PickUpMyPeriod, Pogo Studio and Hey Girls

Hey Girls, is an incredible ‘buy one, donate one’ social enterprise which produces environmentally friendly period products that fund the fight to end period poverty in the UK.

Over recent years, we have worked alongside Hey Girls, helping them to create online and digital services to achieve their mission. Our most recent project with the Hey Girls team launched earlier this year, and it was an app, named Pick Up My Period, designed to help signpost young girls, women and people who have periods, to free period products near them. Let’s take a closer look at the project… 

What is the app?  

A 2018 Scottish pole identified alarming stats around period poverty. Not only did this poll highlight nearly one in five respondents stating they had to go without period products because of finances, one in 10 also said they were forced to prioritise other essential household items. Hey Girls, saw an opportunity to use their breadth of knowledge and expertise to address these pressing issues which were occurring on their own doorstep. Subsequently, Pick Up My Period was born – with the aim to improve the access young girls, women and people who have periods, have to free period products.  

What role did we play?  

In early 2020, Pogo Studio responded to a request from Hey Girls to fully scope out and build the Pick Up My Period mobile app. As an organisation, Pogo Studio creates products and services which aim to help and improve people’s lives. Thus, when given the chance to help Hey Girls do the same, we were thrilled, and excitedly agreed to get on board. The app was designed to be intuitive and easy to use for users of any age and technical ability. We achieved this through clear and organised interfaces, which also lead users to support and help tools when required. The app made use of maps, and users real time locations to direct them to the nearest free pried products in their area. Prior to launch, we ensued the app was tried and tested, to guarantee users would receive the best possible experience. The app was successfully launched in January 2022, with distributing partners across Scotland. Whilst the first stage of the project is now complete, the aim is for it to continue to be refined as its usage expands across new local authorities and into other parts of the UK. 

What was the impact?  

In partnership we were able to design, build and launch an app which met all key user and partnership requirements, helping to reduce period poverty in Scotland.  For women, girls and people who have periods struggling with period poverty, they can now quickly download the PickupMyPeriod app from the Google Play or Apple store, free of charge. The app allows people to find period products on the move or products closest to home. Users can even search for plastic-free products within the app. The PickupMyPeriod app currently links to over 700 venues in many communities where free products are available – and the number is expected to grow when further local authorities join the app. 

Social Justice Secretary Shona Robison launched the app virtually with pupils from St Paul’s High School in Glasgow, where the council has worked closely with students in the delivery of free period products. 

Ms Robison said: 

“The app is a fantastic tool that will help everyone who wants to access free period products for themselves, a family member or friend to easily find them in many places across Scotland.” 

“I’m thankful for the support of local authorities in the implementation of access to free period products in Scotland. Young women and girls have been crucial in developing the best ways to access products to meet their needs and I’m grateful to them for sharing their views.” 

We are thrilled with the success Hey Girls has experienced with the PickUpMyPeriod app. With over 3,800 downloads thus far, we are very excited to see what the near future holds for this fantastic platform.   

Digital Technology Awards 2022 

We are ecstatic to say that we have recently been shortlisted for the Public Sector Innovation award at the Digital Technology Awards 2022 for our partnership with Hey Girls, on this fantastic app. We have had a great time working with Hey Girls and thank them for allowing us to participate on this project. Keep an eye out at our socials to see how we get on at the awards – keeping your fingers crossed for us!