South Georgia born entrepreneur takes women’s hygiene business to the next level in 2025

ALBANY – In the summer of 2023, Tara Harris was waiting to launch her one-of-a-kind feminine hygiene project: a pantiless panty liner she dubbed “FemeFlex.”

Now, at the start of 2025, the Ellaville native’s product is taking off. Harris said the product sells consistently online at Amazon.com, Walmart.com and FemeFlex.com with little marketing. Harris won a Small Business Innovation Research grant from the University of Georgia to make her product biodegradable and suitable for women in the military. Harris also is gearing up to be the keynote speaker at the University of Georgia’s Innovation Women’s Bootcamp, which begins in February. 

“That’s where I am. This is innovation,” she said. “I’m making history. FemeFlex is the world’s first pantiless panty liner. We plan to disrupt the feminine hygiene industry.”

The unique idea stemmed from Harris’ own personal experience with a surgery that made her unable to wear thong underwear. Through her struggle, she wished for a product that would allow her to achieve a seamless look while also still having the support for women’s bodily functions. She made her own prototype out of glue, Band-aids and store-bought panty liners. 

She said she began to think that other women could probably benefit from this product as well. So began a four-year journey of prototypes – she settled on using silicone to get the product to stick to the body — of finding manufacturers, filing patents for the product and building test groups of women who could try the product out. 

“Everybody told me … ‘We can’t do it, and ain’t gonna do it … good luck,’” she said. “But, I didn’t give up, and I finally found a manufacturing company that took on the project.” 

Harris first began selling her product in August 2023. Now, she said the startup company sells about $2,000 to $3,500 worth of product per month, and that’s with only being sold online and with little to no marketing beyond Harris making the occasional TikTok post. 

“I am a one-woman show currently,” she said. “I do everything from marketing, working with the web developers … the manufacturers and distributors … and potential investors. Considering all of that, I think I’m doing pretty good.”

Beyond business success, Harris is helping to break the stigma around talking openly about feminine hygiene as well as teaching other girls about what it takes to start their own business.

Harris said when she talks about the product, she faces a lot of women who shy away from talking about the normal bodily functions that FemeFlex is used for. 

“Very few women like to talk about discharge … but it’s part of being a woman,” she said. “I try to be as open and fun about it and try to make them feel comfortable.”

Harris has never shied away from putting herself out there. After graduating college, she moved to Hollywood to try to become an actress. Still, she said being an entrepreneur is not for the faint of heart. 

“It’s a lot of hard work, tears, butterflies in your stomach,” she said. “You have to have a lot of faith and keep going.”

However, Harris encourages other girls, especially those from small-town backgrounds like herself, to use their creativity and think outside the box when it comes to developing an idea for a business. This will be the central message of her address at the University of Georgia program in March. 

“I just really took an idea and ran with it,” she said. “I never strived to be an entrepreneur; it’s something that just fell upon me.”

Harris said she is most excited to see the fruits of her labor in 2025. She said she’s hoping her patent finally gets approved. She said it’s exciting to see her product sell organically, with no advertising or marketing, but she wants to increase awareness of the product so she can help more women. 

“I’m looking to grow FemeFlex and make it a household name,” she said.

She said she sees the pantiless panty liners benefitting women who are active, displaced and living in shelters, incarcerated, etc.

And while Harris returned to her hometown roots in Ellaville to kickstart the product, she said she hopes to one day return to her Hollywood ties, bringing FemeFlex to actresses seeking comfort and confidence both on the red carpet and while filming intimate scenes. 

You can find out more about FemeFlex here.