Femly’s Arion Long won Beta City’s pitch competition. Here’s how she wants to grow the organic feminine care company in Baltimore

With Femly, founder Arion Long applies the subscription box model to provide natural and organic feminine care products, and a timely source of tampons and pads.
Long, who goes by the title of Chief Estrogen Officer, launched the company in 2016 with a subscription box that’s delivered each month. It includes feminine care products, as well as added self-care items like face masks, chocolate and teas.
https://twitter.com/FEMLYBOX/status/1032729709744975872
After winning the venture pitch competition at Beta City on Thursday, Long is looking to begin production on care products that will help the company expand. The $25,000 award formed the final piece of funding she needed to move forward, she said.
The Betamore-organized shines a light on Baltimore’s startup community, and Long’s pitch impressed a panel of judges made up of investors and business leaders in Baltimore who heard from six early stage companies. Along with showing the business opportunity and need for the product in a single phrase  – Dollar Shave Club subscribers, she said, can opt for no shave November, but women can’t have “no period February”  – the Morgan State alumna said she intends to base the company’s operations in Baltimore as it grows, with a warehouse and headquarters.
She also wants to make feminine care products freely available in restrooms in offices and other public places.
Long wants to grow an offering from the subscription service in which businesses can sign up to provide Femly’s products in a bathroom. Long said the subscriptions are customized for a business, and supplies are provided for up to six months. After an initial set-up is installed, items are automatically shipped. Then, items will be available for free.
“The by-product of that is increased self-esteem and increased employee morale,” she said.
She points out that items like toilet paper and condoms are offered for free in many bathrooms, but there’s not a free option for women who are caught off guard by their period.
Femly has a website to sign up a business.