When Menopause is the Mother of Invention with Julie Gordon White of MenoWell Menopause Energy Bars
Show Snapshot:
Meet Julie Gordon White, founder and CEO of MenoWell Menopause Energy Bars, recently named an Oprah Daily Best Menopause product. Julie launched MenoWell in 2020 after struggling with the impacts of menopause on her confidence and body. Now, the naturally sweet, plant-based bars are available across the country on Amazon. Julie hosts the MenoLounge on Instagram to share expert voices and wellness resources and create community to help women #menolikeaboss! We get into plant power, how to serially reinvent, brand building, and the upside of menopause.
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Quotable:
I started thinking how can I feel better in menopause? I started stumbling on the ingredients. I put all that together, I started feeling better. I started losing weight, I started sharing my little concoctions with a few of my girlfriends. And they said, this is your third company.
Transcript:
Katie Fogarty 0:03
Welcome to A Certain Age, a show for women who are unafraid to age out loud. Beauties, I'm excited to introduce you to today's guest. She's a super cool and super fun entrepreneur who's created a menopause product that I love. But first, a quick story. Last year I went for a short hike with my friend Lisa. Let me tell you about hiking on Long Island, Long Island is flat, it's very hard to hike uphill. So we found a hike around the lake, a circle hike around a circle shaped lake, the whole thing was meant to be three and a half miles. Somehow we got lost. All the leaves and trees started looking alike. It was difficult to find the trail markings. We were doubling back, tripling back, scrutinizing every treem saying things like 'we need to keep the lake on our left side, we need to keep the lake on our left side,' over and over again like malfunctioning hiking robots. And so we finally somehow stumbled out of the hike more than three hours and 20,000 steps later. Somehow we turned a three mile loop around the lake into 10 miles of hiking. As we crawled back into the car exhausted, ravenous, I handed Lisa the only food we had. She was like, what is this delicious thing? That delicious thing was a Bossa Bars Menopause Energy Bar, and it was created by today's guest. I am so delighted to welcome to the show Julie Gordon White, a wonderful friend, a former ACA sponsor, and a smart, creative entrepreneur and founder and someone who believes that we can all meno- like a boss. Welcome, Julie.
Julie Gordon White 1:35
Katie, I wish you could see me smiling. Thank you so much. I honestly, I forgot about that story. I need to tell it more often. That is when, when you sent me that picture of you guys, I just smiled ear to ear. I'm glad I saved your lives with a menopause bar, absolutely.
Katie Fogarty 1:51
You know, it's so funny, when I came home that night and told my 15 year old son he's like, how'd you get lost going in a circle? And that is a question for another day.
Julie Gordon White 2:00
I am your sister in navigation. You know, I'm the same thing. I dropped, I used to drop bread crumbs, now I drop Bossa Bars. No, but seriously I'm the same thing. Keep the lake to the left, lake to the left. It still doesn't work.
Katie Fogarty 2:13
I mean, we were like, I'm not kidding when I was like we were like malfunctioning robots. But anyhow, I'm so excited to have you here. I know that Oprah has named Bossa Bars as the best menopause product. I was so happy to see that shout out when it happened.
Julie Gordon White 2:26
Thanks.
Katie Fogarty 2:26
Because this is top of the mountain, Olympic Gold level stuff, right? Getting praise from Oprah is a big deal. But I know full well no entrepreneur starts there, right?
Julie Gordon White 2:36
Yeah.
Katie Fogarty 2:36
So do some quick stage-setting. What made you decide to launch Bossa Bars and bring this product to market?
Julie Gordon White 2:42
Menopause brain. No, I'm just kidding. You know, this actually is my third company. It's, so I'm very entrepreneurial. But this one had a completely different feel. I've been in mergers and acquisitions, I've coached women entrepreneurs on growing multimillion dollar businesses that are sellable. And it was really the time, the pause, if you will, during the pandemic that had me thinking, you know, I want to do something different. And that was all happening in parallel to me feeling terrible at 55, right in the middle of menopause, just my hormones going nuts. I'm craving sugar, like 24/7. You know, my sons came home from school during the pandemic, I'm making them brownies and cookies, I'm eating brownies and cookies, and Katie, you know, I'm 5'1, there's no place for that to go. So I just knew I needed to make a better choice for myself. So I started researching what I could have that would satisfy the cravings. And then I started thinking like, how does this relate? How can I feel better in menopause? And that's when I started stumbling on the ingredients. So I just put all that together, I started feeling better, I started losing weight, I started sharing my little concoctions with a few of my girlfriends who were in our pod at the time. And they said, you know, this is your third company. And I'm like, this is not what I was thinking. And they're like, this is it. And so I said, alright, let's do it, I want to have this conversation. And the funny thing, Katie, is when I started talking to them about creating this bar specifically for menopause and using the word menopause, half of them said don't do it. Don't talk about menopause. Don't put menopause on the bar, even if it does help, you don't need to say that. And that was a big aha moment, if you want to go to the Oprah route, for me because I knew I had to do it then. I knew I had to.
