Five Takeaways from CEW’s Women’s Wellness Conference

At the recent Women’s Wellness Conference, hosted by Cosmetic Executive Women (CEW), a nonprofit trade org for the beauty and wellness industry, conversations across beauty, healthcare, retail, and investing kept returning to the same issue: women are looking for products and care that the market has been slow to deliver. 

The discussions covered menopause, the effects of GLP-1-driven weight loss, and how consumers discover and buy wellness products. For investors and business leaders, they also raised practical questions about where to focus, how to earn consumer trust, and what capabilities companies need as they grow. Five takeaways stood out. 

 

1. A Large Market with Unmet Needs 

Women’s health is a large and underserved market; currently, it receives less than one percent of government spending. Yet the McKinsey Health Institute and the World Economic Forum found that women spend 25 percent more of their lives in poor health than men. Closing that gap could add more than $1 trillion to the global economy annually by 2040. Research presented at the conference indicates that only seven percent of femtech is geared toward menopause care, while demand continues to surge. For investors, the opportunity extends beyond menopause to other needs that remain underserved, including sexual wellbeing, care for conditions such as polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), and more. 

Key Takeaway: Because capital has lagged demand in women’s health, early investors face less competition for quality assets, and the white space extends well beyond menopause into sexual wellbeing, PCOS, and other overlooked conditions.
 

2. Hormone Therapy Gets a Second Look 

Speakers discussed the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) findings on hormone therapy, which led to a black box warning that discouraged many women from seeking treatment for roughly two decades. Conference speakers put the resulting toll at an estimated 150,000 premature deaths. The regulatory picture has since begun to shift. The FDA announced in November 2025 that it would remove the warning. For investors and operators planning to build in menopause and midlife care, these changes make patient and provider education an important part of the growth strategy.  

Key Takeaway: With regulators reversing course on long-standing hormone therapy warnings, the menopause care space is ripe with opportunity, but companies will face overcoming decades of hesitancy. 

 

3. Beauty Is Converging with Health 

Beauty has earned consumers’ trust over time, and consumers are now asking the category for more. Whether it is patches, injectables, or ingestibles, consumers are pushing beauty to converge with health and create new products. Brands that pair trust with real science and personalization are well positioned to capture share in this emerging market. 

Key Takeaway: The convergence of beauty and health is creating a new growth category, giving investors an opportunity to back brands that can turn consumer trust into science-driven, personalized wellness products. 

 

4. GLP-1s Are Creating a New Beauty Need 

CEW research found that 86 percent of current GLP-1 users have lost weight, and many report changes to their skin, face, or hair. Among those who lost weight, 64 percent cited physique concerns such as loose skin and muscle loss, 43 percent cited facial volume loss and wrinkles, and 23 percent reported hair thinning. These findings point to a demand for products that address skin, hair, and body composition concerns during and after weight loss, which provides a clear opening for beauty and wellness brands. 

Key Takeaway: The rise of GLP-1 medications is creating a new consumer segment with unmet skin, hair, and body composition needs, opening a growth opportunity for beauty and wellness brands that can address the side effects of weight loss.
 

5. Wellness Starts with Social and Ends on Amazon 

In Q2 2026, Amazon sales of vitamins, minerals, and supplements (VMS) reached $5.5 billion, up 9 percent. An estimated 70 to 80 percent of online supplement sales occur on Amazon, and 37 percent of that revenue comes through the online retailer’s Subscribe & Save program. According to the research presented, new product discovery happens elsewhere, as 74 percent of wellness consumers say trusted social recommendations motivate them to buy, 35 percent of U.S. online wellness shoppers discover new products on social, and more than half of online spend occurs on mobile. Winning brands treat social and Amazon as one connected system, building demand in one place and converting it in the other. 

Key Takeaway: In the growing online supplement market, the strongest brands use social media to drive discovery and Amazon to capture recurring sales, so investors should look for companies that execute well across both channels.
 

The Opportunity Ahead 

Women’s health remains one of the largest underserved markets in consumer and healthcare, and capital is only beginning to catch up with demand. For investors, the path to value creation runs through brands with consumer trust that can leverage science to meet emerging needs and scale across channels. Companies that can navigate regulation, retail, and brand authenticity will be best positioned for a strong exit.