What does the future of femtech look like?

Tech forecasting agency, Ultra Violet Futures has launched a report outlining what it predicts will be the new futures in Femtech for 2023

The femtech industry is set to rise to be a $1.186 trillion global market by 2027. As an emerging sector, it is also poised to expand by adopting new and exciting technology such as techceuticals, virtual clinics or metaverses. The report by Ultraviolet focuses on four key future trends in femtech and what these may look like in 2023. Including Working across the 4 macro trends of Hybrid Health, Enhanced Therapies, Well-th Economy, and Radical Inclusivity 2.0.

So what does this mean for femtech companies looking to enter the market and strength their position?

FemTech World examines the new trends and technologies that are set to shape the industry for 2023

Real artificial worlds

The rise in metauniverses and VR experiences have highlighted a desire to go beyond technology and place ourselves within virtual worlds. This is only set to continue as companies such as Facebook, or Meta as it is called now, move to position themselves within artificial worlds or build their own.

Although so far, the worlds are limited to very basic experiences such as entering stores to purchase products that then appear at your door in real-time. However, there is a growing movement to see how this could be taken beyond the 2D into real touch much the way that sound and vision are already incorporated.

Meta has already begun developing a product for this called ReSkin. This is an open-source touch-sensing ‘skin’ which has created in collaboration with Carnegie Mellon University. It is aimed at helping researchers to advance their AI’s tactile-sensing skills quickly and at scale. It should produce enough data to help advance AI in a wide range of touch-based tasks including object classification, proprioception, and robotic grasping.

What would this mean for femtech companies?

Introducing a softer touch or interactive experience to healthcare could be a game-changer. As we introduce more senses into the virtual experience then it ceases to become a sterile environment. It could help to build a complete experience for the patient where they can feel relaxed, at home in their own surroundings but with full access to a complete health check-up or experts.

But are patients ready for this?

After two years of pandemic Zoom appointments says, well, yes. In a recent study, 78 per cent of consumers said when interacting with people online, they ‘missed the ability to physically touch or interact with them.’ While the metaverse may only be emerging as a potentially viable opportunity for brands, it could be vital that companies assess new alternative methods of reaching their audience – on or offline.

Radical inclusivity

This has already started within health and femtech with more companies leading the charge in inclusive language, apps, marketing and healthcare.

There has been a huge gap in the market for products that acknowledge the fluidity of gender and the limits that ‘his or her’ tech devices can have. Companies particularly in the femtech, period care or sextech industries have already introduced gender-neutral language, non-gendered toys or even marketing that is non-gender biased.

Studies show that women make up only a quarter of tech developers in the market which may explain why female tech developers are embracing inclusivity in their companies. A glass ceiling needs to be properly smashed for everyone not just one sector.

By embracing other minority groups within the products, femtech designers are addressing needs that are generally not catered for with mainstream concepts. One example of this is FEWE’s marketing campaign around transmen who experience periods and need menstrual care products. Their slogan instantly sets the tone: ‘female-founded cycle care for every phase, for everybody.’

In addressing this, the gender pain or data gap becomes smaller as we begin to learn more.

New future for women in femtech

The report also noted that femtech companies are more inclined to embrace flexible working patterns which can help women with reaching their life goals.

It acknowledged that women were being overlooked by policymakers when it came to professional or familial support. This meant a ‘mass exodus of women from the workplace’ that has a knock-on effect on the gender pay or data gap. The results mean more men in board rooms than women.

The pandemic has forced creative thinking around schedules and normalcy in our careers but this is slowly moving back to a nine to five in office model post-lockdown. Femtech companies are determined to drive action-orientated change that aims to find a solution.

One great example is Carrot fertility, a female-founded tech that allows employees to request fertility coaching at their jobs. The benefits of fertility coaching are thought to be better stress or anxiety management and also reduced costs. But it can be simple such as flexible working times for mums or hybrid working for pregnant workers. Other innovative solutions could also mean breast milk shipping services for working mothers.