A new Canadian company created by two women, wants women to have better sex lives. Intimate Wellbeing is the brainchild of co-founders Cassandra Redding and Leah Fischer. What they created stems from a search for a sexual wellness site that resonated with women of their age and demographic (50+). They were also looking for a credible site that had the answers to the questions they were asking. Where do you find answers about menopausal changes and sex? Which vibrators and lubricants are best for midlife women? Intimate Wellbeing wants midlife women to feel empowered about their sexual health.
In September 2022, Redding and Fischer launched their site with a mission of making women’s intimate well-being more approachable and accessible. Although the site is e-commerce, selling sex toys and lubricants, much of the founder’s time is spent fostering their community. The duo knew they needed professionals to help address the important sexual health topics they wanted to cover, so they began building relationships with sexual therapists, pelvic floor specialists, gynecologists, and other sexual health professionals.
Now every month, they host free sexual health webinars covering topics that include hormonal changes, vaginal dryness, loss of libido, sexual pain, communication in the bedroom, and more.
Some of the Intimate Wellbeing community experts include Dr. Lori Botto, professor of gynecology at the University of British Columbia and author of Better Sex Through Mindfulness, Dr. Melanie Altas, UBC, Dr. Carolin Klein and Dr. Jason Winters of West Coast Centre for Sex Therapy, and Shirley Weir, founder of menopausechicks.com.
Redding and Fischer are making it their mission to be the conduit – linking the midlife woman to the knowledge and resources she needs. According to a national survey by Shoppers Drug Mart, “less than one in ten Canadian women have a full understanding of what ‘sexual wellness’ is, with almost two out of five women being unable or unwilling to define the term.”
While creating the site and community, the ambitious Okanagan-born pair had another project of pleasure formulating. They realized just how toxic some personal lubricants are and wanted to offer something better on their site. Okanagan Joy is an all-natural, Canadian-made lubricant, formulated for women.
To gain organic exposure in a highly competitive marketplace (where their ads are repeatedly rejected by Meta (Facebook and Instagram), they are relying on word-of-mouth and pumping samples at trade shows. “Want to try the best water-based lube?”, they ask, because they know, according to the Journal of Sexual Medicine, that women are “85% more likely to have an orgasm when they use a lubricant.”
None other than the Harvard Health Letter declared that “Sex is important to health. It revs up metabolism and may boost the immune system. Frequent sexual intercourse is associated with reduced heart attack risk.” But if that is true, why don’t doctors write “more sex” on a prescription pad at preventive care visits?
Intimate Wellbeing wants to spread the word that having great sex helps you live longer. It is a proven fact.
Visit www.intimatewellbeing.com for more information.