This article was updated Sept. 16 at 12:25 pm EST.
Olly — one of the mass market’s most prominent supplement players — is looking to bring its know-how to the menopause category.
The Unilever-owned brand has launched Mellow Menopause, a supplement powered by the neurotransmitter GABA, as well as herbal extracts blend EstroG-100, in a bid to address menopause symptoms including hot flashes, vaginal dryness and mood swings.
Retailing for $30 for 30 capsules, the offering is now available direct-to-consumer and on Amazon.
“The Millennials we serve at Olly are getting older; they’re entering perimenopause and menopause, and we felt this was a space we needed to go next,” said chief executive officer Hanneke Willenborg, adding that Millennial and Gen X consumers make up 70 percent of Olly’s customer base, while women comprise 80 percent.
“Most menopause supplements on the market are evaluated by their long-term effects, or what happens when you take them consistently for six to 12 weeks,” said Olly’s vice president of scientific affairs, Shikha Snigdha. “What happens to women as they transition through menopause, though, is these day-to-day fluctuations…[Mellow Menopause] was designed to demonstrate a rapid effect on certain symptoms, as well as additional benefits with long-term use.”
A pre-launch clinical trial with 80 participants indicated Mellow Menopause began relieving symptoms as early as within 24 to 36 hours of taking the once-daily supplement, said Snigdha.
“What we’re still seeing is women having symptoms — irritability, mood swings, fatigue — and having to get separate treatments for each symptom, instead of [brands] holistically looking at ‘OK — what are all the symptoms, and how can we support women through that,’” said Willenborg.
To that end, Mellow Menopause purports to address 11 symptoms at once, many of which are similarly triggered by the declines of estrogen and progesterone in the body. The brand is one of several to set its sights on the menopause category of late, which in recent years has seen a rise and fall in hype due to lackluster solutions, though beauty players looking to strike a chord with Gen X — Alloy, Musely and OPositiv among them — have more recently refocused on the category.
Though Willenborg did not comment on sales expectations for the launch, industry sources estimate Mellow Menopause could do upward of $2 million in sales during its first year on the market. The offering marks the latest addition to Olly’s women’s line, which also features a prenatal supplement and respective multivitamins for women and teen girls.
In addition, the company is inaugurating a menopause policy offering health and fertility care benefits, mental health resources, flexible work hours and work from home accommodations for employees navigating the life stage.
“We believe strongly that you need to practice what you preach — if we want to support women through perimenopause, menopause and post-menopause, we’re going to put in the work to do that at our own organization as well,” said Willenborg.
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