torres, group president of the North American consumer :inside store by Kimberly-Clark.
“Kimberly-Clark invented the femcare category 100 years ago and Thinx invented the femtech category nine years ago. It’s fitting that we will work more closely with a like-minded organization to achieve our mission and vision to accelerate Thinx underwear into a mainstream product for menstrual and bladder weakness needs. I’m so proud of the work this team has done to get to this point and I’m thrilled that Kimberly-Clark not only wants to help us maintain our entrepreneurial spirit, but gives us the opportunity to Leveraging their expertise to accelerate our growth and ability to innovate,” said Thinx CEO Maria Molland.
“We have great respect for Thinx and their achievements in reusable period underwear and light bladder weakness. The Thinx value proposition is particularly powerful because it is based on purpose and consumer needs. We look forward to working with Thinx to bring these breakthrough products to more people and accelerate growth in this category,” added Alison Lewis, Kimberly-Clark’s Chief Growth Officer.