At 12 years old, Ruby Raut was banished from her own home for a week every month. Her crime? Having a period.
Today, as the 2025 Novi Businesswoman of the Year, she’s built WUKA—a multimillion-pound period care brand that’s eliminating millions of disposables from landfill while challenging the silence around menstrual health.
Ruby’s journey from environmental scientist to award-winning founder wasn’t about having all the answers. It was about asking better questions—and starting before feeling ready.
Watch the full episode on here
Period Stigma Still Exists—Here’s How to Break It
How to talk to your kids about periods (without awkwardness)
The hidden toxins in mainstream period products
3 simple swaps that eliminate 90% of period waste
Ruby’s personal story of overcoming shame
From ‘Untouchable’ to Unstoppable
Fresh from accepting her Novi Award, Ruby doesn’t sugarcoat where she came from. Raised in Nepal, she grew up in a culture where menstruation wasn’t just taboo—it was isolating.
During her period, she was considered Nathune. Untouchable. She slept separately, used separate utensils, and was excluded from daily life. For one week every month, her own home became off-limits.
“I didn’t have language for what was happening at the time,” Ruby tells us. “No one called it menstruation. It was just understood that during those days, you were impure. You couldn’t stay at home. You couldn’t touch certain things. You were separate.“
The physical discomfort was one thing. The message behind it was another entirely.
“Something natural about your body made you less worthy of space,” she says. “That kind of thinking follows you. It followed me to school, into sport, and eventually into adulthood.”
When Ruby eventually launched WUKA, she wasn’t trying to relive that story. But she couldn’t escape a hard truth: shame around periods exists everywhere, just in different forms. “If we don’t question it,” she says, “we accept it as normal.”
The 200,000-Tonne Problem Nobody Was Solving
Ruby moved to the UK as a young immigrant and trained as an environmental scientist. For years, she pieced together work while volunteering on sustainability projects. WUKA wasn’t part of any grand plan.
It started with a shocking statistic.
While volunteering with the Women’s Environmental Network, Ruby learned that in the UK alone, over 200,000 tonnes of period waste ends up in landfill every year.
“Growing up, we reused what we had,” she explains. “When I walked into UK supermarkets, everything was disposable. I couldn’t understand why reusables weren’t visible.”
Her first thought wasn’t entrepreneurial. It was practical. “I didn’t think, ‘I’ll start a company.’ I thought, ‘Someone should fix this.’ Then I realised I could try.”
One Kickstarter. One Product. 120 Believers.
WUKA began with a single handmade product and a Kickstarter campaign. No business plan. No investor pitch deck. Just one pair of period underwear Ruby made at home and a simple explanation of why it mattered.
“I didn’t wait until I felt ready,” she says. “I tested the idea instead of overthinking it.”
Twenty-one days later, 120 people backed it.
“That told me enough to keep going.”
Ruby tested her idea with zero budget and no business experience.
But turning 120 backers into a sustainable business meant confronting uncomfortable truths about manufacturing, cost, and scale.
“I learned that impact depends on access,” Ruby says. “If a product is too expensive, it won’t change behaviour.”
She contacted manufacturers in the UK, Europe, and China. The UK costs were prohibitive. The Chinese manufacturer sent the best sample—a reality that forced her to challenge her own assumptions.
“Sustainability isn’t just about where something is made,” she reflects. “It’s about longevity, function, and whether people can actually use it.”
The BBC Interview That Changed Everything
A BBC radio interview became WUKA’s inflection point—though not in the way Ruby expected.
“The interview focused more on period stigma than the product,” she recalls. “That mattered.”
The next day, journalists started calling. WUKA was suddenly positioned as the UK’s first period underwear brand. The first batch sold out in a day. Then the second.
“For almost a year, we were selling on pre-order. I didn’t have time to think about growth. I was just trying to deliver what I promised.”
Why ‘Wake Up. Kick Ass’ Isn’t Just a Name
WUKA stands for “Wake Up. Kick Ass.” It’s bold. Unapologetic. Exactly what Ruby intended.
“Periods are often framed as something to endure quietly,” she says. “I wanted to flip that.”
The name created energy. It reminded people that menstruation isn’t something to whisper about. But Ruby knew branding alone wouldn’t build a business.
“Early on, we focused on one product, one colour, one function. The product had to work before anything else. If it didn’t, no amount of branding would save it.”
The Hidden Dangers in Your Period Products
As WUKA grew, Ruby became increasingly vocal about transparency in menstrual health products—an issue most brands avoid discussing.
“Many people don’t realise that period products can contain heavy metals like lead and cadmium,” she explains. “There’s very little regulation around ingredient disclosure.”
These products go inside or sit directly against the body for hours at a time. Yet most consumers have no idea what they’re actually made of.
Ruby’s advice is direct: “Ask questions. Choose reusables where possible. External products reduce risk. Curiosity gives you agency.”
Are Your Period Products Safe?
Most people have no idea their tampons could contain lead, cadmium, or undisclosed chemicals. Do you know the ingredients listed in your products?
Preparing the Next Generation Differently
Ruby’s own experience shapes her advice for parents preparing their children for their first period.
“Start earlier than you think you need to,” she urges. “Make products visible. Talk about hormones and emotions without attaching fear or shame.”
But she emphasizes one thing above all: “Involve boys and fathers. Period education shouldn’t fall on women alone. Normalisation happens when everyone understands.”
Fighting for Funding in a Market Nobody Took Seriously
Ruby’s path to Business Woman of the Year wasn’t smooth. She faced consistent skepticism from investors who didn’t see menstrual care as a “serious” market.
“I was often told this was a niche problem, or that it belonged in developing markets,” she recalls.
She learned to flip the script.
“I learned to lead with evidence. Revenue. Growth. Awards. Once the numbers spoke, the tone in the room changed.”
Her strategy was deliberate: “You still tell the story, but you don’t start there. You show impact first.”
The Power of Starting Before You’re Ready
Looking back on her journey from volunteer to award-winning CEO, Ruby’s biggest lesson isn’t about confidence—it’s about curiosity.
“Not knowing can be a strength,” she insists. “You ask better questions. You listen more.”
She didn’t start WUKA because she had all the answers. She started because she was willing to try.
“The worst answer you’ll get is no,” Ruby says. “The best thing that can happen is you realise you were capable all along.”
From Immigrant Volunteer to Business Woman of the Year: Ruby’s Complete Journey
Ruby Raut proved you don’t need venture capital, industry connections, or an MBA to build a million-pound brand. You need curiosity, courage, and a problem worth solving.
But her journey included mistakes most founders never talk about: manufacturing disasters, cash flow crises, product recalls, and the mental health toll of building alone.
The worst answer you’ll get is no. The best thing that can happen is you realise you were capable all along. — Ruby Raut
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ABOUT WUKA
WUKA (Wake Up. Kick Ass.) is the UK’s leading reusable period underwear brand, founded in 2017 by environmental scientist and 2025 Novi Business Woman of the Year Ruby Raut. The company has eliminated millions of disposable period products from landfill while advocating for transparency and education in menstrual health. Learn more at wuka.co.uk
