Femtech (female technology) is an emerging area of health and wellness for women. From period tracker apps to well-being products specifically marketed towards teenage girls, many female-focused health products exist today.
Make sure R&D includes a sex and gender perspective during all stages of product development to develop healthcare products for women specifically, including new methods for reproductive healthcare and birth control innovations.
1. Freedom Apothecary
Traditionally, apothecaries were places for people to gather and purchase medicinal herbs, spices, remedies and other health-enhancing products. Many would be run by experienced herbalists who could advise customers on their use and answer queries about ailments. With the rise of patent medicines during the 1800s however, many apothecaries began functioning more like pharmacies than as shops for health and beauty products.
Morissa Jenkins and Bonkosi Horn took this concept one step further by opening Freedom Apothecary in 2019. Their Northern Liberties neighborhood store offers women-founded wellness products like clean beauty products, CBD oil products, books and tarot cards.
Facial services and a mix bar featuring botanical extracts, oils and salts to craft personalized masks, scrubs and bath salts. Furthermore, workshops, book groups and enlightenment events are hosted here as well.
2. Aunt Flo
Aunt Flo is a popular euphemism for menstruation. Developed to allow women to discuss their periods without violating social norms or drawing attention to themselves directly, Aunt Flo allows women to discuss menstruation in mixed company without raising eyebrows or breaking social taboos.
The Flo app is a female health and wellbeing guide chosen by 350M+ women worldwide, co-created with 100+ leading health experts, and trusted by top medical institutions. It tracks period start date/length/fertile window/peak ovulation days/PMS symptoms/flow intensity/birth control needs/birth control usage etc.
Flo is committed to combatting period poverty – which impacts women of all demographics – with their high-quality organic and non-toxic menstrual products. For every 10 tampons or pads purchased, one will be donated directly. They even have a patent-pending dispenser which holds five times more tampons in half the time than traditional wall mounted dispensers do for refills!
3. Ritual
Ritual is a subscription-based company offering multivitamins and supplements designed to meet each user’s unique requirements. Their Essential for Women multivitamin aims to bridge any nutritional gaps not met through diet, such as B12 (methylcobalamin), activated folate, vegan D3, omega-3 fatty acids, boron, and magnesium. Furthermore, Ritual’s products are traceable, providing information about where ingredients originated.
The company claims its supplements are high-quality and clinically tested for efficacy, without fillers or GMOs or synthetic vitamins, minerals or oils that could interfere with absorption of essential nutrients like calcium. Unfortunately, due to some key minerals being left out from its formula (such as iron) users may wish for more. Also, no-return policy could prove an obstacle. Furthermore, their products tend to be fairly expensive.
4. RosyWellness
RosyWellness was established by OB-GYN Lyndsey Harper after she realized sexual health is often neglected during doctor visits due to embarrassment or limited physician time and training. To address this, she developed a one-of-a-kind app to provide women with connection, strategies, and interventions tailored specifically for them.
The freemium app strives to transform how patients and providers think about, discuss and treat sexual wellness issues by offering an evidence-based platform with personalized solutions. Women can receive support from peers and experts while participating in anonymous group coaching sessions or workshops; additionally they have access to 100+ sexy stories, Quickies and recommendations to optimize their sexual wellbeing as well as a personalized daily Wellness Plan designed specifically for them.
Rosy will expand their platform this August to incorporate features like Quickies that offer educational healthcare content vetted by Rosy?s team of 50 HCPs. This expansion is in direct response to feedback from healthcare providers who noted their patients struggled to locate accurate and trustworthy online information regarding common medical concerns such as endometriosis, fibroids and menopause.
