Menopause supplements need women-only trials to move beyond wellness claims

During Menopause Awareness Month, Nutrition Insight meets with industry players to discuss how they are balancing efficacy, safety, and credibility as women at this life stage often want natural or non-hormonal solutions. 

Gnosis by Lesaffre, Lallemand Health Solutions, and Lallemand Bio-Ingredients also highlight what evidence is still missing to help move menopause products from wellness claims to trusted solutions. 

Previously, these companies told us that brands are shifting menopause support from isolated symptom relief to holistic solutions that address mood, energy, cognition, sleep, bone health, and cardiovascular resilience.

This shift is reflected in formulation strategies where multi-mechanistic, symptom-specific approaches are prioritized over single-ingredient formulations, add the three experts. Women-only clinical trials and clinically substantiated dosing are also increasingly the differentiator over simple label-claim positioning.

Research from 2025 raised concerns about a sharp increase in untrustworthy services for women seeking menopausal relief, flagging their reliability, potential bias, and the commercialization of women’s health that could be driving this trend.

Focus on clinical trials and traceability 

In this sensitive environment, Silvia Pisoni, Global Operational marketing director at Gnosis by Lesaffre, stresses that a strong body of clinical research is essential when making functional claims for menopause symptom benefits.

“Keeping this as a priority, we have invested heavily in conducting rigorous human clinical trials that meet the high standards of regulatory bodies.”

“Additionally, the regulatory environment for supplements continues to evolve, with increasing scrutiny around ingredient sourcing, manufacturing processes, and label transparency,” says Pisoni.

Gnosis by Lesaffre says that it proactively addresses these concerns by ensuring supply chain traceability and producing ingredients based on “sustainable, ethical practices.”

Pisoni says rigorous human trials are essential for menopause claims.The company also implements “stringent quality control measures” for ensuring purity, potency, and consistency of its ingredients, Pisoni continues. Lastly, it claims to provide “clear, transparent labeling” to educate consumers on the science behind its ingredients while using third-party certifications to build trust, she says. 

Strain-specific science 

To balance efficacy, safety, and credibility of probiotics as a non-hormonal menopausal support solution, Elodie Aragon, product manager of Women’s Health, Lallemand Health Solutions, says consumers should seek clinical substantiation for specific strains.

“We focus on well-characterized probiotic strains supported by robust clinical trials and aligned with regulatory frameworks. For example, our research on the gut muscle axis in healthy aging illustrates how targeted probiotic combinations can deliver measurable benefits on mobility, strength, and quality of life, using randomized, double blind, placebo controlled study designs.”

“This same scientific rigor underpins our women’s health portfolio, ensuring that non-hormonal solutions are not only natural, but also demonstrably effective, safe for long-term use, and credible for brands seeking trusted nutrition solutions.”

Question of natural supplements

In the dietary supplement space, Marcia da Silva Pinto, category manager at Lallemand Bio-Ingredients, states that safety is a requirement.

“This means ensuring that all ingredients are used within approved dosage ranges and are fully compliant with dietary supplement regulations. At the same time, efficacy and credibility must be supported by high-quality clinical evidence in women.”

“For example, with Veri-te resveratrol, we supported one of the largest and longest clinical studies on resveratrol supplementation — the RESHAW study (Resveratrol for Healthy Aging in Women), conducted over 24 months,” shares Da Silva Pinto.

She says the study involved postmenopausal women taking Veri-te daily, who showed significant improvements in cognition, bone health, and menopause-associated symptoms.

“It is also important to recognize that perceptions around hormone replacement therapy (HRT) have evolved. Earlier concerns, driven by initial cohort data (Women’s Health Initiative), created lasting misconceptions.”

“Ultimately, in a category where consumers increasingly favor natural and non-hormonal solutions, success depends on combining well-characterized ingredients with rigorous, women-focused clinical validation, ensuring that ‘natural’ also means effective and trustworthy.” 

Aragon calls for strain-specific evidence behind non-hormonal probiotic support.Additionally, da Silva Pinto notes that recent evaluations indicate a better understanding of the benefit-risk profile, as these help bring nuance to HRT and non-hormonal approaches. Such evaluations indicate a need for credible supplement alternatives with strong substantiation.

Wellness claims to trusted solutions

Da Silva Pinto points out that the rapid growth of menopause products has also raised questions about their quality and the relevance of the supporting science.

“A key gap lies in the design of clinical studies. Too often, outcomes are derived from subgroup analyses within mixed-gender studies, which limits their relevance for women, particularly in the context of menopause. More broadly, this reflects a well-documented ‘women’s health gap.’”

In agreement, Pisoni adds that there remains a lack of studies that involve healthy women experiencing menopause.

“Gnosis by Lesaffre’s studies were designed to discern effects on healthy postmenopausal women, which supports label claims in the US. Our studies also reflect the desires of the robust consumer base composed of fearless and motivated menopausal women,” she says.

Aragon also underscores the need for large-scale, well-controlled clinical studies to move menopause products from general wellness positioning to mainstream nutrition solutions. She especially points to studies linking specific ingredients to meaningful health outcomes.

“While probiotics are already supported by strong evidence in areas such as vaginal health, digestive comfort, immune support, and pregnancy, research during the menopausal and postmenopausal phases remains more limited.”

“Promising mechanisms have been identified, particularly around microbiome modulation, calcium absorption, bone remodeling, and immune resilience, but higher-quality human trials are still needed to confirm long-term benefits,” details Aragon.

She adds that securing health authority recognition and building long-term consumer trust requires the industry to raise the evidence bar with validated biomarkers and clearly defined endpoints. 

Da Silva Pinto spotlights the World Economic Forum’s May 2026 insights, revealing that women’s health research faces underinvestment that has led to gaps in scientific understanding and slowed research translation into practical, effective solutions.