Inside the rise of the menopause market

“We found quite quickly that we were getting this customer that we were not expecting,” Goff said. “We were getting a younger customer too, but we were not getting the tenure from a younger customer. The biggest tenure was happening from the perimenopausal customer.”

Lyma is among a crop of women-focused wellness and health companies that are finding a sweet spot of growth in the burgeoning menopause market. In response to its finding, the company started to put more details on its website about how the 10-ingredient product could address menopause or menopause-related concerns like trouble sleeping and brain fog. Growth followed, with the company getting into skin care and lasers next.

Approximately 1.3 million U.S. women start menopause each year, according to nonprofit practitioner certification group The Menopause Society. But it’s a space that few doctors have intentionally studied, with just about 31.3% of obstetrics and gynecology residents saying they receive a formal menopause curriculum, according to The Menopause Society. In response, the burgeoning health and wellness market is seeing some companies develop new services to treat menopause-related challenges.

Some companies like Pandia Health and Midi operate telemedicine services to provide hormone therapy to patients, considered the gold standard of medical treatment that can address menopause-related issues with estrogen. Other brands, like Lyma, go the nutraceutical route to offer supplements to support a woman’s changing nutritional needs. And still other brands, like Naomi Watts’s Stripes Beauty, are addressing the life stage from a beauty or sexual wellness perspective. 

Both clinicians and investors have noticed the opportunity in the menopause market: Silicon Valley Bank found a 314% increase in venture capital going to women’s health companies between 2018 and 2023. And eMarketer predicts menopause will be one of the biggest opportunities for investors as drugs, apps, wearables and treatments proliferate. Advocacy group Women’s Heath Access Matters says the menopause market hit around $17.7 billion in 2024 and is projected to hit $27.6 billion by 2033.

Joanna Strober, co-founder and CEO at women’s telehealth service Midi, credits growth in part to a shifting conversation around women’s health needs as they age. Google searches for “perimenopause,” for instance, have gone up by about 60% in the past year. And while some headlines call the influx of products a “gold rush,” Strober said there’s power in watching where women spend their dollars.

“There’s a new generation of women who are demanding good care, and I really respect that,” Strober said. “They deserve better than what their moms and grandmothers got. They want to be healthy and strong, and they’re willing to pay for that.”

Targeting a gap in demand

Dr. Sophia Yen, founder of women’s telehealth service Pandia Health, first launched the company to provide birth control telemedicine services. The system is asynchronous, meaning people can work with providers without a video call and receive a prescription that’s tailored to their health profile.

But as the service grew, Yen said the practitioners were seeing some women above age 50 using birth control pills. Some were “self-treating” menopause symptoms with birth control pills. But as a doctor, Yen knew that such treatment could be risky, as some birth control pills will deliver more estrogen than is needed for hormone therapy. “If your estrogen’s up and you add more estrogen, that’s not helping the situation,” she said. “And as you get to 52 [and older], the increased dose of the estrogen in a birth control pill is an increased risk for heart attack and stroke and blood clots.”

This led Pandia to launch hormone replacement therapy that can deliver appropriate levels of estrogen to someone who is in perimenopause or menopause. Pandia hired two doctors certified in menopause care to lead the vertical — a score for staffing, as there are just over 3,000 in the U.S.

Now, Yen estimates about 5% of Pandia’s patients are receiving treatments for menopause-related concerns. But she expects that to grow due to an aging population and increased awareness. “There’s definitely a needed increased awareness of perimenopause and menopause,” she said. “But the negative is the supply of people who are up to date on menopause or who know how to treat it.”

Other telehealth companies have found the menopause market along the way. Supplement company FullWell started by launching products meant to aid fertility as well as pregnancy and postpartum. The company has been profitable since launch and saw 160% customer growth over the last two years. But to help encourage further lifetime value, founder Ayla Barmmer told Modern Retail that the company’s next launch will target women at perimenopause and beyond.

“Our customers are coming on, and they’re sticking with us for a good year,” she said. “And the only reason they’re leaving is because we don’t have something for them after they’ve exited the stage of life where they need our products.”

A growing customer base

Monica Cepak, CEO at women’s telehealth company Wisp, said the company launched its menopause vertical launched last year. Initial products included treatment for vaginal dryness and estrogen patches. The most recent addition is spironolactone to help with hormone-related skin changes. 

“Menopause is having a moment,” she said. “And I think telehealth, in particular, is uniquely positioned to fill in the white space in the market by leaning into awareness and education and providing those treatments in a like stigma-free private environment.”

So far, Cepak said there are new patients and returning patients gravitating toward the vertical. And while still a small percentage of the business, she said she hopes to see it be at least 10%. “It’s an important vertical,” she said. “And as more women age into the category, there’s an LTV play for us, where we have all of these additional products and services to help you on your health journey.”

Despite the large market, it’s a learning curve for business to get the word out. Initially, Wisp targeted its vaginal dryness cream to women aged 40 and up. But based on patient feedback, it lowered the target to 35 and up.

Many of these brands also face challenges reaching customers online due to ad restrictions. At Midi, ads around sexual wellness care have been repeatedly blocked or taken down. But the company has also found success with influencer marketing on Instagram and with recommendations from Reddit “People do all their research on Reddit,” she said. “Everyone goes to Reddit to read reviews about us, and they see the good, the bad and the ugly.”

Last year, Midi served about 100,000 women with hormone therapy or other treatments to help with issues related to perimenopause and menopause. This year, they’re already on pace to serve around 10,000 each week. 

Strober said companies like Midi have also been able to sprout up because of the advent of telemedicine. This allows companies to build brands that aren’t bound by geography or insurance providers, though some states do have laws around what can and can’t be prescribed virtually or whether video visits are required. “Historically, there weren’t really healthcare brands,” Strober said. “But now, you can build retail healthcare brands. And for the first time, you can have national healthcare brands.”

But ultimately, companies like Midi may continue to grow because women don’t necessarily have anywhere else to find specialized care from an OB-GYN who understands menopausal needs. Some may not have a primary care physician at all. Before Midi launched, Strober said the founders did a pilot study with 150 women who received hormone therapy for four months. When the pilot was up, many participants asked to continue because they didn’t have other health care providers to get the treatments from, Strober said.

“Our job at Midi is to recommend supplements, lifestyle changes and hormones — and give you options to choose from,” she said. “Our job is to provide expert care.”