Women's Health (Part B) - Nutraceutical Trend #5
SUMMARY
1. Introduction
2. Personalization – adapted nutritional support through every life stage
3. Healthy aging – life after menopause
4. Probiotics – well beyond gut health
5. Conclusion
6. References
1. INTRODUCTION
In the first part of this article (available HERE), we discussed why the broadly underserved segment of Women's Health was a key market to address in new Nutraceutical product developments.
Modern women’s needs are changing more rapidly than ever, and Nutraceutical brands need to find innovative ways to cater this valuable target accordingly. And the key to this is to diversify the value proposition so that it reflects the profound societal mutations from which these needs are taking root.
But what are women looking for in Food Supplements these days ?
Although nutritional needs may vary throughout their lives, women’s major drivers when buying a dietary supplement remain the same. Firstly, they want their health products to be effective and natural - preferably plant-based. They also show increased concerned about the products safety and scientifically backed efficacy, as well as the sustainability / environmental aspects of its supply, all of which constitute important purchasing arguments.
In terms of benefits, studies show women’s needs revolve around the 3 major challenges they face in their everyday lives:
- having their nutritional needs met, regardless of their age and reproductive status,
- maintaining a healthy hormonal balance and
- fighting mental load by boosting energy levels and promoting mood stability
Not only do these concerns echo women’s primary needs when it comes to their health, they can also be important risk factors linked to conditions of particularly high prevalence among women (osteoarthritis, infertility, or chronic stress, to name a few).
To address these areas of women's health, Nutraceutical brands are leveraging the momentum of existing trends, and adapting them into tailor-made solutions for women. In this article, we dive deeper into 3 background application trends of the nutraceutical sector that could well fit the needs of feminine consumers and inspire the ever-increasing offer of women's health products.
Please note that this article focusses on women's physiological needs and health issues, therefore excluding a large portion of beauty-oriented applications (skin, nails and hair health, weight management), although some have pathological causes. The nutricosmetics market will be the subject of a separate article.
2. PERSONALIZATION - Adapted nutritional support through every life stage
Women are subject to significant hormonal fluctuations throughout their cycle and throughout their lives, related to age (from puberty to menopause) and reproductive status (from conception to lactation). Of course, these variations lead to profound changes in women’s physiology and nutritional needs, but them can also come with their fair share of symptoms and discomforts. Beyond potential symptoms, these changes also increase the risk of developing hormone-dependent conditions such as osteoporosis, type II diabetes or certain types of cancer.
Source of the graph: vegavero.com.
This multiplicity of cases and specific needs naturally leads to a greater fragmentation of the feminine-targeted supplement offer; and is an obvious opportunity for Nutraceutical brands to move into the major background trend of personalization.
Unsurprisingly, an increasing number of brands now develop entire ranges of women targeted products to offer them adapted nutritional support through every stage of their life, from the first menstruation to pregnancy, to lactation and menopause.
It is precisely on the alleviation of the inconveniences of hormonal cycles that French brand MiYé ’s offer is based. They provided the first natural and organic brand dedicated to female hormonal balance on the French market and now offer a wide range of solutions by symptoms and life phases. Their vision is based on the concept of a new "ecology" of the female body and integrates a relaxed, natural and responsible approach into their products.
Another good example of a wide nutraceutical product range, representative of the needs of its feminine target, is French brand Laboratoire Hollis . They are committed to a holistic body & mind approach to women’s health and offer customers expert, natural, sustainable and products made in France.
Similarly, also French brand Omum (Naadam Nature) started off with a supplement range that promised to “re-enchant” motherhood, and has since then extended its expertise to different areas of feminine health.
Belgian brand She Plus by Fisher also covers a whole lot more than pregnancy; they also offer treatment bundles of high quality, bioavailable, additive-free, and natural-based supplements specifically designed for either senior, active or athletic women.
Other brands even bet on personalized services and support of their feminine customer base, on top of offering them supplementation solutions. That is the case of brands like Natalist , a American brand that provides its customers all kinds of diagnostic, educational, self-care services –– to support them through every stage of conception.
Indian brand hera even goes as far as to offer women personalized follow-up care and support through consultations, weekly tips and reminders to take their supplements.
Not only is the product offering becoming more personalized; so are brands. More and more of them are specializing in a specific category of women's well-being. For instance, French brand EQUILIBRIST specializes in the treatment of hormonal imbalances, whereas SimpleHealth focuses its offer on women's reproductive care and well-being.
