Women are talking about menstrual cycle syncing on TikTok. You’d be hard-pressed to find any brands adding to the conversation, particularly in sports. Iris’s Samaneh Zamani explores.In 2024, more than 50 million women are tracking their periods using various period-tracking apps, according to The University of Sydney. As the wellness movement grows among Gen Z and peer-to-peer conversations break taboos, topics like menstrual health are gaining momentum. Google Trends data shows that interest in “cycle syncing” has increased by 124% year-on-year, underscoring curiosity about female physiology. Communities are gathering around this phenomenon, but, particularly in sports, there is little acknowledgment. Of course, brand involvement in women’s sports often falls short anyway. The traditionally male-dominated health, wellness, and sports space has exposed a glaring lack of understanding and empathy for the nuanced needs of everyday sportswomen. Where sports brands are busy telling women that there’s no winning without grit, their target demographic is unearthing social content about how to optimize their lives around fluctuating energy levels across all 28 days (on average) of their menstrual cycle.This is most notable on social media, where women are experimenting and educating each other on the impact of hormones on their performance and lifestyles, with barely any sustained contributions from brands. On TikTok alone, the hashtag “cycle syncing” has over 500 million views, according to TikTok data, demonstrating the power of community-driven education and the grassroots nature of this trend.It’s remarkable how women are stepping up to share and learn from each other, but it raises an important question: why are they forced to turn to TikTok for advice on something so fundamental? The lack of credible, science-backed resources from brands leaves a clear gap in the conversation - one that trusted organizations could and should fill.There have, in the past, been attempts by brands to understand the impact of the female cycle on performance. Millions of women use period-tracking apps, and the likes of Nike, Alo Yoga and Whoop have all dipped their toe in the water but failed to dive in for any sustained length of time. In 2021, Nike launched NikeSync, “a workout collection for people with periods, helping you train to the key phases of your menstrual cycle.” It included workouts tailored to each stage, audio-guided runs, and advice from elite female athletes. However, after winning a Cannes Lions Grand Prix that year, it was quietly dropped. Meanwhile, many women remain uneasy about the data privacy risks tied to period-tracking apps, particularly in regions like the US, where abortion laws have heightened fears of data misuse.The more recent groundswell of ‘cycle syncing’ strategies has been almost exclusively community-driven. Search the term on TikTok, and you’ll find streams of women offering workout recommendations for each stage of how hormones fluctuate during the month and what that means for body and mind. These content creators are opening up about the power of being kind and listening to what the female body needs. Before and after pictures highlight the positive impacts it’s had on their fitness. The volume of knowledge sharing based on personal trial and error and experimentation is quite extraordinary. But what’s even more extraordinary is how brands are entirely missing from this conversation. We’ve seen little to no effort to drive research, educate women, and offer easy access to resources. Instead, we see one-off campaigns like NikeSync and a tide of innovation and communication that only helps women manage their physical periods during activity. It’s about time brands realized there is a huge opportunity to engage with and develop products and resources curated to the specific and nuanced needs of women who exercise and play sports. A study titled Invisible Sportswomen: The Sex Data Gap in Sport and Exercise Science Research by Cowley, Olenick, McNulty, and Ross analyzed over 5,200 publications from six sport and exercise journals published between 2014 and 2020, finding that only 6% focused exclusively on women, while just 34% of the total participants were women. At our recent Game Changers event, we explored the growing trend of cycle syncing and highlighted its increasing significance. One of our speakers, Kirby Akindeinde, a women’s fitness coach and founder of BKA Club, commented: “Brands need to recognize the scale of this movement. Women are driving this change themselves, and there’s a real opportunity for brands to support, educate, and innovate in meaningful ways.”Imagine wearable tech that integrates hormonal insights into personalized fitness advice or subscription services offering coaching and tailored products. The possibilities are endless, but brands must take the first step.With major events like the Rugby Six Nations in March, the NCAA European Basketball Championships in the same month, the Rugby World Cup in August, and the Euros in July 2025 is set to be a watershed year for women’s sports. These moments present an incredible opportunity for brands—not just those in sports—to step up and support women in ways that go beyond the surface.It’s not enough to celebrate achievements on the pitch, court, or track. Brands need to move past one-off sponsorships and short-lived campaigns and instead commit to genuine, ongoing support that reflects the unique needs and experiences of women athletes and active women everywhere.By focusing on education, innovation, and resources tailored to female physiology, brands can play a vital role in driving change - helping to create a culture that allows women to perform at their best, whether they’re competing on the global stage or working out closer to home.To read more about cycle syncing and how brands should get involved, download the Iris Game Changers report here.Read more opinion on The Drum.Continue the conversation with Samaneh here.

Why are women forced to turn to TikTok for menstrual advice? Where are the brands?

