ieBusiness Podcast: 100 complaints made after period product company went on radio
In the seventh episode of the ieBusiness Podcast, Lauren Duggan, co-founder of period products company Riley, talks to business journalist Cáit Caden.
Small successful indigenous business are rarely described as “shameful”, but this title was given to sustainable period products company Riley after the founders went on a national radio show.
“We went on the radio earlier this year for International Women’s Day and we were just speaking about our business and what it is about. By no means going into details about periods or anything else,” said Riley co-founder Lauren Duggan.
Listeners made more than 100 complaints about the segment on the show, said Ms Duggan.
In the latest episode of The ieBusiness Podcast, in association with PwC, Ms Duggan talks to business journalist Cáit Caden about why she decided to move from the UK back to Cork to set up Riley in 2021 with co-founders Fiona Parfrey, Áine Kilkenny.
Ms Duggan also talks about how she and the other co-founders navigate the stigma associated with women-centred companies, competing with bigger brands, growing the business and dealing with new challenges like inflation.
“We forecasted that with scale our costs would come down but they haven’t” said Ms Duggan.
“There’s been so many knock-on effects from climate disasters and also inflation of raw materials,” she continued.
Listen to a new episode of The ieBusiness Podcast every Thursday wherever you get your podcasts.
