WHEN Fiona Parfrey speaks about period care, she doesn’t mince words.
“We want period products to be treated just like toilet paper; something that’s readily available in every bathroom you walk into,” she says.
Parfrey is the co-founder of Riley, a rapidly growing Irish startup that’s shaking up the period care industry—not just with sustainable products, but with a bold mission to break the silence and shame around menstruation.
“We’re aiming to remind people it’s a normal bodily function,” she says. “There’s nothing to be ashamed about.”
Born and raised in Cork, Parfrey studied marketing at University College Cork.
“I’m a very proud Corkonian,” she laughs. “I studied marketing and worked in agencies across Dublin and Australia, and then I moved into the startup world in Australia. That’s where I kind of fell in love with entrepreneurship.”
That love turned into a career.
After leaving her job in Australia, Parfrey went backpacking around the world, which sparked her first business idea.
“I realised there was a gap in the market for a travelling backpack that was ergonomically designed to fit the female body,” she says.
“A lot of the backpacks on the market were bulky and hard to carry for women. So I created a backpack that was made using recycled plastic.”
The brand, Sundrift, gained traction until the COVID pandemic disrupted the travel industry and forced Parfrey to shift gears.
That pivot led to Riley.
The idea for Riley wasn’t born in a boardroom or a brainstorm session. It happened over wine with a friend.
“The conversation happened quite naturally one evening,” Parfrey says. “We were talking about how frustrated we were with the period products we had been using our entire lives.”
That frustration turned into a revelation.
“We discovered that many mainstream period products are manufactured with up to 24 hormone-disrupting chemicals and covered in plastic,” she says.
“There were so many unnecessary ingredients in the manufacturing process. We felt like surely there’s a better way of doing this.”
When they couldn’t find a cleaner, more sustainable alternative on the Irish market, Parfrey and her co-founders decided to build one themselves.
Riley launched in 2021 as an e-commerce subscription service delivering organic, plastic-free period products directly to consumers’ doors.
“We knew that when we started to build something clean, it would not only be better for our bodies but better for the planet as well,” Parfrey says.
Sustainability isn’t a marketing buzzword for Riley; it’s a core principle of the business.
“Our applicators on our tampons are made from a bio-based solution, derived from sugarcane,” Parfrey notes. “And we try to keep the environment in mind in every element of our supply chain.”
But it hasn’t been easy. “It’s a real journey to make things as sustainable as possible as we grow the business."
Riley has since expanded from its consumer-focused model into the corporate space.
“We’ve started a big corporate offering,” Parfrey says. “We supply period products to companies so they can stock them in staff bathrooms, just like they stock toilet paper. It’s about making period care accessible, visible, and normal.”
Parfrey is encouraged by how Ireland has responded to the brand and its mission.
“It’s been really refreshing how open people have been, across generations, across genders, to actually talking about this,” she says.
“We’ve been really pleasantly surprised by the support we've gotten from all types of people.”
But she’s quick to note that stigma still lingers.
“If you survey young girls in school, 50% of them still feel shame when they’re talking about periods. That’s a huge problem,” she says. “We’ve made progress, but we still have a long way to go.”
The issue, she believes, goes far beyond just product accessibility.
It's cultural, educational, and deeply gendered.
“Women go through a lot in their lifetime; from periods to childbirth to menopause and everything in between,” Parfrey says. “It’s important not just that women understand what’s going on in their bodies, but that men do too.”
She’s especially passionate about closing the knowledge and research gap in women’s health. “There’s been more research and studies on male baldness than there has been on endometriosis. That’s shocking.”
Riley was launched in 2021 (Photo by Riley)Riley is a proudly Irish company, but built to scale.
“We’re an Irish-registered company,” says Parfrey. “I’m based in Cork; we have a small office here and another in Dublin. My co-founder, Áine, has moved over to London as we try to grow the business in the UK.”
That international push is already bearing fruit.
“Our supply chain is set up to serve all of Europe, and we have clients and direct customers all throughout Europe,” Parfrey says.
“We absolutely have global ambitions. The beauty of this business is that periods transcend borders, cultures, and languages. It’s such a common thing for women no matter where they come from.”
Reflecting on her startup journey, Parfrey encourages others not to wait for perfection.
“Just launch a minimum viable product. Get something to market and learn from your early adopters. If we had waited to launch a perfect product, we still wouldn’t be in the market today.”
Listening to feedback, she says, has been critical. “Be close to your customer. Take their feedback on board. We constantly try to improve and make changes as we grow.”
“The more we talk openly about periods, the more we understand each other,” she says. “And the easier it will be for everyone.”
Whether it’s tackling sustainability or breaking stigma in boardrooms and classrooms, Riley is charting a new course, one that’s not just better for the body, but better for the planet too.
See More: Business, Period Care, Startups
