Where Are They Now: Jordana Kier and Alex Friedman of LOLA

In honor of Women’s Equality Day, we are celebrating strong women doing amazing things by catching up with some of our favorite trailblazers.

It started with a simple question, “What’s in a tampon?” Last time we spoke with Jordana Kier and Alex Friedman of LOLA, the goal was simple: provide transparency into what goes into reproductive products to make better reproductive products.

Today, even in the ever-changing landscape of COVID-19, Jordana and Alex have taken LOLA to the next level by bringing a new kind of conversation surrounding reproductive health to the forefront — one that’s rooted in community and equality, versus isolation and embarrassment.

We caught up with Jordana and Alex to see how things were going at LOLA, what they’ve accomplished, and what the future holds. Spoiler alert: it’s all about gender equality.

How has your business grown? Have you found that your work has evolved at all? If so, how?

Since starting in 2014, we’ve grown to be so much more than a feminine care company. We’re building the first lifelong brand for reproductive health, and redefining these categories to deliver a better experience and product for every reproductive stage.

Our journey started with tampons, but as we evaluated the products available to us for other reproductive milestones, the more pain points we uncovered. We now offer trusted products across period care and sexual wellness, access to expert health resources, educational content, and an interactive community platform. As we grow, we’re committed to building a brand that addresses every life stage to make reproductive health informative and supportive, instead of lonely and confusing.

Have there been any pivotal moments or obstacles that you have had to face? How did you cope?

This year brought unexpected challenges for everyone, and as business owners, we had to navigate through such uncertainty. For us, the biggest focus was on remaining flexible in an ever-evolving situation and delivering on our mission no matter what. We launched LOLA in over 4,600 Walmart stores starting in March of this year. Although the shopping environment was a very different place than what we had originally planned for, we’re so proud to increase access to essential period products across the country during a challenging time.

What are some of your favorite successes from the past few years?

Looking back on the last five years, we’re incredibly proud to see how LOLA has grown from a conversation between two friends to a growing reproductive health brand. Every day we’re grateful for our LOLA community, who believe in our mission and inspire us to continue delivering on our promise as a brand. And of course, finally being able to see our products on the shelf at Walmart was definitely a gratifying moment!

As a person, how have you developed and changed over the past year? Tell us all about it.

As a founder, you’re always growing and learning, and all business owners have faced unforeseen challenges as a result of COVID-19. As our business has grown, so have our families — both of us have young children at home — this experience has taught us how to collaborate, communicate, and prioritize our attention. Going through the past few months and overcoming these obstacles has only made us a more powerful, empathetic team and taught us a lot about perseverance.

What’s next for you?

We’re focused on all the ways we can continue to deliver on our promise of providing the trusted products, resources, and content that women need to support their reproductive journey. Whether that’s innovating on our product roadmap or finding new ways to increase access to expert health resources and our digital community platforms.

What do you think needs to happen for women to find equality, in and outside the workplace?

Since day one, LOLA has empowered people with periods by providing peace of mind with ingredient transparency, and we’ve used our platform to increase access to menstrual products and advocate for menstrual equity. We continue to fight to create systemic change that paves the way for gender equality reform and to lift the detrimental stigma against women’s health that exists in this country.

There’s a lot of work to do to achieve equality for all communities and to address the systemic barriers that exist in reproductive health. Whether that’s access to resources and products, or addressing racial disparities in maternal health, or fighting to dismantle the tampon tax, we’re committed to using our platform to uplift these causes and do the work to create real change.