Entrepreneurs on menopause mission with new business
Two local entrepreneurs have made it their mission to improve options for women experiencing menopause after watching their friend go through the life-changing transition at 25.
Jessica Watson and Isla Telfer, both 28, had their eyes opened after their close friend was chemically induced into the menopause in her mid-twenties. They became acutely aware of the lack of knowledge and support surrounding menopause – as well as the lack of products available to help manage the transition.
It prompted the pair to found GLORIAH, a menopause-focussed personal care brand that creates luxury products to help manage the first signs of the menopause. The concept has proved so impressive it was recently awarded £80,000 by the Scottish EDGE programme.
GLORIAH’s products include Liberation Oil, a hydrating vulva oil which has sold out due to high demand on the firm’s website. Coming soon is a vegan water-based intimate gel – a lubricant with a 100 per cent natural, plant-based formula set to be released in May.
Designed specifically to support body changes and needs that increase throughout the menopause, the products are designed to sit alongside skin care, beauty products, and perfumes. The brand has also created a “safe and inclusive” community that shares education and empowers other people through this key transition in life.
Jessica, a marketing executive from Leith, said: “The stereotype of a ‘menopausal person’ has been stuck in time for as long as we can remember, but with more and more people entering menopause early, the stigma needs to be broken.
“We were conscious that we were in our early 20s and didn’t know enough about it – and we knew that wasn’t right. This is something that affects 50 per cent of the population, and there is a shocking lack of support or knowledge available.
“More and more people are entering menopause early. Whether it’s through surgical menopause, POI [primary ovarian insufficiency], endometriosis, they share one thing in common – a lack of recognition by professionals, friends, family, and society.”