WoW Woman in Women's Health I Jo Barry, Director of Scarlet Period
Jo Barry is the owner of Scarlet Period, an independent Australian period self-care brand. Based in Melbourne, Jo created rae, a wearable, rechargeable heat device for period and pelvic comfort, after living with stage 4 endometriosis and adenomyosis. Designed from the ground up with Melbourne engineers, rae combines safety, style, and empathy in equal measure. It went on to win Best in Class, Consumer Product of the Year 2025 at the Australian Good Design Awards. Jo’s work sits at the intersection of design, sustainability, and women’s health, proving that comfort can be intelligent, stigma-free, and built to last.
Scarlet Period is an independent Melbourne-based period wellness brand making comfort reliable, beautiful, and built for real life. Entirely self-funded and woman-led, Scarlet creates design-forward, PFAS-free products, from the award-winning rae heat pad to sustainable period underwear, cups, and body care. Each piece is made to move with you, combining safety, simplicity, and style. Because good design should feel good, too.
Tell us a bit about your background and your projects so far.
My background is in media and brand strategy. I’ve always been drawn to design that solves real problems and makes life easier. After years of living with stage 4 endometriosis and adenomyosis, I reached a point where I was done waiting for better products to support the day-to-day reality of symptoms.
Scarlet began with reusable, PFAS-free period underwear and swimwear - products designed to make periods more comfortable, sustainable, and stigma-free. Then came body care, built around the same idea: clean ingredients, simple routines, real relief.
The next step was rae, a wearable, rechargeable heat device designed and engineered in Melbourne. It’s lightweight, thermostat-controlled, and built for safe, targeted comfort. I wanted something that could move with your body, letting you work, travel, or rest without being tied to a wall socket.
Periods are more than bleeding; they affect how you move, rest, and feel. Scarlet’s focus is now the full experience with reusable care, wearable heat, and education that helps people live well across every phase of their cycle.
How did you get into this industry? Has it been an easy industry to get into or have you had many challenges?
Hard lessons. I came from publishing and digital, careers that teach you how to communicate clearly and design with intent. But years of endometriosis and adenomyosis made the gap in period self-care impossible to ignore. Everything I could buy felt clinical, disposable, or cheaply made, so I built what I couldn’t find.
I stayed self-funded to protect the integrity of the idea, then partnered with two brilliant Melbourne teams, Tricycle Developments and Xentronics. We learned by doing: testing materials, refining temperature curves, running safety checks, and iterating prototypes until it felt right on a real body in real life. It was a pressure cooker - new to e-commerce, new to hardware, and entirely self-funded - but nothing teaches you faster than personal stakes.
How long did it take you to be where you are now? What was the biggest obstacle?
rae took about 18 months to develop and at least double that in emotional labour. I’m notorious for optimistic timelines; my partner always tells teams to quietly double whatever I promise. What I thought would be a sprint became a marathon of prototypes, user tests, and late-night problem-solving.
The biggest hurdle was finding people who truly listened. I briefed countless teams who called it “too simple.” The irony is that simplicity is the hardest brief. And yes, most rooms were a sea of men with one token woman added “because she’ll get it.” If it was so simple, why hadn’t anyone built something that actually worked?!! Everything changed when I found the right partners in Melbourne who cared enough to test every heat curve, material, and safety layer until it felt inevitable.
I also learned that blind trust is expensive. Plenty over-promise and under-deliver; that’s exactly why we built Scarlet to over-deliver. I want people to unbox it and think, “Wow, I didn’t expect it to be this good.” Being underestimated can be useful, you build quietly and prove yourself loudly.
What are the challenges of being in the industry you are in?
The obvious one is that it’s still very male-dominated. Most rooms are full of people who’ve never lived the problem you’re trying to solve. You spend a lot of time translating (or justifying!) - explaining why comfort matters, why safety isn’t optional, why women’s health deserves the same design standards as everything else. It can be exhausting, but it also sharpens your conviction.
The other challenge is cost. Building something from scratch is expensive, especially when you refuse to cut corners. Quality takes time, testing, and real engineering.
People want innovation, but they don’t always understand what it costs to make. Every material, safety certification, and prototype round adds up. I’ve learned that good design can’t compete on price - it can only really compete on trust, longevity, and integrity.
What are your biggest achievements to date?
