Hilary Metcalfe and Anna Cave-Bigley met almost 20 years ago in Zurich, Switzerland bonding immediately over a shared love of health and wellness. They came together years later to form SABI, inspired by a series of painfully honest conversations they had about their hormonal and emotional challenges. 

Hilary has struggled with disruptive periods and crippling migraines since she was 15. It was something doctors told her was “hormonal or maybe genetic” and that she would probably experience for life unless consistently medicated. Determined to find a more intuitive and empowering approach, she embarked on a 10-year health journey that led her to leave the corporate world of Sustainability & Strategy to become a Holistic Nutritionist, plant-based Product Developer and Chef. She adopted a unique combination of plant power, nutritional and lifestyle changes that succeeded in preventing her migraines and ameliorated her pain naturally. In sharing these tips, infusions and remedies, she discovered they helped women with postpartum hormonal struggles, period pain, PCOS, and even peri-menopausal symptoms. She combined her passion with profession when she and Anna joined forces.

Anna on the other hand never had a tough hormonal day in her life, until she had her first child. Shortly after her son Lorenzo was born, she began to experience postpartum depression (PPD) whilst her body was still recovering from a traumatic birth. It was emotionally and physically exhausting. Her PPD made her question her relationships, her sanity and even her existence from hormone induced, suicidal thoughts. She felt alone in her struggle, ashamed and resigned to the idea that “millions of women go through this every day, just get on with it”. Challenged by the thought that, there must be a better way, she was determined to apply her 13 years of international business experience to ensure other women are as prepared and supported as they can be during this beautiful but confrontational time of their lives. 

Their intuition that more women faced these challenges was echoed in the medical and scientific data. They discovered that around 80% of women experience a disruptive hormonal imbalance in their lifetimes and as little as 10% of women understand the root causes of their issues. They were convinced that women needed better solutions and set out to create the offering they wish they had been able to access. And so, The SABI was born.