The average woman spends 17 years of her life on a diet. This staggering statistic, highlighted in research from Diet Chef, underlines both the pressure women feel to lose weight, combined with the undeniable truth that fad diets don’t always work. Just as the dating industry is a business built on anything but long-term monogamous relationships, the diet industry has historically waged a war on women’s bodies. 

Chloe Ferro is dedicated to doing things differently. Alongside her sister Olivia, she co-founded SheMed. A brand which is rooted in the duo’s belief there is a significant gender-based gap in the market for safe and accessible GLP-1 medications for women. While brands such as Ozempic have sparked controversy, there is no questioning the advent of weight loss drugs is a huge scientific innovation in a sector which has leaned heavily on spin. The days of cabbage soup and fad diets may well be numbered.

The GLP-1 market is in the midst of exponential growth worldwide. JP Morgan Research forecasts that the market will exceed $100bn by 2030. Yet within that exceptional growth, there has yet to be a GLP-1 brand specifically targeting women. This is the unmet global marketing opportunity that Chloe Ferro, Co-Founder of SheMed, has set her sights on meeting.

“Women's health is often an afterthought. We were the first ever GLP-1 brand for women, even though women are the primary consumer group for GLP-1 products,” she explains.

The weight-loss process for men and women is fundamentally different, yet there was not a single company putting women at the forefront. A lag between scientific innovation and marketing innovation which underlines the creative industries is not as progressive as it might claim to be.

Calling a ceasefire in the war on women’s bodies

In a confusing market and in a wider societal ecosystem which still shames women; for being too fat, or too thin. Or even for the very act of taking weight loss medication in the first place, SheMed is building its entire brand approach on honesty. 

“The SheMed brand has always been about transparency, right from the outset,” explains Ferro. She continues: “We see GLP-1 as a biological fix, not a cosmetic one. It is about how you feel. Weight loss is just one of the side effects but we are excited to see the impact on cardiovascular diseases and sleep apnea, amongst other conditions.”

The brand is riding the wave of a new era of creativity in healthcare marketing, underpinned by accessibility, technology and a more patient-centric approach to marketing. While Apple’s Health app infamously launched without a period tracker, the truth remains that technology offers an unprecedented opportunity to address women’s health issues at scale. 

After being overlooked for so long, innovation in areas like personalised care, reproductive health, and hormonal well-being are now becoming mass market movements. When it comes to GLP-1 medications SheMed is at the forefront of this change.

Closing the gender health gap

SheMed proves the power of digital first brands to help close the research gap in women’s health. Ferro champions a data-led approach to brand building. 

The initial SheMed programme is not just a weight loss programme. Instead, the brand set out to create a clinical study to explore how the medication can address women’s pre-existing health conditions. When you consider research from the World Economic Forum suggests just 1% of all healthcare research funding in the UK is allocated to female-specific health conditions, the need for such a wide-scale study is clear.

The brand has over 16,000 women in its first clinical study. “We are hearing from women who are seeing the positive impact that weight loss is having on existing conditions such as PCOS,” says Ferro. She continues: “We are so confused as to why no one has ever done a study like this before.”

A new narrative for women’s wellness

Ferro has been shocked by the lack of data on the impact of weight loss on women’s wider healthcare issues, from PCOS to perimenopause and menopause. She believes that SheMed can have a role in closing the gender health gap.

“That was always our mission,” she explained, adding: “When we were starting the brand we were very clear that it was a biological fix, it’s not about how you look.”

It is a conscious choice which arguably creates more friction points in the consumer journey. To become a SheMed customer you have to complete a blood test. This is a differentiator when compared to competitors. However, Ferro believes it should be mandatory across the industry. “We are the only company within the industry with this approach,” she shares, noting that the decision was one that placed safety first. 

“There is definitely a risk that people would look to go with competitors who are putting out messages women have seen their entire lives,” explains Ferro. She continues: “There is absolutely a risk in not taking that route, but we want women to recognise that your health is the main priority.”

The role of transparency in modern brand building

To Ferro it was very apparent that not only were women feeling unsupported in their journeys, but there was a lack of visibility surrounding the GLP-1 sector as a whole. Notably mainstream media platforms which have berated women for the shape of their bodies swiftly transitioned to shaming those same women for taking weight loss drugs. 