On paper, the achievements are our recent awards: rae taking out Best in Class, Consumer Product of the Year 2025 at the Australian Good Design Awards, and Scarlet being named a finalist for the Victorian Premier’s Design Awards.
But the real win is hearing how rae is showing up in people’s lives. A mum wrote to say her daughter finally stays at school for day 1 of her period. A hairdresser told me she can stand and work through her bleed. A project manager shared that she delivered a 100-person presentation wearing rae under her dress and no one knew. Those messages land directly in my inbox because there’s no hierarchy here, just me, reading and crying at my desk. That’s what makes it worth it.
What are the projects you are currently working on?
We’re focused on deepening the rae ecosystem and making period wellness feel as normal as skincare or sleep. That means ongoing design refinements to enhance longevity and user experience, plus new formats and accessories that keep rae easy to live in, whether it’s at your desk, on a flight, or on the sofa.
Alongside the product work, we’re investing in education, clear, stigma-free resources on pelvic pain, surgical menopause, and body literacy.
Is the #WomenInTech movement important to you and if yes, why?
Absolutely. Because who designs the product decides how it feels to use. When more women are involved in design, testing, and research, blind spots shrink and the results improve for everyone. Representation at the engineering table, in the lab, and in the boardroom shapes the standards of safety, comfort, and credibility, and if we’re not in the room, we’re too often forgotten.
For decades, women’s health has been under-researched, underfunded, and undervalued. We’ve been dismissed in doctor’s offices, excluded from clinical trials, and handed products that don’t reflect our bodies or our realities. The result? Heat pads that burn out after a week, pain dismissed as “normal,” and a tech industry only just waking up to the fact that the female body isn’t niche.
What women bring to tech is perspective - the instinct to design from empathy, not assumption. We listen, we notice, we build for how something actually feels in use. And that’s not sentimentality; it’s strategy.
I was told my idea was “too simple”, that the market already had options. But those options were flimsy, clinical, or pink-washed. That’s what happens when the wrong people decide what’s good enough. We need smarter, safer, more human design - and an equal voice in shaping it.
What will be the key trends in your industry in the next five years and where do you see them heading?
We’re moving toward invisible wearables: tech that disappears into what you’re already wearing instead of shouting “device.” That’s the future - form and function blending so seamlessly that it just feels like comfort.
Sustainability must mean more than a green label. It’s about designing products built to last, not break, and creating systems that keep them in use, not in the bin.
And then there’s the next frontier of insight: menstrual blood as data. It’s long been ignored, but it holds extraordinary potential for understanding hormones, inflammation, and overall health. I think that will completely reshape how we view the menstrual cycle, not as an inconvenience but as an information source.
From a consumer perspective, I hope we start to value originality again. Innovation takes years and costs a fortune, yet creators are constantly ripped off by cheap copies that undercut real progress. My wish - and what I hope becomes a trend - is for people to support the makers who are changing the game, not just the ones selling it cheaper. Because cheaper doesn’t mean better; better is what lasts, what works, and what keeps good ideas alive.
What is the most important piece of advice you could give to anyone who wants to start a career in this industry?
Start small and solve one problem well. Work closely with your engineers and your users, ideally in the same room. Test and retest until you’re sure it holds up on a real body in real life. Treat safety reports as brand assets, not red tape, and never ship something you wouldn’t wear on your hardest day.
Forget about the bottom line and focus on creating something you’re proud of. The rest will follow if the product’s right. Protect your independence and your values, they’re the first things people will ask you to compromise. You don’t need investors to build something meaningful; you need persistence, empathy, and the courage to keep going when it’s uncomfortable.
Finally, listen to your gut - especially when you’re the only woman in the room. Your instincts are data. Speak up, hold your ground, and remember that purpose is a better motivator than money, especially in industries that still need changing.
Who are three inspirational women in your respective industry you admire?
Maz Coote | Founder, WHEN Fertility: Maz reframes fertility with empathy and clear science. I admire how she centres dignity and access; it’s care that respects your time, budget, and headspace.
Dr Ariella Heffernan-Marks | Co-founder, OVUM: Ariella is building AI that understands women’s health. Instead of generic advice, OVUM translates symptoms, cycle data, and lifestyle into usable guidance.
Michelle Kennedy | CEO, Peanut: Michelle built one of the strongest women’s communities on the internet by leading with openness and product focus. She is one to watch and listen to.
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