A new year is a natural time to take stock of the last twelve months as well as cast an eye to the future, perhaps with a resolution or two in mind for the year ahead.

And in looking back, we realise how much we’ve packed into 2018! Product launches for our groundbreaking clothing, fun photoshoots, creating a lively Facebook community, lots of collaborations with a whole range of partners, plus a wonderful Menopause Event Workshop. We’ve also had the pleasure of meeting many of you on our journey so far. Hearing all your stories has really spurred us on with our mission to redefine the menopause.

It’s better together 

There’s no doubt about it, menopause can be a rocky road. Research by The British Menopause Society has shown that more than half of women feel that it has had a negative impact on their lives. We know that many of you still find the subject just too embarrassing to speak openly about – whether it’s to your GP, partner or close friend.

Female wellbeing is hugely important to Become™ and we don’t want any woman to feel like they need to cope with the menopause alone. That’s why we set up The Chilled Menopause on Facebook back in June. We regularly team up with experts and coaches from a range of organisations, who share their amazing wisdom there. It was also fantastic to host our own Menopause Event, where we could bring everyone together to socialise and share our journeys and stories in person. Collaboration is very important to us and we’ve enjoyed working with Meg Mathews and Andrea McLean. There’s no doubt that we’re all very much on the same mission – to change the way that we, as modern women, think about, talk about and take on the menopause. And when women come together, it really can be an extremely powerful force! 
Keeping it real

No two menopause journeys are the same. Finding ways to cope with the many different symptoms is a very personal thing. ‘Menopause’ means so many things to different people but Become™ is a brand for all ages, ethnicities, shapes and sizes. Take Sophie and Nell, two of Become™’s real-life models. Sophie, who took part in our picnic shoot back in August, is a mother in her early thirties and is dealing with surgical menopause. Nell, our #HotWomenOnly competition winner, juggles hot sweats with a busy job, family and MBA studies.

Every lady has a real-life story to tell. It’s important to us that we show a true representation of the women that we are helping through their menopause. We’re so proud of the way these ladies have bravely portrayed themselves in a new light, going against the grain of traditional ‘sugar-coated’ advertising campaigns. But it’s only by speaking out about real life that we will be able to change the conversations and social stigmas around the menopause.

So how are we planning to continue to break barriers as we enter 2019?

1. By speaking candidly

A few weeks’ back, Mariella Frostrup asked the British public for their thoughts about the word ‘menopause’ for her BBC documentary 'The Truth About Menopause' – and it made for pretty uncomfortable viewing! The response was negative to say the least, but it really does outline the need for us to keep on opening the way for women to speak more freely about their bodies.   

As Meg Mathews put it, in our exclusive interview with her: “We need to speak our minds instead of bottling everything up. When my menopause hit, I woke up in the middle of the night drenched with sweat and filled with anxiety. I felt so alone and this is exactly the sort of thing that I want to help women overcome. We shouldn’t be afraid of talking about our bodies, our needs… and our vaginas!”

Become™ is a pioneering new brand, not afraid to push boundaries and turn traditional stereotypes on their head. Our Instagram and Twitter pages are unashamedly honest and like to get to the heart of the things that matter most to menopausal women! We love initiating debate and conversations around the menopause and will continue to do so in 2019.  

2. By challenging the norm

Back in November, Gwyneth Paltrow took to Instagram to describe how she thinks "menopause gets a really bad rap and needs a bit of a rebranding”, bemoaning the lack of “aspirational menopausal woman". Well, we meet and hear from plenty of amazing menopausal women all the time, but have to agree with her that they are certainly not given enough space in the media.

Our own ‘rebranding’ mission has been going strong in 2018. In August, we launched our first advertising campaign on the London Underground, of which we’re very proud. Our bold and confident posters perfectly encapsulated our company ethos of changing the way we talk about the menopause and we look forward to putting more thought-provoking campaigns together as we enter 2019.


3. By empowering our customers

Become™ is built on the belief that women of all ages can achieve great things, even when they're going through the menopause. Our parent company, MAS Holdings is made up of a workforce of 90% women, including female innovators who drive product development, to address the demands of women that the current market lacks. Our Anti-Flush material is groundbreaking and we’re excited to be working hard on expanding our product range to really meet the needs of our customers. We’re often asked for more variety in our product range and we’re delighted to announce that we’ll be launching new nightdresses and cool leggings this Spring, with lots more pieces planned for 2019.

So as we enter the new year, we’re looking forward to continuing our journey, supporting women from all walks of life going through perimenopause and menopause. And we're very excited to be perfecting our range to ensure our customers both look good and feel more confident. By helping them to improve their wellbeing, we can help them to be unstoppable.

Here’s to a Happy and Healthy 2019! From all of us at Team Become x