About Lumma
Our heritage
Our menstrual discs and cups are actually the latest in a long line of leading health products made by my family’s business, Promillus. My mother and I were the first two customers.
I was only a baby then, and my mother had a condition that caused very small, sharp stones to form whenever she nursed me. Painful, to say the least.
My father, Sami Azar, decided to apply his engineering expertise to help ease her pain. In 1991, he founded a factory in my home city of São Paulo, Brazil, and began manufacturing medical-grade silicone nipple shields. Top awards soon started coming in—for quality, service, distribution and development. Our silicone products are registered from the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency, our equivalent of the FDA, as well as from the FDA itself. Our products are used in the most prestigious medical facilities throughout the country.
We’ve always been committed to making expertly crafted, durable silicone products that are friendly to the environment and to our customers’ health. Because we’re in charge of our manufacturing from factory to pharmacy, there’s no need to sacrifice quality for cost.
Lumma is born
It was a natural progression to use our expertise in silicone manufacturing to continue supporting the health of our clients. We’re all familiar with tampons and pads, but we don’t necessarily realize how harmful these products can be—not just to the planet, but to our health and even our self-esteem.
What many don’t know is that tampons and pads are loaded with additives, dyes and other chemicals—aluminum, dioxins, hydrocarbons and even a pesticide deemed potentially carcinogenic by the World Health Organization. These chemicals drain the natural flora from your vagina and, let’s just say it, they smell. No accident. The goal is for you to trash them—and buy them—as often as possible. Consumption over health and comfort.
For every problem that tampons and pads present, cups and discs offer a solution. The average pad or tampon user goes through about fifteen every month. That’s 540 every three years. Just one disc or cup lasts the same amount of time.
These are the reasons I approached my father with a new business venture in mind: making safe, long-lasting, affordable silicone menstrual products. The two of us ultimately founded our new company, Lumma, and launched our line of menstrual cups in 2015. Three years later, we launched our line of menstrual discs on March 8, International Women’s Day. My father drew upon his expertise to tackle the engineering and manufacturing side of the business, and I used my years of experience in marketing and sales to take care of the bottom line. We were the perfect match.
January 2021 will mark thirty years since my family first set out to improve people’s lives. We’re eager to continue our mission and keep spreading the word: A period is something to be celebrated. Love your body, and live your best life.
What does Lumma mean?
For generations, we’ve been trained to feel shame about our bodies and their natural cycles. The inspiration for our name, the Roman goddess of the moon, Luna, embodies empowerment and pride. The Portuguese word for the moon,lua, is derived from her name and can also be used to refer to menstruation.
Periods have been treated like a deep, dark secret for too long. We decided it was time to shed some light on it, so we incorporated one more Portuguese word:luminoso, or luminous. Periods are a symbol of fertility, and despite what society says, they’re beautiful. They’re not just natural—they’re essential. Without these cycles, none of us would be here to begin with.
The moon waxes and wanes, and so do our bodies. The wordLummarepresents the connection between our monthly periods and the timeless cycles of nature.
At Lumma, we’re all about trading shame for pride. It’s time to let your best self shine.