Brand Story
Brand Journey
2023
Sparkle products are launched in the US and in Europe.
Sparkle wins a number of prestigious awards.
2022
Sparkle products are launched in India.
The Sparkle R&D Centre was established to develop sustainable and innovative ingredients, as well as to focus on their responsible disposal.
2021
Sparkle's first 50,000 square feet factory was built with the production capacity of over 1 million sanitary pads per day.
2020
Sparkle was selected as one of the 27 startups to be a part of the US TV show, ‘Meet The Drapers’ Season 3.
2019
Sparkle got selected as a ‘TechCrunch Top Pick’ in the 'Health Category' at TC Disrupt 2019, San Francisco, USA.
2018
Hetal and Chirag co-founded Sparkle to develop sustainable, plant-based period products that are good for the body and the planet.
2017
Hetal and Chirag co-founded the United World Foundation to donate period products to people in need.
2011
Hetal faced health-related issues while using conventional pads.
Chirag learnt about socio-economic issues related to menstruation while working with different NGOs.
2009
In high school, Hetal experienced stigma surrounding menstruation.
Chirag started an ‘Eco Club’ at his school.
1990
Hetal and Chirag met each other in kindergarten when they were 5 years old.
2022-23
Sparkle Global Presence
Sparkle products are exported to:
- USA
- The Netherlands
- Australia
- Vietnam
- Ecuador
2022-23
Sparkle Retail Presence: India
Sparkle products are available at over 100 stores across 10 states in India.
Sparkle products were launched online in India
Over 70% returning customers
2022
The Sparkle R&D Centre was established to develop sustainable and innovative ingredients, as well as to focus on their responsible disposal.
2021
Sparkle's first factory started operations in Surat, Gujarat, India.
- Fully automatic Italian sanitary pad production line
- Production capacity of over 1 million sustainable sanitary pads per day
- 50,000 square feet manufacturing facility
- Customised production line that can process sustainable, biodegradable and compostable ingredients
2020
Sparkle got selected as one of the top 27 start-ups to be a part of the ‘Meet The Drapers’ TV show.
On the ‘Meet The Drapers’ show, Hetal and Chirag pitched their company to Tim Draper, the early investor in more than 30 unicorns, including Tesla, Skype, Bitcoin, and SpaceX, as well as Bill Draper, Polly Draper and a VIP guest judge.
2019
Sparkle's first successful prototype was selected as a 'TechCrunch Top Pick' in the Health + Biotech Category at 'TechCrunch Disrupt' 2019, San Francisco, USA.
Hetal and Chirag pitched their idea on the showcase stage in front of hundreds of people and interacted with a number of investors, start-ups and prominent media members.
During the TC Disrupt event, one of the team members on 'Meet The Drapers', encouraged the co-founders to try out for the Silicon Valley TV show, where the Draper family (on their hunt for the next billion dollar idea) would meet with innovative entrepreneurs.
2018
- Our “lab”: 10 ft x 10 ft room in our basement
- Fibre cutting: Regular scissors
- Pulping reactor: Pressure cooker
- Pulp drying: Baking oven
- Defiberizing hammermill: Kitchen mixer grinder
- Absorbent core formation: Homemade rectangular dye & press
- Final pad assembly: Paper lamination machine
- Pad performance testing: Founders used & tested the first pad
2018
The fact that Chirag came from a family of farmers became the missing piece of the puzzle.
Chirag's family had banana plantations near one of the biggest banana growing belts of India. Banana plants grow rapidly in just 9-12 months. Once bananas are harvested, these plants become agro-waste.
Chirag and Hetal realised that banana fibres are naturally super absorbent and highly effective at locking away menstrual fluid. They started developing innovative ways to transform banana stem agro-waste into sustainable raw material for making sanitary pads.
In 2018, they co-founded Sparkle to develop sustainable and plant-based period products.
2017
Hetal and Chirag started an NGO, United World Foundation, to donate sanitary pads to people in need.
When they were distributing conventional pads, they realised that a typical commercial pad contained up to 90% plastic and would not biodegrade for around 500-600 years after disposal.
That's when they started to explore sustainable and biodegradable alternatives to conventional sanitary pads.
2011
Chirag
Chirag learnt about socio-economic issues relatedto menstruation while working with different NGOs.
Hetal
Hetal wanted to break the social and cultural stigma surrounding menstruation.
“How can we expect young teenagers to freely discuss their problems with menstrual hygiene management when they hesitantly lower their voices at the mere mention of the words, ‘period’ or ‘pad’?”
- Hetal Virani
2011
Chirag
Chirag learnt about socio-economic issues related to periods while working with different NGOs.
- Chirag participated in different outreach programs which included medical camps, HIV counselling, teaching, and feeding programs in Kenya, Tanzania, Vietnam, South Africa, India, and Costa Rica.
- He witnessed many young menstruators missing school or work simply because they did not have access to sanitary napkins. In fact, they used unhygienic rags, papers, or ash to manage their periods.
Hetal
Hetal started exploring plastic-free and chemical-free alternatives to conventional pads.
- As a regular user of sanitary pads for many years, Hetal constantly experienced skin issues and discomfort while using pads from commercial brands.
- After doing some research, she realised that artificial fragrances, plastic components and other chemicals present in the pads could have been the main reason behind her constant skin irritation issues and allergies.
2009
Chirag
In high school, Chirag started an “Eco Club” at Jarvis Collegiate Institute, Canada.
- After realising that his school did not have a recycling system, Chirag and his classmates decided to implement recycling at his school by placing different coloured recycling bins beside garbage bins on each floor so that plastic, metal and paper waste could be properly segregated and recycled.
Hetal
In high school, Hetal experienced stigma surrounding menstruation.
- One of her closest friends at school was not even allowed to enter the kitchen during her period.
- Whenever she bought sanitary napkins at a shop, they were always handed to her concealed in a newspaper or in a black polythene bag.
1992
Chirag
- Both Hetal and Chirag competed with each other for the first rank.
- During primary school, both Hetal and Chirag were class captains.
Hetal
- Both co-founders met each other in kindergarten when they were 5 years old.
- Went to the same school in Surat, Gujarat, India and were in the same class for over 10 years.