Maude

Ever Goika Chea was an American health policy professional who spent her career working on public health access when she decided the Sexual Wellness category was one of the last retail segments still run like a 1990 sort through a brown paper bag. Goika Chea launched Maud in 2018 with a specific counter positioning against the existing Sexual Wellness category rather than the neon colored packaging and bachelorette party tone that had dominated the segment. Maud used clean minimalist white and neutral packaging, clinical ingredient disclosure and gender neutral marketing. The founding products included a personal lubricant, a body oil and condoms, priced in the prestige tier and distributed through Sephora alongside skincare. The packaging restraint was the commercial lever. Sexual Wellness had historically been shelved in separate pharmacy aisles or back shelves, partly because the packaging felt inappropriate on a main prestige cosmetics shelf.