In this episode of The Future of Consumer Marketing, host Brett Stapper interviews Deeannah Seymour, CEO and Co-Founder of pH-D Feminine Health. After 20 years in pharma, Seymour launched pH-D in 2014 to commercialize boric acid vaginal suppositories – a product that existed only through compounding pharmacies despite being frequently recommended by OB-GYNs. Within six months of launching on Amazon, the product became the bestseller in its category, driven by evangelical customer reviews and a healthcare professional marketing strategy that established pH-D as the #1 doctor-recommended brand. Today, pH-D operates across 55,000+ retail locations while maintaining its woman-owned certification and bootstrapped status.

Topics Discussed:

• Transitioning from healthcare professional marketing to mainstream retail expansion

• Navigating regulatory restrictions and advertising censorship in feminine health

• Building a problem-solution brand in an underfunded category

• Scaling from Amazon to 55,000+ retail locations without outside funding

• Creating safe spaces for stigmatized health conversations

• Maintaining woman-owned certification as a competitive advantage

• Developing clinical studies and IP acquisition strategy

Lessons For Consumer Marketers:

Lead with Healthcare Professional Marketing as Your Foundation

Rather than starting with direct-to-consumer advertising, pH-D built their brand through healthcare professional marketing first. For the first several years, 80% of their marketing focused on sampling programs at healthcare conferences and educating providers. This created an unshakeable foundation where doctors became their primary influencers, leading to the “number one doctor recommended” positioning that competitors couldn’t replicate even after entering the market.

Leverage Regulatory Positioning as Competitive Moats

pH-D’s product positioning varies by country due to regulations – marketed as yeast infection treatment in Canada, vaginal odor treatment in the US. While operationally complex (requiring separate websites, Instagram accounts, and packaging), these regulatory requirements create natural barriers to entry and allow for market-specific messaging optimization. The complexity becomes a competitive advantage that smaller competitors struggle to navigate.

Transform Category Shame into Community Building

pH-D’s “Raise Your Vagina IQ” campaign directly addresses body literacy and removes shame from feminine health discussions. By normalizing conversations about vaginal health and educating women about basic anatomy, they’ve created a community where women tag friends in their ads – turning taboo topics into social sharing opportunities. This approach transforms traditional word-of-mouth marketing into visible social proof.

Use Bootstrap Constraints to Drive Creative Solutions

Operating without outside funding, pH-D developed a consultant-to-employee pipeline strategy. They hire specialists as contractors until the pain point becomes so expensive that bringing the role in-house becomes obvious. This approach allows them to access high-level expertise without full-time overhead while maintaining cash flow control during rapid growth phases.

Build Banker Relationships Before You Need Capital

pH-D’s retail expansion was financed through bank relationships cultivated over years, not venture capital. By regularly updating their banker with PR coverage and business updates, they built personal relationships that enabled access to capital when needed for Target and CVS launches. This demonstrates how traditional financing can support scaling when properly nurtured.

Position Platform Censorship as Marketing Validation

Rather than avoiding censorship issues, pH-D has turned platform restrictions into marketing narrative. Their banned ad campaigns (featuring euphemisms like “beaver” and “taco”) and TikTok account suspensions become proof points for their mission to normalize feminine health conversations. The censorship itself becomes content that demonstrates the problem they’re solving.

Maintain Identity Certifications as Competitive Advantages

pH-D’s woman-owned certification isn’t just a credential – it’s a strategic marketing asset prominently displayed on packaging. With 83% of women preferring to buy from woman-owned companies when they know about the ownership, this certification drives purchase decisions. Maintaining majority female ownership specifically to preserve this marketing advantage shows how identity can be a sustainable competitive moat.

Scale Through Problem-Solution Brand Architecture

pH-D positions itself as a “problem-solution brand” rather than a product company, allowing them to expand into adjacent issues like menopause while maintaining brand consistency. This framework enables category expansion based on customer needs rather than product constraints, creating multiple entry points for the same target audience throughout different life stages.