Lil-lets is a brand providing feminine hygiene products that operates principally in the UK,

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

and

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. Since 2000, the company has restructured through two

management buyout A management buyout (MBO) is a form of acquisition in which a company's existing managers acquire a large part, or all, of the company, whether from a parent company or individual. Management-, and/or leveraged buyout became noted phenomena of 1 ...

s (MBO) to become a business crossing all sectors of the feminine hygiene market, including

tampons A tampon is a menstrual product designed to absorb blood and vaginal secretions by insertion into the vagina during menstruation. Unlike a pad, it is placed internally, inside of the vaginal canal. Once inserted correctly, a tampon is held in ...

, sanitary napkins,

pantyliner A pantyliner (also pantiliner, panty liner or panty shield, vaginal cover) is an absorbent piece of material used for feminine hygiene. It is worn in the gusset of a woman's panties. Some uses include: absorbency for daily vaginal discharge, light ...

s and intimate care. They also do programmes for schools that teach young girls the changes that occur when they begin to menstruate.

History

The company was founded in 1954 and launched by Southalls of

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

. They were based on a design created with Dr.

Judith Esser-Mittag Judith Esser-Mittag (Germany, 12 November 1921 – 1 May 2020), commonly known as Judith Esser, was a German gynecologist. Her extensive studies of the female anatomy helped her improve the digital style tampon. The o.b. tampon Women have improvis ...

, a female gynaecologist and expand widthways for improved comfort and better protection. Initially two absorbencies were available, Regular and Super, for differing menstrual flows. In 1958, Southalls was acquired by Smith & Nephew (S&N) and incorporated into their Sanitary Protection Division, alongside Arthur Berton Ltd, another S&N acquisition. These acquisitions positioned S&N as the UK market leaders in sanitary towels, with the Dr. White's and Lilia brands second with Lil-lets. In 1994, Lil-lets applicator tampons were launched. In 2000, a

(MBO) by Accantia (now

Simple Simple or SIMPLE may refer to: *Simplicity, the state or quality of being simple Arts and entertainment * ''Simple'' (album), by Andy Yorke, 2008, and its title track * "Simple" (Florida Georgia Line song), 2018 * "Simple", a song by Johnn ...

) took ownership of the Lil-lets brand. In 2001, Lil-lets launched the Super plus Extra, a high absorbency product (classified as 5 droplets by AHPMA, compared to Regular at 2 droplets, Super at 3 and Super Plus at 4). This was a UK first, offering consumers with a heavy flow a specialist product. In 2002, Lil-lets launch "Mixed Packs", with a range of absorbencies in each pack, allowing consumers to buy one pack in order to use a different absorbency for the differing flow rates within a period (often lighter at the start and finish of the period). Solutions, a range of intimate care products is also launched, featuring wipes, a cleansing mousse and a heat soother patch to warm the tummy to help with period pain. In 2005, Lil-lets launched

s. 20 December 2006, Lil-lets was sold to

Electra Private Equity Unbound Group, formerly Electra Private Equity, is a British-based online company specialising in clothing and specialist footwear. Listed on the London Stock Exchange until 2022, it is listed on the Alternative Investment Market. History The ...

, and the Lil-lets Group of companies was formed, creating a standalone Feminine Hygiene business. In 2007, Lil-lets launched a range of Sanitary Pads, making Lil-lets the only brand to cross all sectors of the Feminine Hygiene market - tampons, pads, pantyliners and intimate care. In 2008, Lil-lets launched a compact applicator range in direct competition to the market leader Tampax, followed in 2009 by a video advertising campaign that showed the key difference between the two brands. Lil-lets tampons expand widthways, with Tampax tampons expanding along their length. In 2012, Electra invested another £7 million equity.Electra Equity
/ref> In November 2013, Electra sold Lil-lets to Premier FMCG (Pty) Limited, a South African company.

List of products

* Non-applicator

* Applicator

* Sanitary napkins *

Pantyliner A pantyliner (also pantiliner, panty liner or panty shield, vaginal cover) is an absorbent piece of material used for feminine hygiene. It is worn in the gusset of a woman's panties. Some uses include: absorbency for daily vaginal discharge, light ...

s * Specialist hygiene products

References

External links

Lil-lets.com

Lil-lets UK

Lil-lets RSA

Microsite helping girls understand about puberty

Premier Foods (Pty) Limited
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lil-Lets Feminine hygiene brands