Katie Fogarty 4:37
I love that, like don't tell me no.
Julie Gordon White 4:39
Yeah. Well, yes. Okay, to be honest, right, don't tell me no, because that's like a big huge go sign. But it was also that if there's all of this resistance around a natural life stage, I can be somebody that shines a light on this and help women not just feel better inside their bodies, but feel better in their minds, in their confidence. Like me, I was, my confidence was just struggling and I wanted other women, through this conversation, which now I've really started to call a talking stick for menopause. Because when you have a bar, just like you're talking to your son, you know, you have a bar, then it's gonna say, what is menopause? Why is this a menopause bar? And it opens the whole conversation, which empowers us.
Katie Fogarty 4:40
Yeah, absolutely. So I, you know, I was gonna ask you a question about diving into the ingredients and why it's so delicious, cause I know you include things like dates, and believe me, we're gonna get there. Because I want you to share with our listeners exactly what's in this bar and how it sort of powers energy, uses low sugar, etc. But, you know, this, what you just shared with me, makes me want to ask you about your tagline, which is meno- like a boss. You know, because menopause, as you just shared, is often talked about in negative terms. You got pushback from your friends, because we often focus on the downside, right? Hormonal roller coaster, weight gain, dry vagina, but your tagline, meno- like a boss, really focuses on the positive, you know, you're in charge. Do you feel that menopause, even though you struggled with it initially, has brought positive experience or growth your way?
Julie Gordon White 6:12
100% So first, you have to know me, I'm very much an optimist. I'm on the positive side, I'm always going to find like, I always look at things that are challenging, what is this here to teach me? And so that way, I'm never, this is a harsh word, but not a victim of my circumstances. I can always find, what is the opportunity here? So I find the whole menopausal experience, I'm post-menopause now, to be so empowering, Katie, because your body is screaming at you. Hello, listen to me! You know when you've been taking care of other people, kids, maybe parents, employees, on, on, on, your body is screaming, you must pay attention to me. And to me, that's such a huge gift for women to finally turn inward and listen to what their body is asking them for. And then you start to realize things like when you turn 50, like yes, I'm a badass. I can do what I want, I have time in the saddle, I'm good. You know? So I think the whole thing is amazing, quite frankly, even through hot flashes, night sweats, dry, you know, being dry as the Sahara, like all that yes, I still think it's amazing.
Katie Fogarty 7:24
There's, there's still upside, right. I love that, like everything is really a double sided coin. And so sometimes it's, you know, we are consumed with things that are challenging or hard or all the speed bumps too, but I love this notion of what is this situation trying to teach me? Because there is, there can be upside. And I agree, like all the women who come on the show are, you know, they're either in perimenopause, they're menopausal, they're postmenopausal, because I interview guests that range in age from you know, young 40s to 65 and beyond. And there, there is so much conversation around taking this time of life to focus on what lights you up, what you've been meaning to get to, you, you learn new things and it just changes the way you interact and move in the world. So I do want to ask you, when did you decide? Was it the encouragement of your friends, like when did you decide that this bar that you were creating to kind of fuel yourself, to manage some of the the weight gain that you were dealing with personally, when did you decide it was a bigger story, that this product needed to reach more women and land on more store shelves?
Julie Gordon White 8:34
Yeah, to be honest, in the beginning, I thought this is just going to be a really good food choice for women in midlife and menopause is the great marker for that. And plus, we have a specific ingredient that speaks to menopause. But it was when I started okay, here's the truth, you want the truth?
Katie Fogarty 8:54
Sure, I would, yes.
Julie Gordon White 8:58
Here's the tea.
Katie Fogarty 8:59
Yes.
