This was a key message delivered by Ewa Hudson, Director of Insights at Lumina Intelligence, during a recent Nutritionists in Industry meeting held in London (March 20th).
Providing a presentation entitled ‘Supporting her journey: Understanding women’s real health needs from adolescence to midlife’, the market analyst revealed latest market data showing that sleep is a top health priority for women throughout every life stage, from age 18 through to 65+.
The data, derived from 6,000 consumers from across the globe (USA, UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, South Korea), reveals that stress is also a top priority for women between the ages of 18 to 54, at which point longevity takes its place in top three spot, alongside sleep and weight.
Yet the research, conducted for NutraIngredients, conversely indicates that hormonal health and menopause remain lowest priority areas throughout women’s lives, which Hudson argued indicates a fundamental disconnect between these highly interconnected concerns.
“Sleep, stress, hormonal health and menopause are all highly connected so it’s worrying that two of these are so front of mind while two others are of lowest concern,” Hudson told NI.
What’s more, when asked if hormonal health challenges affected them, 85% of females in the UK indicated at least one did, yet only 55% said they took action to address this.
“Many of us will suffer, but will not prioritise hormonal health. This suggests to me a clear need for education and an opportunity for the industry,” said Hudson.
“What is particularly concerning from Lumina’s data, is that female consumers appear to be living in a near constant state of stress or anxiety, with 57% of the UK’s female population feeling ‘almost always’ or ‘often’ stressed out or anxious.”
The positive news for the industry is that nearly 75% of respondents said they utilized functional nutrition or supplements for stress, mood or cognitive support.
When asked which supplements they took for this purpose, vitamin D (68% of those who said they took functional food or supplements for this purpose), caffeine (60%), magnesium (47%) and omega-3 (38%) were the most consumed.
Only 14% used creatine or botanicals, and 11% used mushrooms—revealing potential opportunity areas for improved marketing and education.
And with close to 60% of young British women saying they prefer gender-specific supplements, designed for women and marketed for ‘her’ investment in clinical research to back up formulations for women is going to be another important area of investment for brands.
Hudson suggested companies conduct research to understand the whole system, rather than single symptoms in isolation.
“Sleep disturbances and stress may mask many other issues affecting women, and we need to figure it out,” she said.
GLP-1’s making their mark
Lumina’s data indicates that according to the research in November 2024, women aged 35-44 are most likely to have tried GLP-1 drugs, with a 13% of this age bracket having used these drugs in previous two years. At that time, usage in the younger female adults was not much lower – around 11%-12%.
Its later study, conducted in January 2026 among the 18-30 year-olds in the UK, found that a sizeable 29% of that group were either taking them at the time (6%) or have tried them before.
Nutrient gaps are known as one key downside when taking GLP-1 drugs. Asked what supplements they would consider taking alongside medication in order to manage side effects, the most popular options were multivitamins (38%), vitamin D (33%), fibre (31%), and protein (29%)
Looking into additional health concerns raised by these drugs, Lumina data indicates gut health is a common health concern for users, as they are more likely to complain of IBS, bloating, acid reflux and food intolerances.
