Daye

Daye is a London-based gynaecological health research and development company founded by Valentina Milanova. Its first consumer product, a CBD-infused tampon designed to relieve menstrual cramps, was developed with a team of scientists, is patented, and reached market in 2019/2020 (sources give both dates). The tampons are organic, produced to medical device standards, and include a flushable, biodegradable wrapper and a sugarcane-based (non-plastic) applicator; the company describes the operation as carbon neutral and states the products are made by women who were formerly in the prison system / survivors of sexual trafficking. Daye is a certified B-Corp.

Building on the same form factor, Daye launched a tampon-based at-home vaginal microbiome screening kit in the UK in late 2022, billed as a world first. Users insert and remove a tampon, return it in a specimen bag to a UKAS-accredited partner laboratory, and receive digital results explaining detected good and bad bacteria alongside recommendations, such as downloading a PDF for a doctor or locating a sexual health clinic. Initial tests targeted mycoplasma and ureaplasma, pathogens described as commonly asymptomatic but associated with miscarriage, pre-term labour and ectopic pregnancy risk. The roadmap extended to STI and HPV screening, and the company has conducted research with Liverpool Women's Hospital into pathogens with suspected links to PCOS and endometriosis.

Beyond products, Daye has built a wider gynae health platform including a period and pelvic pain clinic, a workplace app called Daye for Work, and an educational blog, Vitals. Further product development described includes a water-soluble applicator and a hemp-fibre tampon.

Founding story

Valentina Milanova, born and raised in Bulgaria, moved to the UK to study business, economics and law at the University of Buckingham, and worked at Techstars and as a venture associate at Founders Factory before starting her own company. The idea for Daye came from her personal experience of severely painful periods, misdiagnosis and an eventual PCOS diagnosis, combined with what she describes as a gap in medical research and innovation on women's health. She researched the science of menstrual pain and natural pain-relief compounds and worked with scientists to develop a patented CBD-containing tampon. She reports pitching investors 180 times before securing seed funding, with Daye starting officially in 2018.

Business model

Daye sells period care products direct to consumers on a subscription basis and sells at-home diagnostic screening kits whose samples are analysed by a contracted accredited laboratory, with results delivered digitally through its platform. It also offers clinical services via a period and pelvic pain clinic and a workplace app, Daye for Work, and works with healthcare partners such as Simplyhealth to reach corporate customer bases.

Consumer subscriptions for tampons and period care products, sales of at-home diagnostic screening kits, and business/partner channels including a workplace app and distribution through a healthcare provider's corporate customer base.

Traction

Around 60,000 tampon subscribers were reported in October 2022, with over 100,000 subscribers reported in 2024. Daye had raised over £14 million by 2023 and obtained FDA approval of its tampons as a medical device ahead of a planned US launch.

Latest developments

As of 2024, Daye was preparing to launch its HPV screening kit, expand its digital platform with personalised analysis and actionable results, lay groundwork for US expansion after FDA approval of its tampons as a medical device, and develop a water-soluble applicator and hemp-fibre tampon.