Julie Gordon White 8:59
I'm going to spill it. And that was my team at the time was saying you need to be visible on Instagram. And honestly, I did not want to do that in the beginning, Katie. I just wanted to create an incredible bar and you know, I don't know what I was thinking. I know better than this as a seasoned entrepreneur, if you build it they will come, is not true. Okay, let's just be real. It's just not true. But I didn't want to leverage, if you will, be out on social media all the time. And they said you have to, because this conversation is even, is way bigger than a bar. You even said that, you know, like menopause like a boss. Like ugh okay, and so once I started doing the Meno Lounge, that's when it really hit me like, you know, a ton of, a pile of organic cacao nibs that this is really important, really important. Women are commenting, women are coming up to me at events saying I saw what you're talking about, thank you for having that expert on the Meno Lounge, thank you for having that woman tell her story, in tears Katie, in tears. And so the more I'm out there talking, and not just on social media, but in person at events at trade shows, if you will, literally women and men coming up and saying, How can I, will this help my wife? Thank you for having this conversation, I thought I was alone. So over time, it just, it built but you know, that initial social media, like wow, women are hungry to talk about this, they're scared.
Katie Fogarty 10:36
Absolutely, absolutely.
Julie Gordon White 10:37
They want to talk, you know this first hand.
Katie Fogarty 10:39
I do know this, I love this. And I love that you recognized the need to sort of elevate the conversation, and to bring information and community to women, and you do that on the Meno Lounge. We're heading into a quick break. Julie, when we come back, I want to talk a little bit more about the Meno Lounge, what it is we can sort of pull our listeners in, and then dive into all the ingredients that you have in your delicious bars.
Julie Gordon White 11:00
Okay, sounds good.
Katie Fogarty 11:01
[AD BREAK]
We're back. Meno Lounge, you were talking about that in the break, how it elevates the conversation around menopause, brings resources. Tell our listeners what the Meno Lounge is and how they can come hang out in it.
Julie Gordon White 11:14
Yeah, all are welcome. And it's every Tuesday, most of the time, at 11am Pacific live on Instagram. And I bring on experts, women like you, Katie, who have been an expert because you're talking to so many women. But I get to tell your story, or you get to tell your story and share your experience. We hear from doctors, we hear from cutting edge products, because I'm of the opinion now, especially, that it takes all of our voices to help women feel empowered in this conversation. So it's a great 30 minutes, although to be honest, sometimes we go 40, 45, because it's just so fun and interesting and juicy. So we talk about everything. That's why, that is the positive side of Instagram. You can just kind of pretty much say whatever.
Katie Fogarty 11:59
Yeah, absolutely.
Julie Gordon White 12:00
We haven't been banned yet, let's put it that way. Why do all menopause conversations lead to the beat? It just happens that way.
Katie Fogarty 12:07
Oh, I know. My friend jokes that like this podcast should be a drinking game where every time I say dry vagina, but you know, we have to have these conversations because you, you touched on it that sometimes women feel alone. A lot of the, what happens in menopause can feel taboo, not always, but sometimes people are uncomfortable talking about the changes in their bodies. They're uncomfortable talking about the changes in how it impacts midlife intimacy, how it impacts their sort of mindset and mental health as you struggle with hormonal -
Julie Gordon White 12:36
Right.
Katie Fogarty 12:36
- hormonal challenges. And so the you know, I'm just of the belief like the more sunshine that we bring to this, you know, this conversation, the less taboo it's going to be eventually. I mean, my daughter, who is now at this point, she's 22, she's editing these transcripts for me for my website. She knows a lot, you know, and my husband listens to every show, and he knows a lot as well. And that's so important because, you know, we don't want to go through menopause alone. We're a part of a family, part of a community, the people who love women and gender expansive people who, you know, who experience menopause due to their, you know, their bodies, need support. So I love that. All right, Julie, tell us what's in these bars. Because I'm not kidding, when Lisa got in that car and popped this in her mouth she was like, how is this thing low sugar? It's so sweet and delicious. And I was able to tell her that there were dates and cacao in it, but I you know, I know those two ingredients. I know you focus on plant based ingredients, that it's high fiber, gluten free, dairy free, it's vegan, etc. So there's a lot of things that aren't in it. Tell us what's in it and how does it power energy?
Julie Gordon White 13:37
You just did a great job. I'm finished, I don't have to say anything now. Thank you, Katie. Well done, well done.