Technology and science have evolved at pace, but shame stands still. Arguably it is misplaced shame which means historically weight loss brands have been viewed by many consumers as fundamentally toxic.

Ferro is focused on doing things differently. “The SheMed brand has always wanted to be about transparency,” she explains. The brand’s entire approach is rooted in how women feel, not what they look like.

“We just think that health should be everyone’s central focus,” adds Ferro. SheMed runs monthly clinical overviews with members. “Your entire life is going through a transformation,” she adds. This approach means the brand is continually in listening mode.

Stereotype smashing

In the wake of the pandemic, a fundamental shift is afoot when it comes to healthcare marketing. In an era in which consumers have become acutely aware of their health, seemingly every brand is attempting to become a healthcare brand. At the same time, an influx of consumer marketing talent into healthcare marketing is driving a new consumer-centric narrative.

Ferro effortlessly transitions from scientific and medical expertise to cultural insights, underlining the need for a blend of art and science in the sector. Building a brand in a highly regulated category isn’t easy, but the growth of the sector is impossible to deny.

“Everyone should be celebrating that there is a medical breakthrough. It is not just that you take the medication and everything changes, it is not a quick fix,” says Ferro. 

She continues: “The majority of women on our programme are 40 to 60 and there are so many reasons that bodies might not be able to lose weight. There are a lot of barriers.”

These barriers span both medical and cultural challenges. Yet arguably progressive advertising has been a positive force in shedding some of the myriad of taboos that still surround women’s bodies. Ferro says: “I think we are at the start of that shift; there has always been lots of taboos around women’s bodies.”

She bristles at the narrative that weight loss drugs are somehow inherently about cheating. “At SheMed we want to educate, it isn’t just about a number on a scale. We are going to do everything we can to change the narrative.”

With this in mind much of the brand’s content marketing strategy is rooted in creating genuinely useful information to help women educate themselves on health issues as diverse as perimenopause to yeast infections.

As she explains: “It doesn’t have to be overwhelming to close the women’s health gap.” 

The power of control in an age of chaos

In an age of overwhelm what differentiates SheMed’s marketing strategy is the complete control and consistency it gives women when it comes to managing their weight loss journey. While the brand faces very real restrictions and regulations, when it comes to prescription medication the consistency of its brand messaging is clear. 

For example, SheMed has a £159 monthly fee which remains consistent regardless of the dose consumers are taking. A decision Ferro made on the basis that their consumer research shows that customers of existing GLP-1 drugs were not aware the cost of their medication would increase. 

“We have built an amazing community of women who have been so honest about their experiences,” says Ferro.

She shares that the biggest learning of her founder journey so far is the need for constant adaptation. She explains: “Every day someone is telling us the impact of SheMed on everything from menstrual cycles to hair growth.”

It is this open-mindedness which is propelling the brand forward. “Right now the best thing we can do is listen instead of just assuming," she adds.

Frustration is creative fuel

Ferro is frustrated with the pace of change in the wider industry, she explains:  “There are so many aspects of women’s health that need addressing. But there are people out there who want to make this change happen." Yet arguably SheMed proves that frustration can be creative fuel. 

Ferro lights up when she talks about the conversations she has had with ShedMed members. Women in their sixties, who have seen their entire lives transform through weight loss, whose children are now joining up to the programme.

“London is not built for bigger people. Look at the size of a London tube seat,” says Ferro. She is passionate in explaining the different and challenging issues that face bigger people in a world built on judgment.

In this ecosystem, the community aspect of the SheMed brand has been a huge success. From meal prep advice to walking groups Ferro is clear that women supporting women is not just an empty hashtag.

In fact, so many women wanted to join the initial SheMed study because they want to be part of closing the women’s health gap. When women spend 25% more of their lives in debilitating health than men it is clear why this need to be seen is so visceral. 

Women who have trod paths of wordless pain for decades are universal in their desire to change that path for the next generation of women. Closing the gender health gap isn’t just a pithy marketing trend, it’s a genuine movement for change.

For Ferro this desire is the red thread which runs through her approach both to the brand and what great growth really looks like. “Success would be changing the narrative about women’s health in general and also weight loss,” she explains.

An ethos which underlines that the weight of the burden of judgement women have held for decades, is far heavier than any number on any scale.