Lil-lets
Encyclopedia
Lil-lets is a brand providing feminine hygiene products that operates principally in the UK, Ireland
and South Africa
Since 2000 the company has restructured through two management buyout
s (MBO) to become a business crossing all sectors of the Feminine Hygiene market - tampons, pads, pantyliners and intimate care.
. They were based on a design created with Dr Judith Esser-Mittag, a female gynecologist and expand widthways for improved comfort and better protection. Initially two absorbencies were available, Regular and Super, for differing menstrual flows.
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 put S&N as UK market leaders in sanitary towels, with the Dr White's and Lilia brands and second in tampons with Lil-lets.
1994 Lil-lets applicator tampons are launched.
2000 A management buyout
(MBO) by Accantia takes ownership of the Lil-lets brand.
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.
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.
2005 saw Lil-lets launch pantyliners.
20th December 2006, the Lil-lets Group of companies is formed, itself an MBO from Accantia, creating a standalone Feminine Hygiene business.
2007 Lil-lets launches 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.
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
and South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
Since 2000 the company has restructured through two management buyout
Management buyout
A management buyout is a form of acquisition where a company's existing managers acquire a large part or all of the company.- Overview :Management buyouts are similar in all major legal aspects to any other acquisition of a company...
s (MBO) to become a business crossing all sectors of the Feminine Hygiene market - tampons, pads, pantyliners and intimate care.
History
The company was founded in 1954 and launched by Southalls of BirminghamBirmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
. They were based on a design created with Dr Judith Esser-Mittag, a female gynecologist and expand widthways for improved comfort and better protection. Initially two absorbencies were available, Regular and Super, for differing menstrual flows.
1958, Southalls was acquired by Smith & Nephew
Smith & Nephew
Smith & Nephew plc is a global medical devices company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest producer of arthroscopy products, second-largest producer of advanced wound management products, third-largest producer of trauma and clinical therapy products and...
(S&N) and incorporated into their Sanitary Protection Division alongside Arthur Berton Ltd, another S&N acquisition. These acquisitions put S&N as UK market leaders in sanitary towels, with the Dr White's and Lilia brands and second in tampons with Lil-lets.
1994 Lil-lets applicator tampons are launched.
2000 A management buyout
Management buyout
A management buyout is a form of acquisition where a company's existing managers acquire a large part or all of the company.- Overview :Management buyouts are similar in all major legal aspects to any other acquisition of a company...
(MBO) by Accantia takes ownership of the Lil-lets brand.
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.
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.
2005 saw Lil-lets launch pantyliners.
20th December 2006, the Lil-lets Group of companies is formed, itself an MBO from Accantia, creating a standalone Feminine Hygiene business.
2007 Lil-lets launches 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
Tampax
Tampax is a brand of tampon from Procter & Gamble. It was originally both the name of an independent company for over 50 years, based in Palmer, Massachusetts , and the product itself. Renamed Tambrands, Inc. in 1984, P&G purchased it in 1997...
, 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.
List of products
- Non-applicator tampons
- Applicator tampons
- Pads
- Pantyliner
- Specialist hygiene products