Seven years later, she has identified yet another white space: fertility. Ritual is hoping to make navigating fertility easier with products grounded in clinical research by introducing its latest offering, Fertility Support.
"As more and more women choose to start families later in life, they are faced with the challenging reality that conception may not be as easy, and on top of that, the cultural conversation around fertility is loaded with language that implies that fertility can be beyond your control," Schneider told NutraIngredients-USA. "This is leaving women feeling helpless in their fertility journeys and like there is little they can do to have or feel agency as they navigate this time. We believe women should be able to support their fertility on their own timelines with a little less pressure."
Schneider added that when looking at the market, she could not find a trusted comprehensive fertility support supplement.
“Looking at the top five leading competitors, none of the products contain ingredients that address follicular support, ovarian health and egg health all in a single product," she said.
“This is why we developed our Fertility Support supplement, the first 3-in-1 supplement formulated to support conception outcomes and designed in partnership with OB/GYNs and fertility specialists. We want to be the leader in an emerging-yet-essential segment and to make navigating this time a touch easier with a product that’s grounded in clinical research."
Ingredient selection
Ritual worked with three OB/GYNs and fertility specialists on its Scientific Advisory Board along with its in-house science team to create the research-backed formulation.
After extensive research, the team at Ritual selected a specific combination of three ingredients and at dosages studied in clinical trials. They agreed on 200 mg of Ubiqsome, a bioavailable form of coenzyme Q10, to help support follicular health; 1.2 g of NAC to help support ovarian health; and 4 g of Myo-Inositol to help support normal ovulation cycles, healthy hormone levels and egg health.
"It is exciting to have a new fertility support product available on the market with ingredients that have been clinically-studied to support the body in the trying-to-conceive journey," said Christine Messenger, MD, FACOG, Ritual Advisory Board member and physician, obstetrics and gynecology, NYU. "I'm thrilled to have played a role in the development of Fertility Support, and I look forward to recommending it to my patients, who have been looking for science-backed products like this one as they navigate the trying to conceive process."
New format unlocked
Unlike Ritual’s other offerings, Fertility Support comes in a drink mix format.
"Creating effective products goes beyond just selecting science-backed ingredients but actually thinking about how those ingredients work once they are inside the body and how to deliver them in a way that is a pleasant habit customers can actually stick to," Schneider said.
Ritual chose the drink mix to ensure that serving size included the clinically-studied dosages of the three ingredients, since they would not fit into a single capsule.
“It’s designed to be taken once in the morning and once at night and to feel like a delicious indulgence,” Schneider added.