• by Les Luchter , April 16, 2024

Telehealth services, a curated D2C shopping portal and educational materials -- supported by testimonials from actress Niecy Nash-Betts -- come together in Kenvue’s new menopause platform Versalie.

Or should we say “brand”?

Kenvue, the consumer health spinoff from Johnson & Johnson, has declared Versalie to be the first “virtual brand” in the company’s history -- putting it on an equal basis with such physical brands as Aveeno,^, Band-Aid, Listerine, Neutrogenaand Tylenol.

Physical brands, of course, make an obvious contribution to Kenvue’s bottom line through product sales.

So Marketing Daily asked Purvi Farahi, Kenvue’s global head of self care, how Kenvue plans to monetize Versalie. “We are unable to disclose additional details on this at this time,” she responded.

Versalie’s telehealth and shopping aspects do bring in dollars, of course, but what share goes to Kenvue will be key.

Telehealth, provided through Wheel, costs $92 for the first visit with a healthcare professional (HCP), and $54 for follow-ups. If the HCP issues a medical prescription, Farahi says, “people will be able to choose the fulfilment method…whether that's pickup at their local pharmacy or shipped to home.”

The shopping section now offers some 60 products, mostly supplements and skincare products, with about two-thirds of them being non-Kenvue brands.

Kenvue spent “more than three years researching and analyzing products already on the market to curate an extensive shop…for a wide range of menopause symptoms,” Farahi explains.

Niecy Nash-Betts, meanwhile, has been busy garnering consumer awareness of Versalie in a campaign titled “Last Period."

This includes sharing her personal menopause story with such publications as People, to whom she revealed, “I was literally on the red carpet with Tabitha Brown and Vivica Fox. We all started getting hot at the same time and I was like, ‘I got you. Go to this website.’”

“I’m proudly teaming up to launch the new digital platform @Versalie, igniting a conversation about the journey surrounding your last period, AKA #menopause,” Nash-Betts posted on Instagram and TikTok. “There’s no need to go through this alone – support, empowerment and a deeper understanding of your body is just a click away…. Learn with expert articles, shop for menopause symptom relief and receive 1:1 guidance through virtual care services by menopause-trained clinicians, all in one place!”

Nash-Betts will also be featured in paid media, Farahi says, as part of “ongoing digital, social, editorial and programmatic campaigns working in tandem throughout the year.”