Katie Fogarty 13:42
Well, I've eaten a lot of these bars. So I know, I'm inspired.
Julie Gordon White 13:45
You're hired. Well, of course it depends on the flavor, but really, we start with what we call a menopause trifecta. And that is always going to be maca root. That is our shero ingredient in every single bar. Maca root is Peruvian, it's been around for forever and ever and it's known to help balance blood sugar. And the important thing about balancing your blood sugar is the feeling that you get is a calmer feeling. Less up and down, you know, the emotional aspect of it and then all those things when your blood sugar is high, you know, your sugar cravings go through the roof. So we start with maca. And then from there we go straight to fiber. 29 to 32% of your daily fiber in every single bar from chicory root and that keeps you full. It's a pre and then probiotic, keeps all those good things happening in our gut and keeps you satisfied. So when you eat our bars, they're elegantly sized, so I created them for women, not a big hunking thing like for men, because they're only 150 to 160 calories. That fiber keeps you very, very full and satisfied. And then the third piece of the trifecta of course, is protein. And it's pea protein, because vegan. We know from studies that when you're going through perimenopause, specifically, when you eat a more plant based diet, and don't get me wrong, I love a good hamburger, Katie. But a more, you know -
Katie Fogarty 15:11
Sure.
Julie Gordon White 15:11
- more plant based diet, but still not sacrificing your protein, your experience is going to be calmer, you're gonna, your hot flashes aren't going to be so hot. But that protein, we need that to keep our muscles strong and when we have strong muscles, that's what keeps our metabolism boosted. And that also helps manage weight gain. So it's that trifecta first. That's in every single bar. But then we've got brain fog, right, so how about some MCT oil, and then we've got flaxseed for more fiber and heart health. And then depending on the flavor, you're going to have some blueberries or almonds or cacao, and dates for sweetness. So that's why our bars have zero or one gram of added sugar. Only from dates, no weird stuff, Katie. Plus a little spinach, a little kale, and of course, a little sea slat, because we're a little salty, we need a little salt too. That's the scoop.
Katie Fogarty 16:04
I love it. They're really delicious. And so I know that you have your newest flavor, tell us about that. Because you started off with a chocolate bar that I had and I was like, this tastes like a very thin brownie. I mean, it's like -
Julie Gordon White 16:13
Right.
Katie Fogarty 16:14
- it's quite, it's quite toothsome, as my friend always says. It's very delicious.
Julie Gordon White 16:18
Toothsome, I like it. Of course, we had to start with chocolate, right, everybody wants chocolate, but our new, and then we have toasted vanilla almond, which is our second flavor, which is good. It's just not as strong of flavor. And so sometimes women put a little what I call a schmear of a little bit of their favorite jams, so you can change the flavor if you want doing different little things on top of it. Or if you just like a more subtle flavor that's perfect for you. But our fresh blueberry lemon, can you tell my energy? I'm, I love it. It's like my go to every single day now. Step aside double chocolate brownie, even though I love you, that blueberry lemon, it just has this little brightness to it. And we know how good blueberries are for us in terms of antioxidants. But it's just maybe because it's sunny out now Katie, I don't know, it's just my go to. Here's a little hack, also, if you take either a whole or a half, actually, you need a whole to get the full, the total calculation here. Crumble the blueberry lemon on Greek yogurt, you know, no fat Greek yogurt, you're gonna get 25 grams of protein in like 150 calories plus the whatever you have in the yogurt. So about 220 calories. You got this huge amount of delicious protein that, and you're going to be full way past lunch.
Katie Fogarty 16:25
Yeah, that sounds amazing.
Julie Gordon White 16:36
So it works great for intermitent fasting, first meal if you're intermittent fasting. So that's the tip of the day.
Yeah, I love that. I wouldn't, it would never have occurred to me to crumble up a bar and put it on yogurt but I can see how that totally makes sense, it's like a granola topping. I've had so many guests that have come on, I had Heidi Skolnik, who is a woman who wrote the, I'm forgetting the name of the book right now, but it talks about how you need to have protein in your diet. The average American woman does not get enough protein throughout the course of the day and protein is what builds muscles, which, you know, as you alluded to.
And it keeps you satisfied.
