• by Les Luchter , January 10, 2022

CES' evolving status as a showcase for breakthroughs beyond consumer electronics was highlighted when P&G Ventures announced the winner of its annual Innovation Challenge: Lady Patch, a drug-free product that treats female bladder leaks and frequent urge to urinate.

As winner, Lady Patch will receive $10,000 and a potential P&G partnership for further development of its product.

Lady Patch “offered an innovative solution to a problem that affects so many,” explained Guy Persaud, president of new business for P&G, in announcing the winner during a virtual presentation.

Incontinence affects one in every three women around the world, P&G said. Of the 25 million adult Americans suffering from some form of urinary incontinence, 75%-80% of those are women, according to the National Association for Continence.

Lady Patch says its product, a small patch that attaches to the clitoris, "causes the bladder to relax while strengthening pelvic muscles at the same time.”

The patch (taglines include “We believe in life beyond the bathroom” and “stay pee-free in 1-2-3”) is currently selling for $19.99 through Amazon. That price includes two packs of 18 patches each, one labeled “regular” and one “active.”

Three other finalists, each of which will receive $5,000, were another feminine hygiene line, Kushae Naturals, which boasts “non-toxic feminine care products for every vulva”;  Cybele Microbiome, a microbiome-based skincare developer; and Ryp Labs, a food and crop protection company.

P&G Ventures, the company’s early-stage startup studio, had specifically requested fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) entrants that improve consumers' lives in the areas of nontoxic home and garden, men's and women's active aging, healthy skin, food preservation/waste reduction, daily wellness, go-anywhere cleaning, parental assistance, and “other new frontiers.”

The result, the studio said, was a record number of submissions, along with the highest-ever percentage of female founders (60%, including the winner and the first two finalists listed above), and Black and Latin founders (30%).

The first five years of the Innovation Challenge, winners were: Sana Health, a wearable device that uses audio and visual stimulation to relieve chronic pain and reduce anxiety levels;  SAVRpack, a packaging technology to keep food from going soggy; Healium, a mental fitness channel that uses augmented and virtual reality apps for the self-management of stress and anxiety; Morari Medical, a wearable device to prevent premature ejaculation; and Nanospun Technologies, which produces disruptive, live-active biological tissues for skincare, medical, and industrial applications.