Say hello to sustainability – and success

Published: 17 May 2021

Last Updated: 19 May 2021

For something supposed to be a small ‘side project’, The Hello Cup has proved to be so much more and become an internationally successful and awardwinning business in just three years.

Napier City Council is proud to present The Hello Cup founders Mary Bond and Robyn McLean as the first speakers for our 2021 Business Breakfast series, on 16 June.

Best friends, Havelock North based Robyn, and Wellington based Mary, had no background in business between them - one of their first steps was Googling ‘how to register a business’.

The Hello Cup, a menstrual cup range manufactured in Napier, was founded on a belief that people with periods deserved better, more sustainable choices. But Mary and Robyn also knew they needed to stand out from the crowd. When American retailer giant Urban Outfitters emailed out of the blue asking to stock The Hello Cup, they realised their small start-up was getting noticed - and their decision to market their product differently was working.

The Hello Cup won gold at the Best Design Awards last year - the first menstrual product to win a design award in New Zealand. They’ve recently achieved both Climate Positive and B Corp accreditation, and from March this year Hello Cups have been sold nationwide in all Countdown supermarkets. 

With the tagline ‘bloody brilliant’, The Hello Cup is a menstrual cup company with a quirky sense of humour.

“Sometimes starting a business is all about just jumping in,” says Robyn. “We’re looking forward to sharing more about how we built our business from scratch, the mistakes we’ve made and our plans to be a global leader in sustainable period products.”

Come along to find out more about why these two best friends ignored the people who told them they should do things by the book and have instead grown their ‘side project’ their way, creating  a business that now has US equity partners and more than 150 retailers globally. 

The number of Hello Cups sold to date have saved 200 million single-use period products from landfills and waterways around the globe. 

Mary Bond has worked as a Registered Nurse for over 20 years, in numerous specialty areas including neonatal care, ICU and palliative care. She continues to do shifts at Wellington’s Mary Potter Hospice. 

Robyn McLean is a former journalist who worked various newspapers including the Sunday Star Times and the Dominion Post. After moving into public relations, she was Communications Manager at the Royal New Zealand Ballet before moving to Hawke’s Bay where she worked as Communications Manager at Napier City Council.

What: Napier City Council Business Breakfast – featuring Robyn McLean & Mary Bond of The Hello Cup

Where: Napier War Memorial Centre

When: Arrive 7.30am for a light breakfast, for an 8am start

Cost: $30

How to register: Please register and pay by 5pm Friday 11 June.

Register here 

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