World Menopause Day: NPD Launchpad 2023

Convenient capsules​

The startup Mpowder​ has launched its first capsulated supplement ‘Mood-Food’ to support mood, brain fog, and sleep, developed based on the company’s collated consumer insights into experienced menopausal symptoms. The formulation contains a blend of nootropics and adaptogens including bacopa, turmeric, ashwagandha, and lemon balm, as well as a range of vitamins and minerals.

The product features GenM​'s M-Tick symbol, which is enhancing the identifiability and accessibility to menopause-friendly products on-shelf for women.

Rebekah Brown, founder of Mpowder, previously told NutraIngredients: “We realised that there are these cluster symptoms that we didn’t realise tend to come together as a result of our hormonal pathways.

“Mood Food looks to tackle anxiety, cognitive function, and poor sleep as they tend to be the most persistent issues across the 10 years of a menopause journey. We wouldn’t have known that had we not been tracking and talking to our consumers all the time,” she added.

The nutritional supplement company Wild Nutrition​ launched its new ‘Food-Grown Perimenopause Complex’, also recognised by GenM as menopause-friendly. The supplement contains the Ayurvedic herb shatavaria (Asparagus racemosus​), saffron extract, vitamin B6, magnesium, and iron to support hormonal balance, immunity, and regulate mood and cognition.

The company’s founder Henrietta Norton commented: “My years of experience in women’s clinics, combined with our own landmark research, demonstrated a very real need to support women experiencing the hormone fluctuations and low mood typically associated with perimenopause.

“My team of nutritional therapists at Wild Nutrition speak with over 250 women a month and find that perimenopause is often overshadowed by people’s understanding by menopause, but it is actually an incredibly empowering time when a woman can work with her body, holistically, to give balance to her whole system and pave the way to having a less disruptive menopause, minimising the symptoms that most women dread,” she added.

Menopause experts Health & Her​ have launched new 'Menopause Biome', 'Omega+', and 'Vegan Omega+ supplements to add to their portfolio.

The 'Menopause Biome' supplement contains ​its Lab4P live culture blend of 50 million cultures, as well ​as vitamins, minerals, and ashwagandha to support hormonal health and energy levels. The Omega+ range contains omegas 3, 6, 7 and 9 to support brain, vision, and heart health.

Health & Hers’ nutritionist, Helen Roach, explained the significance of the microbiome during perimenopause and menopause: “There is a subset of the gut microbiome called the estrobolome which is involved in metabolising oestrogen. During perimenopause, in particular, oestrogen levels fluctuate widely, if your estrobolome population is not diverse enough to break down the oestrogen it can’t be utilised by the body and the oestrogen levels can then become out of balance. “

“As women move into menopause, they don’t entirely cease making oestrogen, fatty tissue and the adrenal glands produce a weaker version called oestrone, so maintaining the estrobolome continues to be important to metabolise the oestrogen that is available," she added.

Symptom solutions​

The ready-to-drink collagen brand Revive Collagen​ added to its portfolio with new ‘Peri Menopause’, ‘Menopause Beauty Sleep’, and ‘Menopause Max’ collagen drink sachets, all featuring the menopause-friendly M-Tick. The passionfruit flavoured ‘Peri Menopause drink’ contains 5,000mg of marine collagen to support skin and hair health, inositol for supporting insulin function, and B vitamins for normal hormonal and cell function.

The ‘Menopause Beauty Sleep’ drink contains 7,500mg of marine collagen in apple and blackcurrant flavouring, as well as the DailyZZ ingredient by Kemin to promote a better sleep quality, and chicory root to support optimal gut health.

The ‘Menopause Max’ includes 10,000mg of marine collagen, vitamin K for bone health support, lutein to reduce skin and vaginal dryness, and reishi for hormonal regulation.

Pura Collagen​ introduced its ‘Balance’ collagen formula in raspberry and garden mint flavour, containing 5,000mg of its bioactive collagen peptide ‘Fortibone’ to support bone density and reduce degradation. The powder also contains ashwagandha, soy isoflavones, B-vitamins and magnesium to support cognition, hormonal balance, and energy levels.

Jennifer Mo, co-founder of Pura Collagen previously told NutraIngredients: “I was really focussed on osteoporosis and how collagen could stimulate osteoblasts and help to repair when there has been damage. We know that when oestrogen drops, this process accelerates.

“So, I wanted to create a peptide that would protect bone integrity, with supporting ingredients that would support the additional symptoms that come with the menopause.”

The brand was the first to feature GenM​’s M-tick symbol on their product range.

Innovative ingredients​

The natural ingredient supplier Robertet​ launched its new Menobelle ingredient composed of a synergistic blend of Mediterranean plants including lemon balm (Melissa officinalis), ​Bergamot orange (Citrus bergamia)​, and Chinese peony (Paeonia lactiflora) ​to promote sleep, cognitive, and metabolic health.

The powder can be easily incorporated into food supplements or functional foods with an optimal dose determined as 475 mg/day.

Following intakes of two Menobelle capsules daily for two months during a clinical study including 153 pre- and menopausal women aged 45 to 55, it was found that reported menopausal symptoms were significantly reduced when compared to a control. Such symptoms included hot flashes, night sweats, loss of libido, and mood changes.

The health care company Designs For Health​ released its new ‘ProbioMed Women’ probiotic, containing 10 bacterial strains in a dosage of 25 billion colony-forming unity (CFUs). These include ASTARTE, which contains four of the most common microbial strains shown to balance the vaginal microflora and pH levels, DDS-1 to support abdominal comfort, as well as Bifidobacterium​ and Lactobacillus​ to promote vaginal microbial balance.

The company also released their FemGuard-HF supplement to alleviate menopausal symptoms including mild hot flushes, inflammation, and hormonal imbalances. It contains a synergistic combination of the phytoestrogens genistein and lignans, gamma-oryzanol, DeltaGold tocotrienols, and taurine.