But what’s even more extraordinary is how brands are entirely missing from this conversation. Women are talking about menstrual cycle syncing on TikTok. You’d be hard-pressed to find any brands adding to the conversation, particularly in sports. Iris’s Samaneh Zamani explores. A study titled Invisible Sportswomen: The Sex Data Gap in Sport and Exercise Science […]

But what’s even more extraordinary is how brands are entirely missing from this conversation. Women are talking about menstrual cycle syncing on TikTok. You’d be hard-pressed to find any brands adding to the conversation, particularly in sports. Iris’s Samaneh Zamani explores.

A study titled Invisible Sportswomen: The Sex Data Gap in Sport and Exercise Science Research by Cowley, Olenick, McNulty, and Ross analyzed over 5,200 publications from six sport and exercise journals published between 2014 and 2020, finding that only 6% focused exclusively on women, while just 34% of the total participants were women. With major events like the Rugby Six Nations in March, the NCAA European Basketball Championships in the same month, the Rugby World Cup in August, and the Euros in July 2025 is set to be a watershed year for women’s sports. These moments present an incredible opportunity for brands—not just those in sports—to step up and support women in ways that go beyond the surface.Read more opinion on The Drum.Meanwhile, many women remain uneasy about the data privacy risks tied to period-tracking apps, particularly in regions like the US, where abortion laws have heightened fears of data misuse.By focusing on education, innovation, and resources tailored to female physiology, brands can play a vital role in driving change – helping to create a culture that allows women to perform at their best, whether they’re competing on the global stage or working out closer to home.At our recent Game Changers event, we explored the growing trend of cycle syncing and highlighted its increasing significance. One of our speakers, Kirby Akindeinde, a women’s fitness coach and founder of BKA Club, commented: “Brands need to recognize the scale of this movement. Women are driving this change themselves, and there’s a real opportunity for brands to support, educate, and innovate in meaningful ways.”Continue the conversation with Samaneh here.It’s about time brands realized there is a huge opportunity to engage with and develop products and resources curated to the specific and nuanced needs of women who exercise and play sports. This is most notable on social media, where women are experimenting and educating each other on the impact of hormones on their performance and lifestyles, with barely any sustained contributions from brands. On TikTok alone, the hashtag “cycle syncing” has over 500 million views, according to TikTok data, demonstrating the power of community-driven education and the grassroots nature of this trend.Where sports brands are busy telling women that there’s no winning without grit, their target demographic is unearthing social content about how to optimize their lives around fluctuating energy levels across all 28 days (on average) of their menstrual cycle.To read more about cycle syncing and how brands should get involved, download the Iris Game Changers report here.It’s remarkable how women are stepping up to share and learn from each other, but it raises an important question: why are they forced to turn to TikTok for advice on something so fundamental? The lack of credible, science-backed resources from brands leaves a clear gap in the conversation – one that trusted organizations could and should fill.In 2024, more than 50 million women are tracking their periods using various period-tracking apps, according to The University of Sydney. As the wellness movement grows among Gen Z and peer-to-peer conversations break taboos, topics like menstrual health are gaining momentum. Google Trends data shows that interest in “cycle syncing” has increased by 124% year-on-year, underscoring curiosity about female physiology. Communities are gathering around this phenomenon, but, particularly in sports, there is little acknowledgment. These content creators are opening up about the power of being kind and listening to what the female body needs. Before and after pictures highlight the positive impacts it’s had on their fitness. The volume of knowledge sharing based on personal trial and error and experimentation is quite extraordinary. We’ve seen little to no effort to drive research, educate women, and offer easy access to resources. Instead, we see one-off campaigns like NikeSync and a tide of innovation and communication that only helps women manage their physical periods during activity. It’s not enough to celebrate achievements on the pitch, court, or track. Brands need to move past one-off sponsorships and short-lived campaigns and instead commit to genuine, ongoing support that reflects the unique needs and experiences of women athletes and active women everywhere.Imagine wearable tech that integrates hormonal insights into personalized fitness advice or subscription services offering coaching and tailored products. The possibilities are endless, but brands must take the first step.The more recent groundswell of ‘cycle syncing’ strategies has been almost exclusively community-driven. Search the term on TikTok, and you’ll find streams of women offering workout recommendations for each stage of how hormones fluctuate during the month and what that means for body and mind. Of course, brand involvement in women’s sports often falls short anyway. The traditionally male-dominated health, wellness, and sports space has exposed a glaring lack of understanding and empathy for the nuanced needs of everyday sportswomen. There have, in the past, been attempts by brands to understand the impact of the female cycle on performance. Millions of women use period-tracking apps, and the likes of Nike, Alo Yoga and Whoop have all dipped their toe in the water but failed to dive in for any sustained length of time. In 2021, Nike launched NikeSync, “a workout collection for people with periods, helping you train to the key phases of your menstrual cycle.” It included workouts tailored to each stage, audio-guided runs, and advice from elite female athletes. However, after winning a Cannes Lions Grand Prix that year, it was quietly dropped.