Health & Her is a Cardiff based female health brand, founded by Kate Bache and Gervase Fay in 2019. The company sells a wide a range of supplements to support women as they experience hormonal changes.
The company, which already exports to Germany and Ireland, is currently undergoing an intensive export development programme, backed by the Welsh Government, which has recently seen it enter both the US and Chinese markets, with plans to enter the UAE very soon.
The US is now the company’s largest export market after the company signed a deal with one of the largest pharmacy chains in the US which boasts thousands of stores across the country, as well as Vitamin Shoppe, a nutritional supplement retailer which has over 700 stores.
These retail partnerships provide an in-person retail experience for American Health & Her consumers, who had previously only been able to purchase products via the Health & Her website, and also via Amazon US.
This further access to the US’ $40bn supplement market was immediately transformative for the Health & Her brand, taking US revenue from 5% to 8% of overall turnover within just a few months.
The move into US retail was supported by the Welsh Government via their International Trade Development (ITD) programme, which provides businesses in Wales with practical advice, guidance, information and data to enable them to make well informed strategic decisions on their export journey..
In China, Health & Her have partnered with a local agency to access the millions of shoppers across Tmall , TikTok, Douyin and other online channels. TMall, is the world’s largest third-party online and mobile commerce platform for brands and retailers, and serves as a platform for consumers in China and overseas to buy international branded products not available in traditional retail outlets.
The relationship with the Chinese in-market agency which has helped Health & Her to establish commercial partnerships in the country, was supported by two trade representatives from the Welsh Government and China-British Business Council who attended meetings with Health & Her founders in Guangzhou, and assisted in the negotiations of contracts.
In the Middle East, in January 2024 Health & Her exhibited on the Wales Pavilion at Arab Health, as part of the Welsh Government trade mission. The event, which is one of the world’s largest healthcare conferences and trade shows, resulted in interest from three major retailers and three distributors in the region. Since then the company has been working behind the scenes to earn the appropriate accreditations to access the Middle Eastern market and will be launching into the UAE in October.
Following the success of the trip to Arab Health, the company is looking forward to joining the large Welsh delegation attending MEDICA in Dusseldorf in November. Like Arab Health, MEDICA is one of the world’s largest MedTech trade events, and is one of the highlights of Welsh Government’s trade mission programme. Health and Her are looking to use the event as a platform to expand their reach within the German market, where they currently are only available via Amazon.
Health and Her are utilising Welsh Government’s International Trade Opportunities Programme (ITO) that is designed to support businesses in identifying the right distribution and retail partners in new export markets.
The ITO Programme uses the Welsh Government’s global network to connect businesses with their ideal partner or customers in over 50 countries. ITO is available to both new and experienced exporters regardless of size.
In addition to the MEDICA trip, Health & Her will also be conducting three more market visits in 2024 to the US, Oman and Denmark, all with the backing and support of the Welsh Government, this time via the Overseas Business Development Visit programme.
The expanding global reach of Health & Her products is the beginning of a major international roll out for the firm whose perimenopause and menopause wellness app is currently being used by women in 176 countries around the world.
“Exporting has always been our roadmap for growth. Accessing vast global marketplaces was our goal from day one. After all, for all of our differences, no matter who you are, or where you live, women everywhere will always experience hormonal health changes and challenges.
“We were introduced to the export team at the Welsh Government by other Welsh Government entities who we have worked with, including the Accelerated Growth Programme (AGP) and the Development Bank of Wales, who have provided several rounds of funding on our business journey.
“The support we’ve had from the export team at the Welsh Government has been second-to-none. And it’s been a really collaborative process between us. We’ve put a lot into the relationship, and with their guidance and expertise, it’s really been paying off. I would recommend them to any Welsh company who was thinking of taking the leap into exporting.”