The rise of menopause wellness
From Supplements, to sleepwear, to skincare products, there is a growing demand on brands to improve the menopause experience.
Over three quarters of women have made changes to their lifestyle as a result of experiencing the menopause.
According to GenM research, The Invisibility Report, 91% of menopausal women have never seen any specific marketing for menopause products and 90% wish brands were more inclusive of the menopause.
This presents an opportunity to the retail sector – but how are they responding? In researching for this editorial, I struggled to find retailers stepping up to the mark in terms of products and awareness. Boots and Holland & Barratt are making big strides (I’ll cover that later) and recently, Primark introduced a suitable clothing collection. Perhaps my search terms were not clear enough? (Google: ‘retail menopause products, UK’).
According to new research from Kantar’s Insights division, 76% of women undergoing the menopause do not feel at all represented by brands and 87% of woman experiencing menopause said they feel ‘overlooked by brands’.
The statistics (and my google search) demonstrate that, for the most part, mid-life and menopausal women feel marginalised by brands and retailers, who they believe should be doing more to provide better solutions to improve the menopause experience and deliver marketing and advertising that both resonates and is representative of their demographic.
The Kantar study was performed in partnership with Over The Bloody Moon, an organisation that provides support and information related to the menopause. Its founder Lesley Salem, states that brands have a huge role to play in fixing that situation: “We know from our community that most women are looking for ways to manage their menopause, so they can continue to operate at their optimum.
“While we always recommend women first visit a healthcare professional to assess their options, brands can play a vital role in educating and empowering people through their journey and signposting them to resources and proven tools. When clinicians and brands work together, that’s when the magic really happens.”
Boots
Boots were the first pharmacy to offer HRT medication without a prescription and now offer a menopause skincare collection. Boots worked in conjunction with the University of Manchester, quizzing 7000 menopausal women about their skincare needs in the lead up to launching the range. In September, Boots hosted a celebrity live show called Menopause Monologues with six celebrities. The retailer has also partnered with GenM and introduced a ‘Menopause Friendly’ symbol that will be displayed online and in-store alongside products and services that may help with some of the signs and symptoms of the menopause. The retailers stocks 99 menopause specific products.
Holland and Barratt
Holland & Barrett have today launched (a pilot) in partnership with Menopause Mandate, a free, national menopause helpline. Earlier this month, the retailer launched menopause support service in stores and online having trained over 4,000 colleagues across UK stores to become “menopause advisors”. It has also begun opening ‘Pause & Listen Rooms’ in some of its city stores, which are dedicated rooms offering “a calming space and cool spots” so customers and colleagues alike can speak with a trained menopause adviser. The retailer stocks 45 menopause specific products.
Primark
Primark has launched its first collection aimed at women going through the menopause. In a move designed to help relieve symptoms such as hot flushes and sweating, the retailer has created a 14-piece range of nightwear, underwear and base layers featuring product innovations such as anti-flush technology, cooling yarn, odour control, and temperature control.
It would seem that while some retailers are making headway in this space, most are missing a potential 13 million consumers by failing to cater to the needs of menopausal women.
