YOUR Business Partner: Reimagining Women’s Health from the Ground Up

Jan 30, 2023 at 03:29 pm by RMGadmin


 

Franklin native Claire Crunk has an entrepreneurial spirit and a knack for creating solutions to complex problems. Her love of innovation and care for healing people led her to become a women’s health nurse practitioner in Williamson County, but soon, she felt the needs of her patients were bigger than she could tackle in the clinic alone. Thus, Trace Femcare was born, creating the world’s first period products made from hemp fiber. In welding her expertise in both women’s health and the environmental benefits of hemp together, Claire brings her healing talents to women on a broader and more impactful scale, setting a new bar for the global absorbent hygiene industry.
 
“Patients were presenting a range of health problems related to their period care items, and when they asked me what the best products to use were, I really had no way of telling them. Companies didn’t have to disclose what was in their products (often laden with synthetic fibers and chemicals), so even the best medical practitioners couldn’t tell patients what was safe to use. I felt stuck and angry at the whole system and the total lack of transparency. I knew we could do better, and I set out to make the best women’s health products while being completely transparent about their all-natural ingredients.” 
Claire felt that the $3.4 billion United States menstrual hygiene industry was in dire need of new natural fiber and started learning about hemp–a plant she says has gotten a bad rap but should not be shied away from! Hemp sequesters carbon better than mature forests, regenerates soil and is an excellent naturally-absorbent fiber. Trace period products only use these fibers – no CBD like some other hemp products. Not only is Trace leading the way in hemp fiber, but their cotton blend is also cutting edge in the eco-friendly space. As a founding member of the California Climate and Cotton Coalition, they are helping farmers transition their crops to regenerative cotton that is actively healing the soil. Traceable, equitable and inventive from agriculture to manufacturing, Trace breaks the mold at every step in the supply chain-giving the phrase “farm to body” new meaning.
 
This special approach to restoring health and autonomy in consumer decision making, by offering natural products with full ingredient disclosure, is the new magic Claire and co-founders Dr. Meg Galaske, a holistic physician, and Olaf Isele, an absorbent hygiene engineer, are bringing to conscious and eager consumers in summer 2023! The buzz surrounding the launch is surreal. Trace has been featured in USA Today, Bloomberg, Vogue Business and multiple other publications as the hype builds for “beyond organic” period care, something consumers cannot wait to come to market. Trace has raised over $700,000 through bootstrapping, angel investors and a successful equity crowdfunding raise on WeFunder, and is actively seeking investors for their Seed round opening next month.
 
Local investors are the lifeblood of Williamson County startups like Trace – proudly based in the Franklin Innovation Center in downtown Franklin.
 
Are you an interested investor ready to launch an innovative brand? Contact Claire Crunk at claire@tracefemcare.com. Are you a fellow entrepreneur? Join us at the Franklin Innovation Center in Downtown Franklin. Visit franklininnovates.com to learn more.