Aunt Flow

Aunt Flow is a Columbus, Ohio-based company that supplies organic cotton period products and free-vend dispensers for public restrooms in businesses, schools, universities, stadiums, airports, health systems and other public spaces. Its hardware line includes several dispenser models (Model P, E, R and O), a display box, and a touch-free disposal system, along with cartridge and bulk refills, bathroom signage and bundles. The company states its pads and tampons are OCS certified as 100% organic cotton and that its dispensers are ADA compliant, rust resistant, hold up to five times the product of conventional units and reload in about 30 seconds; the free-vend design removes the coin mechanism used in traditional machines.

The company positions itself around the claim that if toilet paper is free in public restrooms, pads and tampons should be as well. Alongside product sales it runs an impact program: for every ten tampons and pads sold, one is donated to a menstruator in need, with donations directed to food pantries, shelters, hygiene and diaper banks, menstrual equity groups and disaster relief. The impact program also includes discounted "impact partner" pricing for qualifying 501(c)(3) organizations, sponsorship of menstrual equity education, policy and research work, and "Period Party" team-building events in which employees package donation kits for vetted nonprofit partners. Aunt Flow publishes an annual impact report and uses inclusive terminology, referring to "period products" rather than "feminine hygiene products."

Customers and partner sites cited by the company and press coverage include Google, Netflix, Apple, Princeton University, Viacom, Zingerman's Delicatessen, Franklin Park Conservatory, the Phoenix Mercury, the Footprint Center and State Farm Stadium.

Founding story

Claire Coder founded Aunt Flow at age 18 after getting her period in public without the supplies she needed, concluding that period products should be freely available wherever toilet paper is. Press coverage dates the start of the business to 2016, when Coder went door to door to businesses in downtown Columbus. Coder, a Thiel Fellow and Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree, had launched a first company at age 16 and designed a bag for Vera Bradley.

Business model

B2B sales of dispensers, period product refills and disposal systems to organizations that then offer the products free to restroom users, supplemented by a direct online shop selling dispensers, bulk pads and tampons, at-home boxes, signage and branded merchandise.

Revenue comes from the sale of dispensing and disposal hardware and recurring purchases of pad and tampon cartridges, continuous liner refills and bulk products; online orders ship for $5 or free above $40. A pricing calculator and program-building flow support institutional purchasing, and discounted impact pricing is offered to qualifying nonprofits.

Traction

In 2021 the company added 300 customers, deployed more than 3,000 dispensers, stocked 5.8 million period products and donated over 1.6 million; 2022 donations also exceeded 1.6 million products. Company materials report more than 7.6 million products donated since 2021, 32 Period Party events in 2025 and 3 million students with access to Aunt Flow in the 2025-2026 school year.

Latest developments

The company publishes a 2025 impact report and reports 32 Period Party events in 2025 and 3 million students with access to its products in the 2025-2026 school year, along with more than 7.6 million products donated since 2021. CityRock Venture Partners Fund I, which lists Aunt Flow among its 15 portfolio companies, was noted as fully deployed in a July 2024 announcement of a $24M Fund II.