‘The Hills’ alum Lo Bosworth was ‘made fun of’ for launching a vaginal health brand. Now it’s sold in Walmart

– World of wellness. Seven years ago, Lo Bosworth launched her brand Love Wellness. Bosworth was best known for appearing on the reality TV series Laguna Beach and The Hills as a teen. Her brand’s first products were for vaginal health. Headlines like “Reality TV star sells vaginal health treatments” didn’t make for an easy debut.

“It was not an immediate success,” Bosworth recalls now. “The media was confused. The brand was made fun of and I was made fun of.”

But they don’t get made fun of anymore. The brand has expanded its assortment from vaginal health products—which it always intended to support gut health—to other popular wellness products like probiotics, sleep aids, and antibloating pills. Love Wellness’s products are sold for around $25 a bottle in Ulta, Target, and as of last month, 1,650 Walmart stores.

Love Wellness employs about 45 people. The startup raised a $4 million Series A round in 2019 and $20 million in 2021. Bosworth, who started as a solo operator in her living room, stepped down as CEO earlier this year. She brought on Maria Dempsey, the former CEO of Nest and and alum of Lancôme and Clarins, to replace her.

Courtesy of Love Wellness

As the brand has expanded, Bosworth has learned about the power of retail shelves. “When you provide women with the products they really need, in a place in the store where they’re not embarrassed to be, you will see the results you’re hoping for,” she says. Love Wellness’s products are sold in the natural beauty aisle at Target and the digestive health aisle at Walmart. “If you go into the condom or tampon aisle, you’re running in and out—it’s not a place you want to stay to hang out,” she adds. “But in a different part of the store where you’re more comfortable picking up products and reading labels, you’re much more open to discovery.”

Starting a brand was Bosworth’s own form of personal discovery. “I was trying to transition away from the entertainment industry,” she says. She moved from California, where the TV shows she appeared on were filmed, to New York. She found her “sweet spot” as the founder and operator of a consumer brand. “In the entertainment industry, you never know when your next job is going to come. It’s very hard to be the master of your own destiny,” she says. “When you do something like what I’m doing now, it’s a much different story.”

Seeing other wellness brands dip their toes into the more stigmatized women’s health space where Love Wellness started has been rewarding for Bosworth, especially after experiencing so much skepticism at first. Then there are the vaginal health-focused startups like Evvy and Uqora. “I’m relieved we were so early to the category,” she says.

Emma Hinchliffe
[email protected]
@_emmahinchliffe

The Broadsheet is Coins2Day’s newsletter for and about the world’s most powerful women. Today’s edition was curated by Joseph Abrams. Subscribe here.

ALSO IN THE HEADLINES

- Sales synergy. Slack CEO Lidiane Jones is debuting a sales-specific edition of the workplace communication platform that will make it easier for users to use Slack and Sales Cloud, the trademark product of Slack parent company Salesforce, together. It's part of her strategy to integrate the two platforms. Bloomberg

- VC exodus. Pandemic-induced hiring sprees brought an influx of women into venture capital positions in Europe. Now, amid complaints of unfair standards and a sluggish investing environment, many women are leaving their positions. Sifted

- Bonus track. Two trucking companies have spent 24 weeks carrying the equipment needed for Taylor Swift’s colossal Eras Tour. Swift showed her appreciation by giving the truck drivers $100,000 bonus checks with handwritten notes; they usually receive bonuses between $5,000 and $10,000. CNN

- Call it a comeback. Simone Biles, and USA Gymnastics at large, will return in full stride this week after a period of uncertainty engulfed the star gymnast and the program as a whole. Sponsors fled the team in the aftermath of sexual abuse scandals, but yesterday Nike announced a new, record sponsorship deal with the gymnastics federation, which will host Biles for her first competition since her rocky 2021 Olympics. Wall Street Journal

MOVERS AND SHAKERS: Stuart Kronauge has been appointed CEO of Miyoko's Creamery. Kristina Omari has joined Wheel as chief financial officer. At Kinaxis, Megan Paterson is the new chief operating officer, and Amber Pate is now chief human resources officer.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

- Poverty to presidency. Xóchitl Gálvez, who went from street vendor to Mexican senator, is winning over voters as she attempts to upset Mexico’s race for president. Her likely opponent, Mexico City Mayor Claudia Scheinbaum, was expected to win by a landslide before Gálvez’s popularity surged. Wall Street Journal

- Up for debate. The fallout from Bud Light’s marketing campaign with trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney hurt the company’s profits and cost it hundreds of jobs. Now the company is vowing to stay away from any controversy. “People want to enjoy their beer without a debate,” AB InBev CEO Michael Doukeris said this week, adding that Bud Light's parent would stick to less-debated topics like sports and music. Wall Street Journal

- Jennette knows best. Jennette McCurdy's memoir, I'm Glad My Mom Died, made the bestseller list for the 51st time this week, and she's taking her year of literary fame on with open arms. The onetime iCarly star now thinks of herself predominantly as a writer and is working on a new novel. New York Times

ON MY RADAR

Does IUD insertion really have to be so painful? Vogue

How wedding giant The Knot pulled the veil over advertisers’ eyes Forbes

The tragedy of being a new mom in America Wall Street Journal

PARTING WORDS

"If they see our shirts some place and somebody knows a Linda, we give them a card."

—Linda Gray, a member of the L.I.N.D.A. Club, a group for women named Linda. It's trying to recruit some younger members.