The move marks an evolution from the 2010s, when Bawdy Beauty put butt care on the beauty industry map with sheet masks promising to give backsides a brighter, smoother appearance amid a moment of Brazilian Butt Lift mania. Tailing Bawdy, brands like doctor-founded Future Method, Asset, MyBum and Beam raised awareness and smashed stigmas with targeted butt care products like Hole Serum, Anal Douche Bulb, Bum Suppositories and The Hole Mask.

Now, category newbies consumer products brand Norms and telehealth platform Bummed are focusing on hemorrhoids. They follow other brands like Beam and Megababe venturing into the hemorrhoid space with products, from sprays to prescription medications, to dethrone category stalwarts Blistex-owned Tucks and Pfizer-owned Preparation H and respond to swelling demand. Market research firm Fortune Business Insights projects the global hemorrhoid product market will advance at a compound annual growth rate of 6.1% to hit $1.74 billion by 2032.

There’s a confluence of factors contributing to a rise in hemorrhoids and constipation, a condition closely linked to hemorrhoids: Inactivity, GLP-1 use, diets high in ultra-processed foods and lacking in fiber and doom scrolling on the commode chief among them. Despite the mounting numbers of people dealing with the debilitating conditions, there remains confusion about how to address them and shame associated with them.

“Too often I’ve seen patients where they were embarrassed to see a provider or simply didn’t know where to go, so a problem that could’ve been treated earlier was left to fester,” says colorectal surgeon and Bummed chief medical officer Carmen Fong. “Bummed, for me, is about improving access to specialized anorectal care, educating people about gut health and destigmatizing the taboo parts of our bodies and bodily functions that we all share.”

Founded by Jennifer Dwork and Rebecca Monahan, alumni of women’s health startup Wisp, and primarily aimed at pregnant and postpartum women, Bummed offers five compounded prescription-strength topical and oral medications for hemorrhoids, constipation, anal fissures and related anorectal conditions to patients in all but 10 states. For four topical creams, the cost is $49 for a one-time consult fee plus $65 for a three-month supply of the medication. Oral medication The Constipation Rx is $133, including the one-time consult fee of $49 plus $85 for a one-month supply. OTC topical products, a fiber supplement and at-home testing kits for microbiome health will be joining Bummed’s product lineup soon.

Dwork saw firsthand the power of telehealth at Wisp, where she oversaw the introductions of about 30 products for sexually transmitted infections, reproductive health and more women’s wellness matters. She’s currently eight months pregnant and suffered silently from hemorrhoids prior to her pregnancy. She says, “I’ve struggled with these things for years and didn’t talk to anyone about it, didn’t talk to my partners at the time, and it very much impacted our intimacy.”

Pregnant women dealing with constipation and hemorrhoids are often instructed to use over-the-counter solutions or sit in a bath. “Honestly, who has time for that? And that is not effective,” says Dwork. “Our mission is to take women’s pain seriously and give them better solutions than what’s out there.”

Serial entrepreneur Joshua Katz, founder of popular cannabis company Dad Grass, also suffered in silence from hemorrhoids for over 20 years before working on Norms. The brand, which he founded with his wife Carli Roth, is breaking the silence in a big way with a pop-up running from Oct. 16 to Nov. 25 in SoHo selling three over-the-counter products priced from $11.99 to $29.99—Hemorrhoid Cream, Hemorrhoid Spray and Medicated Wipes—along with branded merch, including a donut-shaped seat pillow. Norms sells a three-product bundle for $53.99, too.

For broader distribution, the brand premiered on Amazon on Sept. 30. Katz is tracking nearly 400 products in the hemorrhoid category on Amazon and estimates sales volume in it to be in the range of $150 million to $170 million annually.

Comedian Pete Davidson’s recently launched venture studio Cardiff Giant invested in Norms’ $1.5 million seed round with Movement Fund and angels Stephen Emery, co-founder of Supergoop, Dave Powers, former CEO of Deckers, Brian De Lowe, president and co-founder of Proper Hospitality. An important differentiator for the brand is relatable education, and it produces videos for its website and Amazon storefront with content on the ins and outs of products for hemorrhoids. Katz says Norms’ objective is to “make it fun. Don’t make it a laughing matter, but do it with a smile so that there can be joy in destigmatizing the conversation.”

Personal stories are critical to Bummed and Norms cutting through the noise and decreasing discomfort—figuratively and literally—around anal issues. “I’m going through what we want our patients to feel comfortable to talk to us about,” says Dwork. “It’s that authenticity that I’m really hopeful will come through. It’s being bold, unapologetic and the voice that you wish was out there.”

Norms’ pop-up is a test run for physical retail distribution. A major goal for the brand is to be available at mass-market retailers that have pharmacies like Target and Albertsons. It may require another round of funding in the third quarter 2026 to support a retail rollout. So far, Katz reports that Norms’ retail discussions have been auspicious.

He says, “They know that the expectations of their customers have been elevated across the board, better for you snacks, better for you drinks. And it’s not just about the ingredients, these are products that meet people where they are on aesthetics, on transparency.”

Retail won’t be easy to crack. Corey Scholibo, a serial entrepreneur and CPG strategist who successfully guided the brands Wile and Repurpose into thousands of food, drug and mass retail doors, believes emerging butt care brands may face skeptical retail buyers worried about cannibalizing existing sales from brands like Preparation H.

Speaking from his experience building emerging brands, he says, “I have to prove that I’m not going to take away money from Preparation H. You’re going to sell just as much Preparation H as you did next to me. That would be my pitch from day one.”