Jackie's Take: What's on My Mind in Women's Wellness ✍️ 🤔 📰 

This MLM brand targeted midlife women — and then vanished 👻 

Let’s talk about Modere.

If you’ve ever been served an Instagram ad promising “hormone balance,” collagen that makes you glow, or a side hustle that could replace your corporate salary —you’ve probably brushed up against Modere.

They built a $200M wellness empire targeting women—then abruptly shut down in April with just three hours’ notice, halted orders mid-checkout, and left behind a vague goodbye message on their website.

So what happened? And what does it say about how women in midlife are being marketed to in 2025?

I did the deep dive so you don’t have to. Here’s what I think you should know:

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🔍 What Was Modere?

• MLM (multi-level marketing) brand selling collagen, supplements, and “clean” home goods

• Known for its Liquid BioCell collagen and a supplement line for hormonal health called Project 23 (later rebranded Ova).

• Fueled by pandemic-era wellness anxiety and the rise of social selling, Modere helped many savvy influencers generate millions by marketing collagen and hormone balance like it was skincare.

🚩 Why Did Modere Collapse?

Short version: Financial mismanagement + legal drama + trust erosion.

• Massive debt taken on by private equity owners who refinanced during their pandemic boom.

• Top distributors left and CEO stepped down

• Ongoing lawsuits: trademark infringement, breach of contract, and illegal poaching allegations.

• Regulatory heat: The FTC and other watchdogs flagged Modere for deceptive health and income claims—especially around women’s hormone health.

• Consumer trust broke when their “hormone-balancing” promises unproven, unregulated, and potentially illegal.

⚠️ What Made This Personal (As a Clinician)

Modere’s marketing made claims its supplements could help with:

For example, in Fall 2023 Modere unveils a “Body Transformation System” with new weight-loss products Curb and Sculpt to capitalize on the craze for GLP-1 (Ozempic-like) solutions​.

We’ve all been targeted with these promises, right?

But here’s the truth: No clinical trials. No FDA approval. Just bold marketing wrapped in midlife pain points.

When I see brands like this making wild claims without data, I get angry. Not because they’re popular, but because they’re profitable at the expense of women who deserve better.

🧠 Clinical Insights & Takeaways

1. Supplements aren’t hormone therapy.
If it can be sold on Instagram without a prescription, it’s not “balancing” your hormones.

2. Midlife women are the new gold rush in wellness.
Our challenges are real. So is our spending power. Brands know this — and some exploit it.

3. Real hormone optimization isn’t trending. It’s nuanced.
👉️ It’s why I created this newsletter: to speak to you like the grown women you are, and bring you what’s real. You will never get dumbed-down listicle content here such as, “5 Tips to Manage Menobelly”. You deserve better than that.

🏇 My Take: Why This Matters for You

Modere’s collapse isn’t just a business story — it’s a cultural wellness cautionary tale.

It’s what happens when marketing outpaces medicine. This is not to say that their products did not work for some women. But when we invest our time, trust, and dollars into unproven powders and pills as first-line therapy, we have to ask: what are we trading away? Are we postponing the care we actually need — clinical, contextual, personalized — in exchange for a branded placebo?

💡 So…How Do We Do Better?

Here are some suggestions for how to vet your wellness products:

✅ Email the wellness company and ask them to: “Show me your data”.
✅ Look for clinician-backed, not influencer-hyped.
✅ Don’t confuse brand polish with product efficacy.
❌ Be skeptical of big claims tied to vague “hormone support.”
❌ Shift from trying to tracking — Set a 90 day rule and pick one thing to optimize. If the product is not delivering a clear benefit by then, out it goes.

Want me to keep digging into the biggest trends (and traps) in midlife wellness?
Hit reply and tell me what brand, product, or buzzword you want me to break down next!

Until next week,
Jackie

The Tea: What's Trending in Women's Wellness & Culture 🍵 🛍️ 

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🩸📆 Why You Should Rethink Your Period App Period tracking apps are popular with midlife women—but experts warn they may compromise privacy and expose sensitive data to third parties. What looks like harmless tech could carry serious legal and reproductive risks.(MDLinx)

🖐️ 👄 Turns Out, Your Body Is Built for Pleasure Touch is more complex than we thought—especially in areas like the genitals, lips, and nipples, which are packed with nerve endings tuned to specific vibrations (including from sex toys). It’s a literal pleasure map, backed by science. For more, see this LinkedIn breakdown from Chelsey Moss and Steve Ardire here. (Quanta Magazine)

The Group Chat Edit 📲 👯‍♂️ 

🎧 Listen: Robyn Radio on Spotify. Think Call Your Girlfriend vibes—nostalgic, underground, very 2015, and exactly what you needed. 🎵📻️ 

📖 Read: In How to Giggle, Hannah Berner and Paige DeSorbo turn their signature blend of humor and honesty into a guide for surviving adulthood without losing your mind—or your sense of humor. 😁 👭 

📲 To Follow: @labmuffinbeautyscience for the real science behind your fave cosmetics and beauty treatments💄💇 

👄 To Buy: This Viva la Vulva wallpaper would be so fun for a bathroom 🧻 

FSH: Facts, Snacks & Hacks 🥨

✅ Fact: Women make approximately 80% of healthcare decisions for their families and control up to 80% of all U.S. healthcare spending. (📚 Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Women's Bureau)

🥨 Snack: For Easter, I made this Air Fryer Artichoke Salad with Lemon Parm Dressing. It was delicious, easy and held up in the fridge for a few days. Just make sure to use artichokes in water and not in oil.

💡Hack: I’ve been keeping an eye on Sheer Health. It’s a free service that syncs with your insurance to decode your benefits and handle tricky claims—especially helpful if you’re sick of surprise copays and prior auth headaches for women’s health meds.