ANAHEIM, CA — For CPG companies, women’s health is quickly becoming an area of interest as consumers in this demographic seek products that can address a variety of gender-specific needs related to premenstrual syndrome, menopause, and mental and emotional wellbeing.
As part of Opportunities in Women’s Health, an educational panel session held during Natural Products Expo West 2024, Karen Hecht, scientific affairs manager for AstaReal; Julie Gordon White, founder and CEO of Menowell, a menopause protein energy bar; Rachel Jones, senior VP and chief product innovation and science officer for GNC; and Sherry Frey, VP of total wellness at NielsenIQ (NIQ); discussed the trends they’re seeing in the women’s health category and how the conversation around historically taboo topics is changing, driven in part by consumer demand. Robyn Lawrence, senior editor of the Nutrition Business Journal, moderated the panel.
Jones noted two shifts in the category, both geared toward creating a tailored approach to women’s health products that will help consumers maintain their health and quality of life.
“First, we’re building the scientific understanding, and second, we’re learning how to communicate that knowledge,” she said.
She gave gut health as an example, noting the recent uptick in scientific research around prebiotics and probiotics and what they can do in the areas of mental health, metabolism and weight loss as they relate to women.
“Gut health on the innovation side is huge,” Jones said. “Women care about gut health.”
Along those lines, Hecht added that she’s seeing a growing body of research that analyzes women separately from men, particularly as it relates to gut health.
“We’re seeing that there’s a gender-based microbiome we should be paying attention to,” Hecht said. “The microbiome changes at different life stages for women and the hormonal environment also changes.”
Those hormone changes include menopause, once a taboo topic that is starting to move into the spotlight thanks to bold CPG companies.
