Startup Fem has claimed a category first, securing a national bricks & mortar listing for its range of snack bars aimed at supporting women’s menstrual health.
Holland & Barrett will list Fem’s three-strong range of snack bars – Raspberry, Chocolate, and Salted Caramel (rsp: £2.25/40g) – in 450 stores from 3 August.
They are made from dates and seeds and feature a blend of vitamins and minerals, including magnesium, zinc, iron, calcium, vitamins B6, B12 and D, folate, fibre, omega-3 and creatine.
The vitamins and minerals were selected for the “role they play in supporting hormonal balance, energy production and easing common cycle-related symptoms such as fatigue, bloating and cramping”, said Fem
Magnesium, for example, is claimed to support muscle relaxation and ease menstrual cramping, while omega-3’s anti-inflammatory properties have been linked to reduced period pain, according to Fem. Iron, meanwhile, supports red blood cell production and energy levels.
Fem, which made its debut in February, said it wanted to “move cycle nutrition out of niche wellness circles and onto the high street”.
Reproductive health remains ‘chronically overlooked’
The launch comes amid growing awareness of women’s reproductive health challenges. A 2024 House of Commons Women and Equalities Committee report found around one in three women experience heavy menstrual bleeding, while one in eight had taken time off work in the previous year because of period-related symptoms.
Despite women accounting for 51% of the UK population, reproductive health remains “chronically overlooked”, claimed Jade Scott, co-founder of Fem. Scott, who is a women’s health researcher at the University of Warwick, was also a finalist on the latest series of The Traitors.
“The bars were designed based on my own experience,” Scott told The Grocer. “Whilst the scientific research is limited around solutions for women’s cycles, what goes into our bars is based on personal experience and the best available information.
“The key with cycle support products like ours is that they are designed to make the process of having a period easier, not that they are going to relieve symptoms altogether.”
Fem has received promising early feedback from consumers since launching, Scott added, with some reporting they felt “less spikey” during their period and that their first month using the bars was “the easiest [period] they’ve had in quite a while”.
The biggest challenge in bringing Fem to market was formulating a product in an area where “scientific research remains limited”, Scott told The Grocer.
“Women’s health receives only 1% of public health research funding beyond oncology, and we think that’s ridiculous,” she said.
In a bid to address the gap, Fem has pledged to reinvest 10% of annual profits into its own women’s health research, with its community helping to decide where the funding is directed.
Scott’s co-founder Sam Brown Light added: “As women’s health still struggles to be taken seriously, we at Fem feel obligated to be a catalyst for the change we want to see.
“This space needs pioneers, and we’re looking to be one of the brands that helps define women’s life-stage nutrition as a category.”
Fem is the latest in a small but growing category of nutrition products targeted at supporting women’s menstrual health.
In November 2025, Evelyn launched a three-strong range of PMS Bars designed to support women during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. Its range became available through Holland & Barrett’s website in June.
As reported by The Grocer in 2021, Kraft Heinz was in the process of developing a drink designed specifically to aid women’s menstrual health.
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