Katie Fogarty 18:10
Right, it keeps you satisfied. But it also builds muscles, which is, which is sort of a fat burning engine. And then allows you, and also we also know we need muscles to have our musculoskeletal health, to support, you know, just sort of daily activity and stuff. So where can people find these bars? I know you sell them on your website. Where would someone who's listening right who's is thinking, I want in, you know, I'm crumbling that on my Greek yogurt, where do they find your bars?
Julie Gordon White 18:33
Well, they can find them on our website at bossabars.com with their, I know our women, we know our women are on Amazon, and they have a box delivered every week. So you can grab them on Amazon. Also, we usually drop a little coupon there for you too. And you can just add to cart and get them with whatever else you're getting that week.
Okay, cool.
Super easy.
Katie Fogarty 18:52
So Julie I know, you know, I know you launched this product during the pandemic, you talked about that. You know, bringing a product to market is challenging period, right. Bringing a product to market during a global pandemic, when there's supply chain interruptions, is even more challenging. I know, women who are listening to the show who are thinking I'd love to launch a company, I've got an idea for a product of my own, you know, what was sort of the biggest challenge you dealt with in getting the bar into the hand of a customer and how did you move your way through it?
Julie Gordon White 19:21
Yeah, great question because it was really sticky. Had I not had 30 years of business experience, I probably would have just thrown in the towel. Because especially, I decide to make, and I used to tell women don't start a product company, start a service company. The margins are much bigger, you know, it's much more profitable, much more room for error. So what do I do? I start a product company in a pandemic. If you know me that's just how I roll but yeah, it was very tricky with supply chain. We were out of stock three times. You know, we had an issue. We had a special greens product that changed because something happened at the farm during the pandemic. Oh boy, I mean all kinds of things, not to mention that it's a very cash intensive business, it's a very complex thing. So, you know, for women, I highly encourage women, especially in midlife, if you have what I would call that whisper to start a business, and I always say, if you have a whisper, that means it's for you. Don't think, don't, don't shush it away, just, you know, get quiet enough to hear what it's about. And if it's about starting a business, 100% go for it. Just surround yourself with people that can help you leapfrog through some of those extra challenging spots. Because quite frankly, when you start a business in midlife, you know, we're not the same as we were in our 20s and 30s, or even 40s. Your energy level is going to be different and the benefit is that we will work smarter and not harder.
Katie Fogarty 20:45
So that's a, you know, I love that point. I know you've launched three companies, you've launched this one, it's a menopause company, it's a menopause brand that you launched, after going through menopause yourself. You just alluded to the fact that you're older but wiser, you know, what role of, if any, did aging play in successfully getting this company up and running? Like, could you have launched this particular company when you were younger?
Julie Gordon White 21:07
Of course, I could but I would have worked a lot harder, I would have done everything myself, you know. And being real, I would have been more ego driven. Because business for me is like a report card. You know, it's like, how well am I doing is based on how much impact am I making. And that is reported in numbers, in dollars. And because I don't start companies that I can't make an impact, they're almost all women focused. So, so when it came to this business, because it really did lead with impact, and in order to create a big impact you have to scale. So that adds a whole nother level of complexity. But our core values in the company, number one is be egoless. Be egoless, which means that if our assistant Laura has the best answer, we're going with what Laura has to do. We're going to surround ourselves with people who have been there, done that. We don't need to figure it out, I don't need to figure every single piece of this out. And that's what's different. And that's why we've been able to scale faster and, you know, cross the country so quickly, because when you, when you've been doing it for a long time, you don't need to be the one anymore. Does that make sense?
Katie Fogarty 22:21
Right. No, and by the way, like you get to a certain age and you're like, I don't want to be the one. Like I don't want to -
Julie Gordon White 22:25
Exaclty.
Katie Fogarty 22:25
- I don't want, like, I don't want to be, you know, the sun where like everything kind of orbits around me. Or like, you know -
Julie Gordon White 22:25
Please, no.
Katie Fogarty 22:26
- you want to, you know, you want partners, you want collaboration, you want to work with people who, so what are some of your other core values? I love that you identify core values for your company, be egoless is one of them. Do you have others that you can share?
Julie Gordon White 22:44
Yes, for, be customer focused. Be results or results oriented and be prepared. Those are our four. So, oh I forgot, we do have a bonus one that Noel added: be fun. That's it. Because and, she said I think we should move that up to number one. I said, okay, right after egoless. Because you know, having fun, especially when you're building a company during a pandemic, it can not be fun some days, let's just be real. So we try to always, we start every team meeting with 10 seconds of goodness, because it's so easy to slip into what's happening with the supply chain, where are those ingredients. We always start with goodness to set the tone to make sure we're having fun, we're celebrating all the good things that are happening, and we care about what's happening in people's lives, too.
