Heather Jackson, Sam Simister (GenM)

Source: GenM

Heather Jackson (l) and Sam Simister launched GenM in 2021 to improve awareness of the menopause across retail

Morrisons has become the latest major supermarket to commit to partner with menopause awareness platform GenM.

GenM was founded in 2021 by Heather Jackson, former chair of the Northern Superchargers cricket team, and Sam Simister, a former executive at Innocent Drinks, to better serve the 15.5 million menopausal women in the UK.

The network works with grocers and brands to improve the visibility of products that are recognised as being beneficial for women going through the menopause. It has developed the MTick shopping symbol, which highlights menopause-friendly products on shelves.

By partnering with GenM, Morrisons has committed to roll the MTick into stores and online, and is reviewing its range with a view to stocking more menopause-friendly products “as soon as possible”.

Sainsbury’s was the first to commit to join GenM in October. However, it’s yet to formally implement significant changes in store. It was followed by Tesco in February, which launched dedicated menopause concessions in stores, which displayed the MTick alongside a selection of 450 cross-category products.

GenM also works with a growing network of retailers including Holland & Barrett and Boots, to improve the menopause experience across their operations, from the SKUs they stock to the experience of staff and customers. The platform also previously worked with Co-op.

Jackson previously told The Grocer in a January 2023 interview that encouraging the big supermarkets to join the network would be crucial for the menopause becoming “normalised” across the industry.

“It is a very proud moment for us to welcome Morrisons to the GenM collective of almost 100 partners,” Jackson said.

“Like Morrisons, all of our partners are committed to improving the menopause experience for all, including how we search, source and shop with trust for menopause products. It is testament to how deeply felt the need for change is that we are now partnered with almost all of the UK’s top supermarkets.

“We are excited to work closely with Morrisons to bring real change to ‘the change’ and we call on more retailers to follow this lead and take the menopausal audience seriously,” she added. 

Morrisons senior buying manager Michael Figg said: “We are delighted to join GenM as a partner. We have seen the work GenM is doing to transform the menopause and we are proud to be part of this change.

“At Morrisons we want to play our part in making menopause support as visible and easily accessible as possible for our customers. We look forward to working with GenM to designate more space to menopause and to implement the MTick in-store and online.”