Busting menopausal myths: Essity debuts Issviva brand for women’s wellness
07 Oct 2022 --- Essity is launching a product and brand, dubbed Issviva, for women experiencing menopause. Rolling out in synchronicity with World Menopause Day on October 18, the brand is a global e-commerce platform that provides knowledge, solutions and products for women during the various stages of menopause.
Issviva’s product range comprises vitamins, minerals, supplements and personal hygiene products that complement Essity’s current incontinence and feminine care brands.
The platform also offers complete expert guides with articles and material preparing for the transition and products and services that can alleviate symptoms that generally appear during menopause.
Currently available in the Brazilian and UK markets, with expansion in the pipeline, Issviva aims to raise awareness and break the taboo surrounding this transition that impacts millions of women worldwide. Visitors can use forums to submit questions to experts and share experiences and lessons learned with others.
Menopausal, not “crazy”
Even though menopause is a natural part of life, it is perceived as a taboo subject with many preconceptions linked to fertility, sexuality and aging. In some parts of the world, menopause is associated with disease or problems and is often referred to sarcastically, the company states.
Issviva aims to raise awareness and break the taboo surrounding menopause.In 2025, more than one billion women are expected to experience one of the phases associated with menopause. As such, Essity conducted a global survey of 15,000 respondents, which highlights significant knowledge gaps.
From the participants, 41% stated that they are knowledgeable or very knowledgeable about menopause. However, 75% gave the wrong answer or could not answer the false claim that menopausal women cannot become pregnant.
Most respondents also said they would not speak out if a friend or family member mocked someone experiencing menopause.
“Essity is committed to breaking barriers to well-being, including stigmas and taboos around menopause,” says Cristina Arbelaez, global director of New Menopause at Essity.
Normalizing body functions
A study on post-menopausal mice investigating the potential of cannabidiol on estrogen deficiency highlighted that women spend one-third of their life post-menopausal and that the average age for women’s last menstruation occurs at the age of 51 in the US.
As estrogen levels decrease quickly, health concerns may arise, such as weight gain, cardiometabolic disease, osteoporosis, cognitive decline and gastrointestinal disorders. This preclinical study showed improvements in several health areas, such as gut and bone health and a lower inflammation rate than the placebo group.
NutritionInsight previously reported on personalized nutrition company Zoe’s study findings, which revealed healthy diets that prioritize gut health can help offset menopause-linked changes to metabolism. The symptoms of menopause may be lessened by eating a balanced, healthy diet high in fiber, complex carbs, healthy fats and proteins.
Meanwhile, Wendy Sweet, founder of My Menopause Transformation, elaborates that positioning the menopause transition in aging research opened the door to several symptom management alternatives utilizing food as medicine.
While each woman’s experience of menopause is different, putting this transition that all women go through in the context of aging and inflammatory research offers a departure from the conventional idea that menopause is a sickness that has to be “cured.”
Recently, Amyris unveiled Meno Institute to fill the void in research around women who are experiencing (peri)menopause. The company along with actress-entrepreneur-activist Naomi Watts, are also launching Stripes - a brand for (peri)menopausal wellness.
Edited by Radhika Sikaria