Katie Fogarty 23:32
Yeah, I love that. I think, I'm going to share with you something that I do myself because I adore creating this podcast, but it's a lot of work. And there are times sometimes when you're like, am I talking to myself, like is anyone listening, you know?
Julie Gordon White 23:44
Right.
Katie Fogarty 23:45
And you do watch, you know, downloads and engagement and you're sort of constantly measuring and if it's, the numbers aren't moving fast enough, it can feel, you know, just it feels like a constant struggle. And what I've done is I've printed off some of the wonderful Apple podcast reviews that people have taken the time to write about the show and I've hung them on a bulletin board near me. So when there are days when I'm feeling like, ah, you know, when it's all showing up like a lot of work and I'm wondering if it's making an impact, I remind myself that people have taken the time to share the show's has been meaningful for them. And I think that, that just is what inspires me because it reminds me that I'm you know, I'm having conversations that are registering with people and I, you know, I think it's, it's important to remind ourselves because when you're an entrepreneur, we're, like I'm a solopreneur really, I you know, the podcast is sort of a small business of one. You know, you need to sort of fuel your motivation consistently in order to keep going because it's a long race.
Julie Gordon White 24:46
Yes, it is, and businesses a long race. You can, you can exit, you know, sooner than later, but you want to be in it with that idea that this is a long race so you build things properly, you don't cut corners, you can go fast, but you don't want to cut corners, you're building a house of cards. So I love that you are reading, you know, and printed out what people say and the downloads and comments. And yeah, that's why we, that's really why we do this. You know, the other part is a scorecard, those those metrics that you and I are talking about. That's a scorecard. But when I get an email from a customer saying, Thank you so much, I love these, I'm not eating, I won't say what brand of cookies, anymore or this or that, you know. That makes our day and I share that with our team. So we have to continually to, continually remind ourselves on the hard days, this is why I'm doing it. So I'm glad, I'm glad you got that reinforcemnt, Katie.
Katie Fogarty 25:38
Yeah, absolutely. I think, I think a guest had suggested this to me. And I was like, I'm doing that because it's smart. You know, we want to, we want to remind ourselves. So, quick question for you. We talked about the Meno Lounge a little bit. But I'm curious, because we were talking about, you know, hearing from our, our listeners, hearing from the people who use your products, you know, we love to get reviews. You are talking to different women almost every week in the Meno Lounge over on Instagram. I'm curious, what's the most surprising thing that you've learned from a Meno Lounge guest? Or is there something new that you've, that you've picked up that you think you're going to take on for yourself?
Julie Gordon White 26:14
Well, okay, here's, here's, I feel like I'm just spilling all the tea today with you, Katie.
Katie Fogarty 26:18
I love it, go.
Julie Gordon White 26:18
But it's early morning, I'm just going for it. For me, there's been a lot, I of course, I've done tons of research. I'm sort of, I play a nutritionist on the internet now, I say. You know, I could be a nutritionist with all the research I've done. But what has been the big aha's for me have been all around vaginal dryness, quite frankly.
Katie Fogarty 26:39
Yeah.
Julie Gordon White 26:39
And learning more about that. This is kind of a funny thing, somebody put in our customer service chat, are your bars good for vaginal dryness? I'm like, uh -
Katie Fogarty 26:49
No, probably not.
Julie Gordon White 26:50
- yeah, sister, you know, do you but I think it'd be really uncomfortable. Like, just don't go there, you know. But I think because that feels like the most taboo of the taboo -
Katie Fogarty 27:02
Sure.
Julie Gordon White 27:02
- discussing that. And quite frankly, I wasn't having very many conversations about it, I was just kind of managing through things on my own, and not being very successful with it. So I am surprised, I mean, I have never said the word vagina more in my entire life when I started this company, and I thought I was talking about an energy bar mostly.
Katie Fogarty 27:22
Right.
Julie Gordon White 27:22
But so really, what was surprising to me is all of the conversations of women, how they've been struggling alone, in silence, in pain, and all the solutions that are available. And I learned so much for myself too. My husband's like, ooh, good job, keep doing that, I like it.
