Holland and Barrett invests over £4m in women’s health

Holland and Barrett has announced it will be investing over £4m into its women’s health offer, which will be backed by a new three-year Wellness Commitment. 

This follows YouGov research from Holland and Barrett which revealed that over a third of women said there is a lack of education or readily available, trusted support and guidance on women’s health issues.

The retailer’s Women’s Wellness Commitment aims to build on its long-standing awareness campaigns and research around menopause and will go further to address four key areas – democratising access to trusted support; closing the research gap; enabling health equity; and leading in product innovation with women’s needs in mind.

Holland and Barrett’s £4m investment will go into several new initiatives, including training over 600 women’s health coaches to offer free and personalised support – from first period to the last, and beyond. 

Available in almost every store, H&B’s women’s health coaches have had expanded training created by medical professionals on the menstrual cycle, including common symptoms, nutrition, gut health, sleep, mood and more. 

All 4,000 H&B store colleagues have also been trained to offer guidance and personalised solutions around women’s health including pain, bloating, and vitamins for maintaining hormone health.

Tamara Rajah, CEO of H&B Wellness Solutions and chief transformation officer at H&B, said: “Women’s health has been under-served for too long. Whilst we have championed better support for menopause for over 50 years, there has remained a gap in awareness and support for wider hormonal and menstrual health. 

“Being on every high street, we are ideally placed to normalise conversations around women’s health for women of all ages, from periods to fertility, endometriosis and more, then to perimenopause and menopause. In doing so we can support the health system and the national women’s health strategy, helping to break down stigmas and taboos around these topics and make sure every girl and woman knows of the available support.” 

The retailer’s Wellness Commitment will kick-off with a multi-channel awareness campaign on hormone health. ‘Own Every Day Of The Month’ aims to empower women to optimise their overall wellness by understanding the rhythm of their hormone cycle across their lifespan and break down associated stigmas.