Kerry sheds light on world of women’s health at SupplySide West 2024

At this week’s SupplySide West trade show in Las Vegas, US, Kerry highlighted the company’s proactive health solutions, specifically focusing on women’s health supplements. In addition, the company launched WOW (World of Women’s Health), a comprehensive reference website on health issues facing women at every life stage.

On the show floor, Nutrition Insight caught up with Jordan Dow, Kerry’s VP of proactive health, to discuss the company’s products targeting specific needs in women’s health. 

“Kerry is a 40-50-year-old business that has a legacy in other parts of the industry, whether in dairy or taste, but our proactive health and our focus on offering clinically trialed solutions across various health conditions is relatively new for Kerry,” says Dow. 

He notes that women’s health is one of the critical health conditions the company focuses on, zeroing in on specific health needs within the space that are not typically addressed by products on the market. 

“For example, we’re playing with solutions in healthy breastfeeding with probiotics. We have probiotics specifically for the treatment of mastitis, which impacts about 15% of women who are breastfeeding. We also have a botanical solution for fertility, which helps boost fertility rates by up to 30 to 40% in females who take the products and .”  

Beauty-from-within

Another area of focus for Kerry is beauty-from-within. Innova Market Insights indicates a 21% CAGR growth in beauty-from-within supplement launches from July 2019 to June 2024. Last year, top positionings for these launches included joint, health, immune and brain-mood health.

“We have a couple of solutions that have clinically evidenced benefits for skin health and wrinkle reduction,” highlights Dow. “We have products that we’re focusing on over the next quarters for periodontitis and oral care, and we have products in our portfolio for hair loss, reduction and strength.” 

Dow expects more product launches in the coming years for “conditions that matter.” He details that Kerry is launching a postbiotic to help reduce wrinkles, which also has clinical evidence for its digestive health benefits. 

Jordan Dow, Kerry’s VP of proactive health.“Postbiotics are a significant movement within the probiotic industry, given their application capabilities and their stability on the shelf. That postbiotic, which we call Plenibiotic, is just launching now, and hopefully, we’ll see more of it in terms of its success in our customers’ portfolio pipelines.” 

Plenibiotic is a rice-derived postbiotic for human and pet supplements, with research backing its support in digestive and skin health. Kerry notes that the postbiotic targets the gut-skin axis. The company also recently partnered with APC Microbiome to explore gut-brain axis solutions.

Across the lifespan

Dow highlights that Kerry aims to provide health benefits across the entire age range in women’s health to account for various health needs, from fertility and breastfeeding support to stress management during menopause.  

“There are very different life stages that have very different needs. One of the things that we’ve chosen to do is play across all age ranges, from youth up until seniors, because conditions require very different products in our portfolio.”

“Another thing you’ll see from us in 2025 is our clear focus on infant milk and our infant milk formula (IMF) portfolio. In addition to women’s health, we have an extensive infant health portfolio,” he adds. 

Similarly, the company focuses on specific health conditions in IMF, such as colic, digestive challenges for babies and brain development. “Our ability to play in infant milk and supplements in infant health will be another clear focus for us moving into 2025.”

Kerry aims to provide health benefits across the entire age range in women’s health to account for various health needs.World of women’s health

Amid growing consumer awareness of women’s health needs, companies are increasingly developing solutions for a wide range of health benefits, supporting women throughout their lives. 

The growing biotics market is also increasingly focusing on women’s health, with solutions ranging from vaginal care, pregnancy and menopause to metabolic health, skin care and mental well-being. Innova Market Insights data indicates a significant increase in the launch of women’s specialty supplements containing probiotic and prebiotic ingredients, with a 23% growth from July 2019 to June 2024.

Kerry aims its new platform, WOW, to be an “impactful resource” with information and research on health issues unique to the female body. In addition, the website highlights market trends driving innovation in the space. It focuses on three areas — family planning, the hormone lifecycle and healthy living. 

Within family planning, the platform focuses on supporting women’s health through fertility, pregnancy and motherhood, with products that benefit mother and child. 

WOW also contains resources to address women’s unique challenges in their hormone lifecycle, from menstruation to menopause. Healthy living focuses on long-term well-being, promoting energy, resilience and holistic health.

With additional reporting by William Bradford Nichols at SupplySide West Las Vegas, US