Katie Fogarty 27:41
Oh, my God, I literally joke about the fact, I had Christine Marie Mason from Rosebud Woman on the show, which is a wonderful line of luxury based, sort of plant based organic, you know, skincare products. And she's got something called the honor balm, which you can use like to manage your cuticles or your like dry elbows, but you can also use it as a lube. And when I started using this, my husband was like, what is this magical substance? And I was like, thank you Christine Marie Mason, you know? So we have to share information and products and, you know, tips and hacks and information and resources that make a difference in our lives because it impacts people.
Julie Gordon White 28:20
It does, its big impact on your life when your intimate life is no longer working the way it used to and you don't know what to do about it.
Katie Fogarty 28:27
Absolutely. So Rosebud Women people, honor balm, this is not an ad, this is not sponsored. You know, I'm a super fan. Julie, we're heading into our speed round. Our time together is about to wrap. I've loved having you on the show. I loved reminiscing of that like crazy story of my getting lost going in a circle. I'm hoping it's not a metaphor for life. But I want to close with this round. It's quick one to two word answers to questions so can end on a high energy note. Are you ready?
Julie Gordon White 28:57
All right, let's do it.
Katie Fogarty 28:58
Let's do it. Okay, launching Bossa Bars was:
Julie Gordon White 29:02
Exciting.
Katie Fogarty 29:03
I reach for this flavor Bossa Bar again and again:
Julie Gordon White 29:08
Blueberry, love it!
Katie Fogarty 29:09
I would love to see Bossa Bars on the shelf of this store:
Julie Gordon White 29:14
Target.
Katie Fogarty 29:15
Oh, yes. Go for it. Okay, Dream guests, dream guests for the Meno Lounge:
Julie Gordon White 29:20
Of course, Oprah.
Katie Fogarty 29:22
Yes. I know, I love that she came out and shared her menopause story.
Julie Gordon White 29:26
Right? Just recently, how exciting. Drew Barrymore, also. Can I have the two of them together? That'd be amazing.
Katie Fogarty 29:32
Okay, yes, double the dream. Why not? Entrepreneurship is a roller coaster. This lifestyle choice or activity keeps me calm:
Julie Gordon White 29:42
Is there a question in there?
Katie Fogarty 29:45
What keeps you calm?
Julie Gordon White 29:45
What is the thing that keeps me calm? Meditation.
Katie Fogarty 29:50
Meditation, nice. Bossa Bars is one of many fabulous menopause brands that's been created to help women navigate the pause. What's another company or product that's helped you navigate menopause?
Julie Gordon White 30:03
Oh goodness. To be honest, there's so many. I get to try everything. I am enjoying Osea oil right now. O-S-E-A oil. Am I saying it right? It's an algae based oil. I've loved State of Menopause, I love Stripes, I've loved Kindra, like there's so many, Care Beauty serum. Oh, Care Beauty underneath the things every morning. Katie, you're putting me in a bad spot, that's not one or two words but all -there's so many incredible - try them all. That's what I say, find the one that works for you.
Katie Fogarty 30:35
Phenomenal, I'm putting all of those in the shownotes. Finally, Julie, your one word answer to complete this sentence, as I age I feel:
Julie Gordon White 30:44
Empowered.
Katie Fogarty 30:45
Nice.
Julie Gordon White 30:46
Absolutely.
Katie Fogarty 30:47
I love it. Thank you so much. Before we say goodbye, how can our listeners find you, find Bossa Bars, and learn how to tune in for the Meno Lounge?
Julie Gordon White 30:55
Oh, thanks for having me, Katie. They can find us at bossabars.com. They can find us on Amazon and on Instagram. You can find the Meno Lounge at @bossabarsformenopause and just click on the reels tab. You'll see all the recordings I think at this time. We're about 50 episodes in.
Katie Fogarty 31:13
Love it. This wraps A Certain Age, a show for women who are aging without apology. Before we say goodbye, two quick things. A thank you to everyone who's taken time to write an Aple podcast review, I see and appreciate you. And as I shared, I'm printing them out and hanging them on my bulletin board. And come follow the podcast sister account over on Instagram. You can find it at @letsageoutloud. That account spotlights even more stories of women making the most of midlife. Have a story that you want to share? Please head over to @letsageoutloud to submit it, we would love to feature you. Special thanks to Michael Mancini who composed and produced our theme music. See you next time and until then, age boldly beauties.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai