Beyond the multivitamin: Women’s health category propelled by immunity and increased stress

04 Nov 2020 --- From vaginal health to skin care, immunity and mental well-being, women’s health needs are moving further into the spotlight. NutritionInsight speaks to key industry movers who explain that despite the crowded women’s health market, there is still plenty of opportunity for product development.

“While we may have perceived women’s health as more targeted to women’s specific physiology before, the global crisis and immunity focus has brought a different aspect to women’s health overall,” says Maja Orešnik, science and research director at PharmaLinea. 

Dr. Laetitia Petrussa, product manager at Frutarom (part of IFF), agrees that overall health and immunity are key in women’s health. 

“The COVID-19 crisis has increased the consumer awareness of the link between nutrition and health. This resulted in an influx of products that benefit from a ‘health halo,’” she notes. 

The modern woman 
Aside from the unique circumstances surrounding COVID-19, women today have busy lifestyles, so convenience and on-the-go formats are key driving factors for supplements.

Modern women are also more likely to buy health supplements than men, according to Alessia Terruzzi, a board member at Giellepi.

“They look for condition-specific scientifically validated formulations, and they are not interested anymore in buying full spectrum formulas designed to cover multiple needs at the same time,” she explains. 

Elodie Aragon, product manager for the women’s health portfolio at Lallemand Health Solutions, says that in the next 12 months, the market for nutritional ingredients for women’s health will carry on evolving to a more mature segment, driven by consumer interest and R&D.

Stress impacts healthThe COVID-19 pandemic has sharpened immunity focus and brought different aspects to women’s health overall.
Women face daily stresses by trying to cope with demands at both work and home. 

“This has led to an increasing interest in products for immune health and mental acuity,” says Marcia da Silva Pinto, technical manager for health ingredients at Evolva.

“Everyone has different stress triggers,” says Moran Werner Saido, product manager at Frutarom. 

Pressured lives, unprecedented stress and 24/7 digital connections create new desires to be close to the untapped secrets and forces of nature. 

“Work stress tops the list, according to surveys in both men and women. However, women experience additional stress because of the many roles they take on, including family obligations, caregiving for children and elderly parents, among other things,” Saido explains. 

“Women are generally more savvy and knowledgeable at consumer decision-making than men, which is why supplements should be targeted specifically to them,” she adds. 

“Stress and anxiety are all too common these days, so we expect to see more cognitive and mood support gender-specific formulas,” Terruzzi speculates. 

The category evolves
Previously, the most dynamic areas in women’s health have been menopause and urinary tract. 

But in addition to category expansion, products within women’s health sectors are evolving, according to suppliers.

Orešnik notes that the already developed category of prenatal supplements is increasingly transitioning from predominantly simple multivitamins to complex products with branded and studied ingredients. 

“Products becoming more specifically targeted is a natural sign of a developing market, and this is occurring with the urinary tract category as well,” she explains. 

Starts with skinProbiotics are relatively new ingredients for women seeking to take care of their intimate health.
The beauty-from-within category has witnessed significant growth over the last 12 months and is very much on the rise as women seek ways to protect their skin, hair and nails.

“Women realize that they often protect their faces with skincare products while other areas of skin, the largest organ, are often being ignored,” says Clare Panchoo, vice president of health ingredients at Evolva. 

“Therefore, there is not only increased demand for cosmeceuticals; there is a broadening demographic as younger women realize skincare starts during their youth.”

Moreover, the future for women’s health is personalized nutrition in dietary supplements and adapting products to meet these individual needs.

According to Panchoo, that translates to personalized skincare products, dietary supplements, and functional foods and beverages. 

“We will also witness an increase in understanding of both the skin microbiota and gut microbiota and their relationship with not only gut and skin health but also immunity,” adds da Silva Pinto at Evolva. 

Consumers are quickly realizing that “beauty is not just skin deep” but requires a holistic approach in combination with a healthy diet, says Petrussa at IFF. 

Probiotics come into play
There is a growing and clear interest for women to address women-specific health issues with the help of probiotics, reveals Aragon of Lallemand Health Solutions. 

“The probiotics for women’s health coreWomen are seeking new ways to protect their skin, hair and nails.  growth areas are vaginal health, UTIs, pregnancy and skin health,” she explains. “Both in retail and online shelves, numerous products are marketed for women, even if they aim at promoting more global well-being.”

In areas such as gut health, immune health or mood balance, the packaging and the additional ingredients can quickly become appealing for women looking to add probiotic supplements to their daily diet, Aragon further explains. 

“Globally, 16 percent of consumers (men and women) increased their daily probiotics consumption. This is demonstrating the important place probiotics occupy in their mind, as a way to maintain and improve their overall health,” she highlights. 

Opportunity to expand brand portfolios
Moreover, probiotics are relatively new ingredients for women seeking to take care of their intimate health. 

“In particular, oral probiotic combinations that are scientifically proven to lower the recurrence rate [of infections] are becoming hugely popular among women,” Terruzzi comments. 

“Even though probiotics have been generally associated with gut and digestive health, today, women recognize their use in vaginal health applications,” she adds.

According to Aragon, probiotics are an attractive, natural alternative to conventional over-the-counter treatments. Specific probiotic strains with scientifically-backed claims for efficacy can address specific vaginal health issues without causing side effects.

“Probiotics for women’s health is a major opportunity to expand brand portfolios with a potential target audience of over 1.4 billion women,” she flags. 

Genito-urinary issues, including vulvovaginal candidiasis, UTIs and bacterial vaginosis, are the leading conditions bringing women to seek medical advice, prescriptive drugs and to investigate natural supplements, such as probiotics. 

Women are willing to try them out, especially when vaginal health conditions are recurrent, altering the general quality of life. “Among non-supplement women users, 40 percent of them think their feminine health issues could be improved by using supplements,” adds Aragon. 

What’s ahead?
According to Panchoo of Evolva, the women’s health market is an underserved area for NPD. 

“We see that many areas are receiving special attention particularly related to sports nutrition and healthy aging,” she notes. 

Considering skin health, obvious examples of growth in the market come from collagen and/or vitamin E, which have seen exponential growth in forms and sources over the years, adds da Silva Pinto of Evolva. 

There is also an increased interest in a combination of active ingredients for certain benefits. One example flagged by da Silva Pinto is an ingestible skin care product which containsAccording to suppliers, the most dynamic areas in women’s health in recent years have been menopause and urinary tract.  Veri-te resveratrol is from Gemil Pharma. 

“Nottevit Beauty Sleep Capsules, which also contains herbal extracts, natural vitamin E and that can contribute to restful ‘beauty’ sleep,” she explains. 

Meanwhile, Terruzzi also spotlights effective compounds that are having an impact on industry. 

“Proven effective compounds such as probiotic strains, d-mannose, magnesium, hyaluronic acid and diosmin are among the ingredients that are attracting a female audience right now,” she says. 

Some of the future development in the space will likely focus more on the mental sphere, flags Orešnik of PharmLinea. 

“As women are leading increasingly busy lives and this year added a lot to the stress burden, the focus may shift toward supporting women in their daily efforts.”

“Products addressing stress, sleep, immunity, general well-being will further come into play, beyond the simple multivitamins of the past,” she concludes. 

By Elizabeth Green