The flow must go on: Transforming period care with supplements & science

Remember when every “for her” product seemed to follow an unspoken rule book? Pink packaging, premium pricing (hello, pink tax), and an inexplicable obsession with making everything “diet-friendly”. 

It’s as if we needed a Bechdel test for consumer goods – let’s call it the FMCG Fairness Filter™ (okay, I’m still workshopping this one, but the trademark is mine). To pass, a product would need to avoid being unnecessarily pink, skip the gender markup, and resist the urge to sprinkle “slimming” claims all over the packaging.

The absurdity of this situation becomes particularly clear when you consider menstrual health. For decades, our options for managing period symptoms mainly consisted of popping painkillers or surrendering to comfort-food cravings. I’m embarrassed to say that it never even occurred to me to look for any other solution – and I suspect there are millions of other women who’ve done exactly that. This seems almost comically inadequate given that menstruation affects roughly half the world’s women: around 26% of the global population, i.e., most women of reproductive age. And a woman on average menstruates for about 7 years during her lifetime. 

That’s a lot of time.

Menstrual health care for the new generation

Fortunately, the market is evolving; not fast enough, but better slow than never. We're seeing a surge in menstrual wellness products that actually are attempting to address real needs rather than stereotypes. We’ve seen the odd fascinating food product emerge, like this chocolate bar from The Functional Chocolate Company. It positions itself as a means to manage the symptoms of PMS and includes a blend of botanical ingredients. The company also offers one addressing menopause. There’s also a beverage product or two that pops up before disappearing as quickly. While such formats are welcome, they are few and far between at the moment.

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Supplementing for lost time

However, the supplements space is more than making up for that. The global PMS and menstrual health supplements market is expected to grow from US$26.23 billion in 2024 to US$35.19 billion in 2028, a CAGR of 6.05%. This growth can be attributed to greater awareness of women’s health needs, changes in lifestyles and dietary patterns, recognition of PMS symptoms, efforts to educate consumers, and a shift in cultural attitudes towards women's health. 

Women today are also looking for more natural solutions for their needs rather than starting with pharmaceutical ones. And the industry is finally starting to deliver solutions that treat menstruation as a health condition rather than a marketing opportunity. 

This shift coincides with growing consumer demand for evidence-based products across all categories, from beauty to supplements. More brands are prioritizing scientific validation over trendy marketing claims, particularly in the women's health space. 

And one such company is Wave Bye, a startup taking an evidence-based approach to menstrual health management. Their perspective on period care offers interesting insights for the broader food and beverage industry about how to develop products that genuinely serve women's health needs. 

To understand more about this evolving market and the science behind menstrual health products, I spoke with Dr Margo Harrison, an OB-GYN and the founder of the startup Wave Bye. Here’s an excerpt from our conversation about the changing landscape of women's health products and the role of evidence-based solutions in this space.

GourmetPro: Can you tell us about Wave Bye and what led you to focus on menstrual health products?

Dr Margo Harrison: We're developing evidence-based supplements and over-the-counter medications for women's health. We've recently launched our first product called Bye Cramps, a limited edition supplement that is to be started before period onset and statistically significantly reduces period pain and bleeding. This is part of our test phase before launching our full product line in Q1 2025.

I chose to focus on menstrual health because I see period pain as a barrier to women's liberty. Period pain and bleeding takes up almost a decade of people's lives. That’s lost time that could be spent achieving their goals. It's fundamentally an inequity issue. Women don't want to be superheroes; they just want to feel normal, not below their baseline.

GP: As an OB-GYN, how have you seen attitudes toward menstrual health evolving?

Margo: Traditionally, women's health in the US has been dominated by obstetricians and gynecologists, who are surgeons trained to deal with major problems through surgery or deliver babies. They weren't set up to provide the comprehensive ecosystem of care that women are now demanding. Today, women want their whole person considered – their diet, lifestyle, emotional status, trauma history, everything. They're looking for care that addresses their needs in a multifactorial way.

GP: What's your approach to product development and formulation?

Margo: Our primary focus is on evidence-based ingredients that we know will work. 

This means that every ingredient we use – like Vitamins B and E and inositol – is proven to work. We’ve also designed them to fit into women’s lifestyles seamlessly. Building trust and providing high-quality products is crucial. 

The formulation itself, whether it’s a drink, gummy, pill, or tablet, is secondary to effectiveness. We've started with the most affordable format to prove our market and demonstrate that our products work. We're actively seeking consumer feedback to understand what formats promote the best adherence and compliance. It's possible we'll end up offering multiple formats to meet different consumer needs and preferences.

One of the reasons I started the company was that there's such low hanging fruit in terms of making people feel better but nobody's doing it. Wave Bye is disrupting a market where small interventions can make a big difference.

GP: Your products require specific timing during the menstrual cycle. How do you address this?

Margo: Our mission is to give women their time back by improving their period experience. Products need to be taken at certain points in the cycle for maximum effectiveness, specifically starting pre-menstrually, before bleeding begins. This timing requirement actually serves a dual purpose: while using our products properly, women learn about their menstrual cycles. This knowledge and education contribute to their bodily autonomy.

GP: How does nutrition fit into your approach?

Margo: While nutrition isn’t currently a primary focus of our interventions, we're planning a partnership with Jihi, a company specializing in cycle tracking and cycle-specific nutrition. Our products don't require specific dietary changes, but we plan to support women with coaches who can discuss lifestyle, healthy diets, proper product usage, cycle tracking, and how to integrate our products into a healthy menstrual lifestyle.

GP: What role does technology play?

Margo: Cycle tracking is becoming increasingly popular, and we're seeing evolution from apps to wearables like rings and watches. We'll have our own app to remind people when to take their medications, but we're also looking forward to partnering with existing apps and wearable devices. We're not trying to compete with other apps but rather provide tracking options for those who aren’t already using them.

GP: How do you see the menstrual health market evolving?

Margo: We see ourselves as leaders in the preventative period pain space. We're trying to shift the framework from viewing period pain as a necessary evil to taking preventative measures before symptoms occur. While the market will likely get crowded as companies converge across the women's health spectrum, we believe our evidence-based approach and focus on results will help us stand out. The challenge will be maintaining clarity in an increasingly complex landscape where some players are trying to do good while others are simply trying to make money.

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