Inspiring Conversations with Claire Coder of Aunt Flow

Today we’d like to introduce you to Claire Coder.

Claire, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
After getting my period at an event without the supplies I needed, I thought to myself, “Toilet paper is offered for free, why aren’t tampons and pads?”Ⓡ This question just kept popping back into my head. After doing some research, I discovered that nobody else had truly solved this problem. At that moment, I decided to drop out of college and start Aunt Flow at 18 years old in 2016. I’ve been on a mission to ensure that everyone has access to period products ever since!

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road. The idea itself was simple: why shouldn’t pads and tampons be as accessible as toilet paper? But getting people to actually buy into that idea was a whole different challenge.

I started Aunt Flow when I was 18, trying to convince people to invest in something that didn’t even feel like a “category” yet. There wasn’t really a market for what we were doing yet, so I had to build both the business and the belief behind it at the same time.

Much of the early resistance stemmed from discomfort. I was often pitching to rooms full of decision-makers who weren’t used to talking about periods, and many didn’t see menstrual products as something that belonged in facility budgets. That discomfort is rooted in stigma, and it was one of the biggest hurdles. If people aren’t talking about periods, they’re not prioritizing access.

What’s been really rewarding is seeing that shift happen. We’ve gone from people questioning why this matters to organizations expecting period products to be available, just like toilet paper. There’s still work to do, but that mindset change has been huge.

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
On a mission to ensure everyone has access to period products, Aunt Flow stocks 70k+ bathrooms across the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. with our organic cotton tampons and pads and ADA-compliant, free-vend dispensing systems.

Many bathrooms still have clunky, coin-operated pad and tampon dispensers. They rarely work, and most people don’t carry around change anymore. Replacing archaic coin-operated tampon dispensers, Aunt Flow is the most efficient solution to provide high-quality pads and tampons for free to employees, students, and guests.

What makes our brand resonate is that it’s built on shared experience. Whether someone menstruates or supports someone who does, they connect to the issue instantly. We make it easy for people—and institutions—to care, act, and be part of something bigger.

But more than anything, Aunt Flow is a movement. Since 2021, we’ve donated over 7 million period products to menstruators in need. , and that impact is driven by a belief we hold at the core of everything we do: People helping people. PERIOD.Ⓡ

If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
Perseverance. When I started Aunt Flow in 2016, there was no clear market. No states had yet passed laws requiring free period products in schools or public buildings. Still, I saw the unmet need and built a business model around it.

Since then, the landscape has shifted significantly. Today, 27 states and Washington, D.C. require schools to provide free period products, and access is expanding across public spaces and institutions.

What was once considered a luxury product is increasingly recognized as essential—and Aunt Flow has grown alongside that shift, becoming the go-to partner for compliance.

Change doesn’t happen overnight, but with hard work and persistence, it absolutely happens.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://goauntflow.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goauntflow/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/goauntflow
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/aunt-flow/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@goauntflow/
• Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clairecoder/