How the MTick, from GenM, is helping women navigate menopause with confidence
As awareness around menopause grows, so does the demand for resources, products, and brands that can genuinely support women through this life transition. This has sparked a movement led by GenM, a pioneering company co-founded by Heather Jackson and Sam Simister. Both of them felt overlooked by brands when it came to shopping for products to support them during menopause.
Their mission is to help women approach menopause with confidence, informed choices, and a sense of empowerment. A critical tool born from this mission is the MTick — a universal symbol for menopause-friendly products that they hope will become recognised in stores everywhere – like the ‘V’ we see on vegan-suitable products nowadays.
We spoke to Heather Jackson to find out more about MTick and how GenM hope it will provide women with the menopause information they need.
Increasing menopause awareness
Menopause has long been a taboo subject, with people reluctant or even embarrassed to discuss this life change. This hasn’t been helped by the invisibility of older women’s issues in mainstream media. Although the conversation is opening up, and rightly so, there’s still a lot of misconception and misinformation out there.
For Heather and Sam, the struggle to find menopause-supportive products is what inspired them to start GenM. They believed that women deserved better—a sentiment echoed by a study, which found that 87% of women felt overlooked and under-served by brands during menopause.
This experience is echoed time and again by women who lack the information to navigate their own health needs during menopause.
“Imagine running a marathon without preparation or the right gear,” says Heather. “That’s what menopause has been like for many women—thrust into it without guidance or resources.” Their goal was clear: empower women to thrive, not just survive, during menopause.
The MTick: A symbol of support and quality
The idea for the MTick came from Heather and Sam’s desire to make menopause-friendly products as accessible as other dietary or lifestyle-specific options, such as vegan or gluten-free products. The symbol has been designed to help women find products that could genuinely support their needs — be it in skincare, nutrition, supplements, or other lifestyle items.
Heather explains: “When veganism first became prominent, it was niche and somewhat taboo, but over time, it evolved to be inclusive and visible. Similarly, we want the MTick to become as recognisable as the vegan symbol, guiding women to shop confidently.”
Working in collaboration with Boots, GenM developed the MTick as an accreditation that communicates trust, quality, and relevance for women navigating menopause.
“Sam and I decided that as two perimenopausal women we could do diddly squat to change things, but if we could unite the biggest brands and retailers and get them to understand, and to commit to this, we could serve women better.”
How the MTick helps women in their shopping choices
Navigating product labels and ingredient lists can be overwhelming at the best of times, let alone if you’re also dealing with menopause symptoms such as poor sleep and brain fog, plus trying to juggle family, work, and your own health.
GenM’s MTick offers a solution, quickly signposting products that have been approved as menopause friendly. Imagine picking a supplement from the shelf, seeing the MTick, and knowing this product has been approved to help with menopause.
For many women, symptoms of menopause often leads them to search online for supplements, skincare, or wellness products that promise relief. However, cutting through the noise and questionable marketing claims makes finding safe, effective solutions a challenge.
The MTick certification gets rid of this confusion, assuring women that these products have been rigorously tested to ensure quality and relevance.
Building trust in menopause products with rigorous standards
GenM isn’t just about creating visibility; it’s about building confidence and trust. The MTick is not awarded lightly. Boots tested the symbol on over a thousand products, evaluating the offerings through a strict set of criteria, and women can now trust that these products have the effective ingredients they claim on their labels.
“Supplements are a prime example,” Heather shares. “There are countless products on the market, but some don’t deliver what they promise. We want to ensure that women have access to supplements that genuinely contain beneficial levels of nutrients.” The MTick stands for trust, working only with brands committed to supporting the highest standards. Any brand that does not meet these standards risks losing the MTick certification.
“This wasn't about retailers curing the menopause,” Heather stresses. “This is about how can they help us, support us have a better lived experience. We know from our most recent research that more women fear menopause now than they did in 2020. Yet we also know that better prepared you make yourself for menopause, the better experience you're going to have of it. So, we felt that we needed to change the rhetoric.”
Supporting women with diverse needs
GenM emphasises that menopause is a personal journey, unique to each woman, with 48 different menopause signs listed on their website. Not everyone chooses hormone replacement therapy (HRT), and even those who do often seek complementary solutions, such as supplements or lifestyle changes.
GenM’s latest report revealed that 86% of women are looking to add complementary solutions to their menopause journey, while only 14% rely solely on HRT. GenM encourages a personalised approach that lets women choose the solutions that suit their values and health goals.
The MTick is particularly helpful for women who may be taking multiple supplements or medications, especially if they are balancing menopause with other health conditions. GenM is looking at ways to expand the MTick, to include on product labels whether certain items are safe to take with HRT, further simplifying shopping choices.
Changing the narrative: From fear to thriving
Menopause is often spoken about in terms of “symptoms” and “problems,” which is fairly negative language and adds to the narrative around menopause being something to fear.
Heather says Gen M are looking to reframe this as signs of menopause” rather than “symptoms.” This small change in language emphasises that menopause is a life transition. Heather and Sam want women to feel optimistic and empowered through menopause, using words like “erotic,” “athletic,” “unapologetic,” and “energetic” to describe the experience.
Their aim is to shift from a mindset of fear to one of possibility. Heather says, “Only 5% of women feel confident in their menopause, and just 2% feel they’re thriving. GenM is here to change that, to create a future where women are empowered to make informed choices that enable them to live their best menopause.”
The role of retailers and brands in menopause support
The MTick initiative is already gaining traction, with over 120 brands in partnership with GenM, committed to better understanding menopause and supporting women with designated shopping spaces and clearly labelled products. Heather says the role of retailers is essential to provide women with easy access to products that can enhance their quality of life.
“Retailers play a vital part in making today better than yesterday,” she says. “This isn’t about marketing to women; it’s about understanding and supporting them.”
The hope is that as women see their needs respected and represented, their experience of menopause will be improved, not through a single solution, but through a range of thoughtful, supportive choices.
A global change?
While GenM started as a response to Heather and Sam’s personal frustrations, their vision has grown to something much bigger. As well as continuing to grow the MTick in the UK, they ultimately want to make it a globally recognised symbol. With the help of former Olympian and menopause champion, Sally Gunnell, the brand are increasing awareness of their campaign.
As Heather puts it, “No single brand, doctor, or celebrity can change menopause on their own. But together, as a collective, we can—and that’s exactly what GenM is doing.”
Their dedication to meaningful change is set to leave a lasting impact, not only on how women shop for menopause-related products but on how society approaches women’s health as a whole. It’s a simple symbol, but through the MTick, Gen M is set to make a profound impact on women’s menopausal health and wellbeing.
Becky Fuller is a senior digital writer for Yours.co.uk. She is also a fully qualified personal trainer and strength coach, specialising in fitness and wellbeing for over 50s. Prior to joining Yours, Becky was a fitness writer for Saga, and a freelance entertainment and theatre journalist. Becky is passionate about helping people to move well and discover the many benefits of strength training.