Holland & Barrett
Every menopause matters – storytelling to share
If you want to reshape the menopause conversation, who do you ask?
The River Group, of course. As part of a £2m integrated campaign, River’s digital content helped Holland & Barrett reshape the national menopause conversation – making it more inclusive, visible, and empowering.
YouTube became a safe, relatable space
and comments ranged from “Every bit of your story completely resonates” to
“Amen sis!” – proof that the stories we told struck a powerful cultural and emotional chord. And story-telling is at the heart of everything we do.
• +29% YoY sales in menopause products
• A staggering 2069% increase in menopause consultation bookings ; 60% uplift in web traffic
•16% jump in brand search, cementing H&B’s leadership in the wellbeing space
Client need
H&B were the first retailer to launch a free, multi-language menopause consultation service, offering expert advice in Hindi, Urdu, Gujarati and Punjabi. Backed by YouGov data showing that 1 in 2 women from ethnic minority backgrounds feel excluded from current menopause discourse, H&B’s brief was clear: support the Every Menopause Matters campaign by giving voice to real, diverse women and spotlighting underrepresented experiences.ange and reuse text themes, go to Site Styles.
It was the latest collaboration in a partnership with River that’s spanned over two decades – and one of the most meaningful yet.
Creative
Carefully storyboarded and scripted, our aim was to empower – not perform. We created relatable, moving storytelling, with strong hooks and emotional pacing that kept viewers watching, sharing and engaging.
We created a dedicated YouTube playlist, Real Life Stories, featuring four honest, unfiltered menopause journeys: Madhu, Natalie, Zahidah and Rebecca. Warm, conversational, and filmed in a beautifully intimate setting at River’s studios, these interviews allowed each woman to speak candidly about cultural taboos, unexpected symptoms, and the reality of navigating menopause in their communities.