ndependent brands such as The Fix Company, which was co-founded by two women, Kate Everitt and Julie Moulder, are entering the market as Australia’s first period supplement company. “It comes as no surprise that women’s health has been overlooked and underfunded for a long time,” co-founder Kate Everitt told Inside Retail. “Until recently we weren’t speaking about our hormones. We hadn’t funded the research and the understanding, and therefore, we certainly haven’t treated it. It’s only been in the last year or so that research into menopause has hit the headlines. Women are suddenly talking openly about the impact our hormonal shifts are having on our work, marriages, relationships and lives,” said Everitt. “Consumers create demand, they create economies if they want it badly enough. We know personally that most dinner parties are now all consumed by the impact our hormones are having on our lives. We just happened to be the first to really listen,” co-founder Julie Moulder added. Funding a new solution for period pain  Typically start-ups struggle to raise funding but with research-backed products and a market that is only showing signs of growth, The Fix found many investors were eager to get on board.  The global PMS and menstrual health supplements market size is expected to reach US$35 billion by 2030, according to research published by Reportlinker. For The Fix, raising funds was a motivating process that only encouraged their mission to empower women through hormonal health.  “We were lucky enough to be introduced to an incredible group of people that understand us as founders, our passion, our mission and they believed in us. They could see we wanted to change women’s lives,” Everitt explained. “They could see the opportunity was enormous and they felt confident in our backgrounds and expertise in product development. If anything, the greatest question from most people, including investors, was ‘why has no one ever done this before,’” she added.  Educating consumers on a new solution  However, as groundbreaking and innovative as the product line is, The Fix’s primary challenge is now getting the word out about a hormonal solution. “Hormonal health is the new frontier and we are leading it in periods. That is not without its challenges,” said Moulder “Like any disruptive idea, if you are the first, the opportunity is as significant as is the challenge of educating. Women have been hardwired to tolerate their menstrual symptoms and in most cases, have not experienced how liberating hormonal control can be,” Moulder concluded.  The co-founders of The Fix are clear on their mission to help empower women and are ready to navigate the start-up landscape. Creating a new message for hormones  Their initial five products took nearly two years to research and formulate after partnering with leading Australian chemists and neuropaths. The founders understood that hormones affect women differently with individuals having distinct cycles, symptoms and experiences. They actively chose to address the symptoms of breakouts, bloating, cramping and mood swings with individual supplements so consumers can find a product that best suits their needs. “We want women everywhere to be powered by their hormones, rather than living in spite of them. We want to change lives. We want to give women back their full month, their whole year,” said Everitt. “Although we never set out to reduce the stigma and taboo, our mission is centred around treatment and hormonal control and we’ve noticed the conversation is already shifting around us, naturally helping reduce negative associations,” she further explained. Making a new Australian supplement  The Fix is set on maintaining its Australian footprint as not only an Australian-owned brand but also an Australian-made brand with its products all researched and manufactured locally. This made it an easy decision to partner with one of Australia’s leading pharmacies, Priceline, as both an in-store and online stockist.  “Priceline has one of the strongest [loyalty programs] in Australia with a focus on what women want and need. That felt like a good fit for The Fix,” said Everitt. “We met with Priceline prior to launch and it happened to be a space they were exploring. It was a fantastic channel for reaching more women that need us,” said Moulder. The co-founders of The Fix aren’t stopping here, they have big plans to continue innovating solutions to address menstrual issues. “We will continue to support women’s hormonal journey. We will continue to treat the space of periods and hormones,” concluded Everitt.