Other brands strive to occupy even more specific market niches, such as Unived ’s brand VeganMomy, that develops all-vegan perinatal supplements, Women's Best , an Austrian female-targeted sports nutrition brand or Nutrafol , a hair health brand with a range of feminine supplement against hormonal and lifestyle related hair thinning / loss.
3. HEALTHY AGING - Life after menopause
Women’s ever-increasing longevity – and the rising portion of disposable income they dedicate to staying healthy – are contributing to breaking the taboo of aging women and giving back this consumer category the importance and visibility it deserves.
Indeed, the trend of Healthy Aging is becoming a crucial segment of Feminine Health. The desire of aging women to live active, longer and healthier lives is driving the demand for age-preventing feminine supplements, far beyond the cosmetic perspective.
Categories that protect mental and physical capacities against age-related decline are progressing rapidly. The segment of mental acuity for example, has shown an astonishing 800% increase between 2018 and 2020, the largest percentage increase observed in women’s health product launches in that period [1].
More importantly, menopause and its symptoms are expected to affect modern women for an average of one third of their life ! It is therefore becoming one of the key issues to address in women-targeted healthy aging solutions.
The transition into menopause, also known as perimenopause, is indeed a delicate stage in a woman’s life. The physiological changes that accompany this transition to infertility include a series of well-known symptoms, such as hot flashes, night sweats, sleep disorders, irritability, and reduced libido.
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In 2019, it was estimated that the alleviation of its symptoms alone earned the supplement industry around € 521 million, a growth of 6,2% compared to the previous year.
Among the most consumed categories of active ingredients, we find vitamins at the top – representing 27% of sales – which reflect the desire of the mature female public to have a holistic approach to their general health by covering their basic needs. This is followed by herbal/plant extract blends, which account for 22,9% of menopause product sales in 2020 (€ 83,4 million), with an expected growth of another 10,9% in the following year [2].
Menopause is a great example of how the classic offer of feminine dietary supplement categories can evolve and be a carrier of innovation, both in the approach and active ingredients composition.
The natural treatments currently available – other than hormone replacement therapies – are often based on an estrogenic action delivered through phytoestrogens-rich active ingredients, such as soy, hops, red clover or kudzu. Despite their effectiveness in alleviating menopausal discomforts, the use of phytoestrogens is still controversial due to the endocrine disruptor nature of these compounds, that is still largely little-known and may produce adverse effects in some people.
In terms of ingredients, commonly used phytoestrogenic plants like soy, hops or black cohosh are still going strong, although a growing number of therapists consider them of equivalent risk to that of hormonal treatment – to which they were originally a natural alternative. While nobody questions the effectiveness of plants with phytoestrogenic action in the treatment of menopausal discomfort, there is now a growing demand for non-hormonal alternatives on the market.
Alongside that, this phytoestrogen-free trend also leads to the emergence of a new approach in the product offer for menopause: we no longer seek to mitigate estrogenic imbalance itself but rather to alleviate more targeted physiological symptoms caused by this hormonal imbalance.
Unsurprisingly, botanicals are also at the top of the best-selling ingredient categories in women’s health. More specifically, mixtures of science backed botanical ingredients are developed to specifically tackle every aspect of senior women’s health and wellbeing and support them through menopause: from emotional balance (saffron) to quality of sleep (valerian, lemon balm), bone health, mental and physical energy / vitality (adaptogens) or even libido and metabolic balance (orange extract).
If numerous brands now include menopause solutions to their portfolio, others have taken it a step further and made serving permenopausal women their core business:
This is the case for MenoLabs: Solutions for Menopause & Midlife , a brand that offers natural science-backed phyotactive + probiotic solutions for the relief of several menopausal symptom groups, while providing valuable educational content and support through an app cal MenoLife.
American brand Womaness also specializes in menopause support and has made it its mission to build a community and support network to promote “Menopositivity” and encourage (peri)menopausal women to embrace aging.
4. PROBIOTICS - Well beyond gut health
Probiotics have been a star ingredient category in the Nutraceutical sector for quite some time, and yet this segment still holds tremendous potential for innovation in a variety of areas of health. Indeed, research keeps uncovering new links between gut health / the microbiome and the healthy function of vital physiological mechanisms of immunity, the neurological function or metabolism.
Recent research has brought so much knowledge on the effects of probiotics on the gut microbiome but it has also been uncovering their potential in other important body microbiomes. The microbiotic ecosystems of the skin, the mouth or the vagina are opening up application opportunities to so much more than gut health. And with this, the target areas of probiotics are also multiplying.
