In a simplified way, Femtechs sane startups who develop products and services aimed at the health and well-being of the female population. These solutions cover a wide spectrum of demands, such as gynecological, cardiological, neurological issues, pregnancy, sexual health, reproductive health, oncology, and others. O FemTech Landscape Report 2021 estimated that this global market should reach US$ 1.186 trillion in 2027. Despite the potential of Femtechs, there is still a lot of space in this market. In Brazil, Sebrae points out that only 3% of investments in digital health are earmarked for Femtechs.
Among these solutions aimed at women's health, we highlight the sexual health market. According to the Allied Market Research, this segment registered a worldwide turnover of US$ 78 billion in 2020, and it is estimated that, by 2027, it will reach US$ 108 billion. The same is true in Brazil, where this market has been equally promising. Um Cortex Intelligence survey indicated that the country reached a record in 2022, reaching 1,068 new companies focused on sexual health. This number represented an increase of 34.7% compared to 2021, reflecting how sexual health issues have gained momentum.
It was within this scenario that in 2020 the Lilit — Femtech specialized in products aimed at female sexuality, such as vibrators — it was founded by Marília Ponte, while the Feel — startup of products focused on feminine intimacy, such as lubricants — it was founded by Marina Ratton. In 2022, on the understanding that they offered complementary solutions, Femtechs they announced a merger movement and in the same year they raised R$ 750,000 in a round that was led by Sororitê, which brings together angel investors in Latin America to support companies whose founders are women. In an exclusive interview, they share the space they saw in this market, in addition to the challenges that exist in Brazil when it comes to women's sexual health.
Before the merger, Marília says that Lilit appeared with an eye focused on the inequality of pleasure in relationships. She points out that “when we talk about pain, discomfort, and lack of pleasure in intimacy in female sexuality, which are health issues, women are generally very little heard”. When researching the female experience of buying a vibrator, Marília found that the predominant feeling was one of frustration: “the purchase online it was uncomfortable because the woman did not know how this product would arrive at home, and the purchase in person was also viewed with embarrassment”. In this sense, the entrepreneur created a vibrator with a simple model and enlightening content about sexuality, with the mission of improving how people talk about intimacy and the way in which these products are presented.
Meanwhile, Marina says that Feel was born with premises very similar to those of Lilit, focused on investigating female sexuality. The founder reiterates that Brazil is seen as a sexualized country, but when entering real life, we are faced with a reality imbued with stigmas and a latent difficulty in talking about sexual health and female pleasure. Marina studies that indicate that 70% of women do not feel pleasure in sexual intercourse and that 80% of them have experienced or experience frequent discomfort during intercourse. These are some of the issues she understands to be invisible, in contradiction to the stereotype of the sexualized country. Based on several researches focusing on the female experience, Marina says that the company developed a lubricant to actually meet this intimate health journey for women.
The innovation of doing the basics and the challenge of convincing
Both founders understand that the women's sexual health market is still very underserved and unexplored, so that, according to Marília, “doing the basics is already a great innovation”. In line with this statement, Marina points out that in this market the main issue is not technology itself, but rather listening to the pain and demands of the female population.
Regarding the challenges of this market, Marília understands that the first and perhaps main one is the understanding of what intimate health is and the conviction at all ends of the operation that female self-knowledge, clear communication about intimacy, among other things, are health issues. The entrepreneur indicates that this convincing process involves sales channels, manufacturing partners and researchers for product development, highlighting, for example, the difficulty of educating the main lubricant manufacturers in Brazil about the choice of components.
“We often jokingly say that we need to convince everyone but our clients, because they know that this is a latent pain. But for the rest, we need to convince our factory that we want a natural product and not something with chocolate essence. We need to convince mentors who often want us to make simpler and cheaper products. We need to convince the market that it is used to 'body lubricants' or 'body gliders'. The market needs to understand that it is necessary to develop a correct intimate product, and not to adapt an ordinary cream for intimacy. This creates more risk and vulnerability, both for men's and women's health”, concludes Marina.
The importance of female sexual health education and the role of femtechs
Faced with the stigmas surrounding the issue of female sexual health, female entrepreneurs highlight the role of upbringing, a commitment that Femtechs those who turn to this market need to address. For them, education ranges from the packaging of the product and the information it must contain, to the relationship and communication with the entire health ecosystem.
Marina affirms that it is important that the product itself is educational. As an example, she addresses the lubricant of Femtech. “We don't say 'sliding gel'. We are absolutely against that, we need to use the correct terms. When a woman takes our product, she will read 'moisturizing intimate lubricant'. When she flips the package, she will see all the information that it has been gynaecologically tested and that it should be used in the vaginal area. And all of this is part of the intimate security of this woman, to whom we are committed”.
In addition to the product, Marília reiterates that this role of education extends to the entire ecosystem, which is yet another challenge for Femtechs in this market, but which is considered a necessary point even to scale the business.
“The consumer is obviously the final end, but to scale as we want, we will have to go through several spaces. We see an important role in sitting down with health specialists, such as nutritionists, and stating that it would be important to include in the dialogue with the patient how she is in relation to intimate health. For example, does this patient who is going to see a nutritionist have a problem with candidiasis, which is related to diet? Intimate health is very broad, so for us education is essential. It seems trivial, but it's a huge challenge”, adds Marília.
The specificity of the Brazilian market
Another point highlighted by female entrepreneurs regarding the sexual health market in Brazil is that it has its specificities, which cannot be ignored by Femtechs. Marília points out some references in the international market, from smaller brands such as Kindra, for menopausal products, to larger ones, such as Queen V, for vaginal hygiene and well-being. However, she points out that they make much use of existing data from Brazilian women themselves due to the specificity of Brazil.
“Of course, this market practice of looking outside, bringing a model and adapting here is a path. But there are different 'Brazilian clippings' for everything from the cultural issues that permeate these products to the issue of price. In the United States, for example, the culture regarding sexuality is different. So of course we looked at the models from the outside, but we drank a lot from this Brazilian source to evaluate the next steps in relation to the products and what makes sense with our reality”, concludes Marina.
