Our Story

Our Story

The story of Mooncup (and eventually the MCUK) is one of passion, determination, the power of word-of-mouth, and a generous sprinkling from Lady Luck: from a distant time when revolutionary ideas still went viral in the real world, in real time…

It all started in 1999, with one cyclist sharing the too-well-kept secret of a reusable menstrual cup with another at a Critical Mass Bike Ride in the UK. Early menstrual cups were made of tough rubber, hard to come by & strictly for the adventurous.

In 2000, Eileen (the second cyclist from the beginning of our story), met Su who was travelling around Australia with her husband, young daughter, a bucket and stash of washable nappies. Eileen shared the menstrual cup ‘secret’ with Su. The environmental & practical advantages of a reusable menstrual cup struck a perfect chord with Su. The secret had landed in the right hands. Su and Eileen found themselves in a lifelong friendship and with a purpose that they’d eventually work together for.

On her return to the UK, Su started selling an imported rubber cup to friends and friends-of-friends and soon realised that she wasn’t the only one ready for a better menstrual product.

When friends reported some discomfort and the symptoms of latex allergy, Su realised that the rubber cup wasn’t quite the perfect solution. Her childhood with an entrepreneurial Dad got her inventive spark firing. After extensive research, she came up with a hypoallergenic alternative; medical grade silicone; and, in the Spring of 2002, Mooncup®, the world’s first reusable silicone menstrual cup was born.

Today, the Mooncup is available in over 50 countries around the world and is sold as the MCUK in the USA. Mooncup Ltd continues to pioneer as an employee owned business with an ever-growing, dedicated team.  Thankfully, the Mooncup menstrual cup is no longer a secret, with millions of us freed from using tampons and pads.  Happy Mooncup users continue to spread the word: it seems word-of-mouth has a certain traction with us menstruating folk – especially when we’ve a life-changing story to share!

Here are some of the key moments in the business’ s story:

2000

bonoobonoo-su

Su and her daughter, Eve, Boonoo
Boonoo National Park, Australia

2002

first-mooncup
The Mooncup® is born!
Friend told me and leafleting begins.

2002

glasto-stallThe Mooncup stall, Glastonbury Festival,
Green Futures Field

 

2002

infinity-foods

The first retailer to stock the Mooncup
on-shelf: Infinity Foods, Brighton

2003

Su-and-Dons-2003-Award

The first of many awards! Mooncup wins Best
Non food product at Natural Trade Show

2003

Donna-in-Bedroom-Office-2005

Su’s one-woman crusade grows
with a team working from Su’s spare room

2003

grassroots

Spanish grassroots movements start
to spread the word.

2004

MC-B-BX-UG-BG-BLUE-1459archive

Mooncup’s popularity in Europe is growing –
Multi-lingual materials

2005

boots-logo-high-res

Pharmacy giant, Boots, stock Mooncup®
due to customer demand

2005

nurses

Mooncup Ltd launches a unique
advice service run by nurses

2005

Teamphoto2009Pier

The team grows and moves to
new premises

Opcions-(April-06)-1

Respected Spanish responsible
consumerism magazine features
the Mooncup®.

2006

Times-Aug-06-archive

First full-page Broadsheet coverage –
The Times Newspaper

2007

Grassroots-Group-photo

UK humanitarian charity
Grassroots supports Tanzanian
women with Mooncup

2008

Beppe_Grillo_-_Trento_2012_01

Italy – Mooncup becomes a national
talking point after Beppe Grillo’s ‘Reset’
tour and rubbish strikes in Naples

2010

poster-moon

Screen powerful period documentary,
The Moon Inside You, to sold out
audiences at Brighton Fringe Festival.

2010

LADY-GARDEN

Love Your Vagina campaign hits
the London Underground to great
social media buzz

2010

mcuk

MCUK® launched for US customers*

* due to another company
trademarking Mooncup in US.
2011

love-your-beach

The UK is encouraged to Love its
Beaches and vaginas.

2012

10th-birthday-party

Celebrate 10th Birthday with friends

2014

employee-owned-logo

Mooncup Ltd becomes officially
Employee Owned

2014

office-move

Still bigger premises needed

2015

iso13485

After lots of hard work we’re
ISO 13485 Certified

2015

taboo-broken

The year the taboo is broken

2016

watch-this-space