WOW STORY OF THE DAY: How Three Male Founders Built India’s Top-Ranked Sustainable Menstrual Hygiene Venture

Founded in 2019 by Kiriti Acharjee, Sourav Chakrabarty, and Satyajit Chakraborty, HealthFab is India's holistic period care company best known for GoPadFree, the number one brand in reusable period underwear on Amazon India. Having earned the trust of five lakh women, raised ₹20 crore in Series A from Atomic Capital, secured an all-four-Shark deal on Shark Tank India Season 4, and holding India's only dual BIS certification, HealthFab now targets serving five million women over the next three years.

 Family Insight and Six Months of Product Testing

The story of HealthFab began when the founders noticed distinct menstrual hygiene challenges within their own families. They witnessed the monthly struggles—leakage, physical discomfort, strict limitations, and the pervasive social silence surrounding menstruation. Realizing that half of India's population managed periods using decades-old, un-innovated products, they decided to address this massive market gap.

"We realized that women needed more comfortable and eco-friendly options, especially for those with high bleeding rates. Our vision was to provide safe and sustainable menstrual products tailored to various needs," co-founder Sourav Chakrabarty explains.

The engineering and business concept was forged in 2019 in Bengaluru. After almost six months of continuous user testing and feedback loops, the team determined that highly comfortable, leak-proof underwear that did not restrict natural bodily movement was the ultimate solution.

The brand conceptualized and developed GoPadFree as its flagship product. It launched as the first-of-its-kind, truly leak-proof period underwear in India that requires no secondary pads or tampons to be worn simultaneously. While the founders initially focused on premium offerings, they adapted to an affordable pricing structure based on consumer data, opening accessibility to a massive nationwide audience.

 Patented Technology and Dual BIS Certification

The boldest product choice HealthFab made was prioritizing rigorous technical engineering over basic lifestyle marketing. HealthFab's patented "Absorbable Undergarment for Women" technology stands out by offering an all-in-one textile solution merging absorbency, comfort, and multi-year reusability.

Multi-Layer Textile Engineering

• Top Layer: A specialized moisture-wicking top layer built to draw fluid away rapidly for maximum skin comfort.

• Middle Layer: A highly absorbent core capable of holding multiple times its weight in period blood.

• Bottom Layer: A completely leak-proof yet breathable bottom layer ensuring secure protection.

To ensure safety, the garments undergo extensive laboratory testing to verify they are free from PFAS and 250 other harmful synthetic chemicals common in traditional disposable options.

This rigorous design earned HealthFab India's only dual BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards) certification for 50-wash durability and anti-bacterial performance. This regulatory achievement gave the brand direct institutional credibility over uncertified direct-to-consumer (D2C) competitors.

Sustainability and Ecosystem Expansion

Through the adoption of GoPadFree period panties over the last four years, HealthFab has diverted more than 300 tonnes of plastic sanitary waste from landfills.

Expanding past physical undergarments into a complete period wellness ecosystem, the company also introduced GoPainFree, a natural ayurvedic period pain relief cream. Today, the brand utilizes an omni-channel approach, selling via its standalone website, major e-commerce marketplaces (Amazon, Flipkart, Myntra), and quick commerce applications like Swiggy and Zepto. The brand kickstarted its international footprint by expanding into the UAE market in 2022.

The Shark Tank Catalyst: An All-Four-Shark Deal

HealthFab gained massive national scale when the co-founders pitched on Shark Tank India Season 4. Initially seeking ₹1 crore for 3% equity, the founders demonstrated deep product-market fit and distinct repeat purchase rates.

Impressed by the operational execution and the underlying social mission, all four sharks on the panel stepped in. The founders successfully closed a combined ₹2 crore deal for 7% equity, backed collectively by Anupam Mittal, Vineeta Singh, Aman Gupta, and Peyush Bansal.

"Shark Tank gave us the visibility we needed. The investment is helping us increase product awareness and enhance our marketing strategy. It was a turning point for us," notes Sourav.

The May 2026 Milestone: ₹20 Crore Series A Capital Infusion

Building on its public momentum, HealthFab raised ₹20 crore in a Series A funding round led by Mumbai-based Atomic Capital, with secondary participation from Mistry Ventures. This milestone brought the company's total funding to approximately $3.7 million across its initial seed phases, a $1 million pre-Series A round (led by Mistry Ventures, BeyondSeed, and Thrive Ventures), and its television appearance.

The fresh capital injection is designated to scale manufacturing capacities, widen digital consumer retention, and deepen distribution across offline general trade and quick commerce channels.

"It took us five years to earn the trust of five lakh women. Five years of obsessing over one problem, leakage, until we solved it so completely that women stopped thinking about it altogether," says Kiriti Acharjee, Co-Founder and CEO. "That's when we knew we'd built something real. But leakage is just one of the five days. What about the fatigue that hits on day two? The sleep that gets stolen on day three? The pain that no one talks about but every woman knows? We built trust on one product. Now we're on a mission to serve the whole cycle. The goal is five million women in three years. Not just protected. Truly cared for."

Scale and Real-World Impact

The table below highlights HealthFab's verified scaling metrics and future industry targets:

Operational Parameter	Verified Metric & Forward Outlook
Headquarters & Foundation	Bengaluru, India (Founded 2019)
Market Stature	Number one brand on Amazon India in Reusable Period Underwear
Revenue Momentum	Growing at a consistent 3x trajectory year-on-year
Total Raised Capital	$3.7 Million (Including ₹20 Crore Series A in May 2026)
Consumer Footprint	Trusted by 5 lakh women; targeting 5 million within 3 years
Short-Term Target	Projecting a further 3x revenue expansion over the next 12 months
Macro Market Outlook	Global period panties sector projected to hit $577.89 million by 2033 (15.64% CAGR)

The Business Lesson: Absolute Product Obsession

The sharpest takeaway from HealthFab’s journey is that the most enduring consumer brands are built by founders who completely solve a single, critical frustration before diversifying into broader product lines.

By dedicating five full years to perfecting a zero-leak textile mechanism, HealthFab built an unshakeable baseline of consumer trust. Rather than expanding prematurely, three male engineers listened closely to the real-world experiences of their families, built a validated solution that earned a dual BIS stamp, and fixed a broken consumer category from the ground up.

Sources: Global Indian, Famous Birthdays, Entrepreneur India, Indian Startup News, Start-Up Hyderabad, Medial, Success Magazine, The City Celeb, BioSpectrum India, ET Startup News, Indian Startup Times.