The London-based company was co-founded by industry friends, retail strategy advisor Wizz Selvey and brand growth consultant Olly Johnson, in December 2023 with the aim of launching the UK’s ‘first of its kind’ 11-active nutrient liposomal shot.
The D2C brand launched its product Valerie Daily Essential for waitlisted customers on August 6 and will open up orders to all consumers in early September. The launch is soon to be accompanied by a website designed to offer personalized content, healthcare and lifestyle advice through integrated AI self-assessment software.
Perimenopause
Women start perimenopause generally around age 40. Typical perimenopause symptoms include irregular periods, hot flashes and sleep problems, mood changes, vaginal and bladder problems, reduced bone strength and changing cholesterol levels.
Forming the brand
Perimenopause will affect everyone to some degree, the founders told NutraIngredients.
Johnson explained that he became determined to create a solution after watching his mother suffer through perimenopause without support but not for lack of trying.
“Any products she found looked and sounded the same, and none of it worked,” he said. “I figured that she probably wasn't the only person that was experiencing this huge frustration, so I decided to combine knowledge from my degree in physiology and nutrition with my professional career working with nutrition and wellness brands to create something that could make a difference.”
Selvey noted that her personal experience plus a 20-year career in building beauty and wellness brands, meant that she understood her own demographic’s needs.
Now, the brand has been shaped by the input and feedback of their ‘community’ of approximately 200 perimenopausal women.
Valerie Daily Essential
The brand says it differentiate itself with its liposomal shot format, which Johnson explained makes it possible to include more active ingredients in the product.
“Most of the brands out there use pills or capsules, but the absorption rate can be pretty poor, so I looked to other categories and saw that a liposomal format made a lot of sense from an efficacy perspective because of the higher bioavailability,” he said, adding that liposomes have been found to have high biocompatibility, increased efficiency and lowered systemic toxicity.
“The inclusion levels of an active ingredient in a liposomal form are much lower because of the absorption rate,” he noted. “For example, we include 90 mg of ashwagandha, whereas other brands might have to use 500 mg to reap the same benefits.”
The product also contains ingredients such as vitamin D to contribute to bone health, vitamin B12 for reduced tiredness and fatigue, magnesium for psychological function, zinc for the protection of cells from oxidative stress, selenium for normal thyroid function, chromium for normal blood glucose levels and iron for the normal formation of red blood cells.
It comes in a 300 ml glass bottle, which provides a one month supply of a recommended daily 10 ml daily dose to be taken straight or mixed with water.
Recognizing perimenopause
The company also stressed the importance of educating consumers on the difference between menopause and perimenopause.
“There's plenty of people in their late 30s and early 40s that have absolutely no idea what's going on with their body, and there’s still a huge amount of education needed around what perimenopause is,” Selvey said. “It's the other end of the spectrum of puberty at the end of the day.”
She added that while menopause is obviously a hot topic, the more prepared women are, the more they can help their bodies adjust to the hormone fluctuations and be in a better position "to ride that wave" when it arrives.
Johnson noted that he has seen many brands that sell the same product for both perimenopause and menopause but that Valerie is clear in its communication that this supplement is for the peri- phase.
“This can be a span of 15 years of someone's life,” he said. “There’s no way that you're telling me that one same product can help someone at one life stage as well as it can at the other end of the spectrum.”