Marketers: Meet active women where they areMarketers: Meet active women where they are

More than half of the people who go to gyms are women, according to the Health & Fitness Association’s 2023 IHRSA Global Report. Yet despite vast physiological differences between men and women, only 2.5% of sports nutrition products are targeted to female consumers. Opportunity in this space is knocking louder than the Metallica bassline in a Peloton Metal Ride soundtrack. 

While a huge uptick has taken place in new products addressing needs at different ages, “There is so much more to women’s health than just the obvious female life stages, and active nutrition is an area where we can do better than just rebranding or redosing products basically designed for men and offering them to women,” Jennifer Cooper, industry expert and director of Leadpoint Solutions, said. “Products that don’t actually formulate specifically for women are missing a tremendous opportunity to validate and address the important physiological differences unique to women.” 

“Pink it and shrink it” days are gone. Ola Lessard, managing partner of 9 Muses Marketing — which specializes in reaching female consumers — said brands need to develop “a relationship of trust” to win the loyalty of female consumers. She added that women tend to do more research on their purchases than their male counterparts. 

Pointing to a concerning stat from Yankelovich Monitor and Greenfield Online, Lessard continued, “91% of women believe advertisers don’t understand them.” 

Research also shows that active women have a higher level of awareness of health-beneficial ingredients as compared to women who are less active. 

Savvy brands who can tell their science and benefit stories to women in a way that resonates with them may have enormous opportunity. But how to do it? 

“Marketing to women is pretty much like setting up a good online dating profile,” Lessard suggested. “Don’t be pushy. Don’t be creepy. Don’t talk about yourself all the time. Let us see that you understand our lives, our fears, our burdens, ours stresses, our joys — and earn our trust.” 

[For more on marketing to the active female demographic, as well as formulation ideas for all active people, and the best new ingredients to hit the market, download the free SupplySide Supplement Journal digital magazine here.]