A particularly interesting emerging application associated with women's health is intimate wellness, i.e. the maintenance of a healthy vaginal microflora. Imbalances in the vaginal flora can indeed lead to an overgrowth of pathogenic bacteria or yeast and result in the common symptoms of vaginal candidiasis, bacterial vaginosis or urinary tract infection.
It is estimated that 75% of women will suffer from vaginal candidiasis at least once in their lifetime (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States). When it comes to urinary tract infections, affect one in two women during their lifetime, with a recurrence observed in 20 to 30% of cases (WHO).
Oral probiotics (local ones also exist but are considered a "medical device" and not a supplement) containing beneficial species specific to the vaginal microbiota not only prevent imbalances leading to these infections, but are also an alternative to current antibiotic treatments and the risks of resistance that their use entails in case of recurrent infections. Not only can a balanced intimate flora maintain an acidic pH and prevent the occurrence of urogenital infections; promoting overall vaginal health can also help with some infertility issues.
Specific potent probiotic strains like L. plantarum ROSELLA, developed by Lallemand Health Solutions , are being researched and used in the field of intimate health with remarquable success. This Lactobacilli strain is one of the most documented in the world in this area: it has been studied in six clinical studies, in over 800 women, and has demonstrated potential to improve the symptoms and reduce recurrence of candidiasis, by restoring flora diversity associated with a healthy vaginal flora and normalizing pH.
In terms of finished products, a company worthy of mention in this area would be Invivo Healthcare , a UK-based company focused on host-microbiome ecosystem diagnosis and therapy, which has specifically developed a range of microbiotic supplements for women. The company offers solutions of multi-target live bacteria to support the intestinal as well as urinary and vaginal (L. crispatus) microbiota, as well as a proprietary strain of S. cerevisiae yeasts against Candida (C. albicans) proliferation.
French dietary supplements brand Laboratoire Hollis is also betting on probiotic / botanical synergies for the treatment of urinary tract infections and candida, with very interesting formulas of specific Lactobacilli and naturally antimicrobial, antiseptic or antifungal plant-based active ingredients.
Love Wellness , an all women supplement brand from New York, offers a whole range of multi-target solutions for Vaginal Health, among which oral and local vaginal probiotics (Lactobacillus), to balance pH levels and yeast bacteria. The brand even sells “Vaginal Health” or “Happy Vagina” combining probiotics to complementary types of supplements (phytonutrients, prebiotic fibers) or hygiene products.
5. CONCLUSION
The Nutraceutical market is currently experiencing a boom in the offer focused on women’s health, a target that shows particular interest in natural health solutions.
Indeed, new product developments in this sphere are multiplying at great speed, as brands develop entire product ranges geared towards women’s needs, at every age et every stage of their reproductive cycle. And they are drawing inspiration from high potential background trends of the Nutraceutical market to serve the crucial market of women.
Firstly, the important variation in hormonal status and nutritional needs of women throughout their lives call for a multitude of sub-segments to address their needs - thus leading to important market fragmentation within women's health. As a consequence of this, personalization is a major underlying need behind the growing demand for feminine products; from urinary comfort to perinatal support, including the alleviation of menopausal or PMS, women need adapted solutions to care for their health throughout every life stage.
Secondly, Healthy Aging appears to be a major concern for women as they go through the delicate period of perimenopause, (out)living the major changes and symptoms it involves for a significant portion of their lives. Not only do women need more solutions to help them through this key step of their aging, they want to keep living full, healthy and active lives long after.
Finally, the trend of probiotics is also expanding to women-specific product developments. Driven by the cross-cutting trend of the microbiota, female probiotics – specific to age, feminine health conditions and different stages of a woman’s life – have emerged in recent years and are destined for great success. They present an interesting opportunity to broaden the potential uses of microorganisms for in demand applications of the female market, such as vaginal or skin health, while addressing very common yet broadly underserved health issues like intimate health.
Beyond hold great potential for NPDs in the Nutraceutical sector, trends like Personalization, Healthy Aging and Probiotics can be particularly powerful tools to address women's diverse and ever-chaging needs when it comes to their health. Brands are striving to keep serving the market of Feminine Health better every day, and more and more of them are drawing inspiration from these mega trends to do so. So should yours !
6. REFERENCES
[1] Nutritional Outlook Volume 23, Issue 8 – Women’s health hot spots for dietary supplements: healthy muscles, brain support, vaginal health, maternal health, and beauty from within, Nov 3 2020.
[2] Natural Products Insider – Product Development Guide in Nutrition for Women – How personalized formulations can be a major win with women, October 2020.