Founded in Sheffield in 2024, Bobbi is a new kind of fitness app – one that adapts to women’s bodies and cycles, not the other way around. Created by Saffron Howdle and Dhruvisha (Dhru) Supeda, the app takes a science-informed approach to working out, syncing exercise with the menstrual cycle to support energy, motivation, recovery and long-term wellbeing. We spoke with Saffron about how Bobbi came to life, what sets it apart, and how Sheffield’s startup scene is helping them grow.

Building Bobbi

Bobbi’s story begins in April 2024 at a University of Sheffield workshop on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. “We were talking about health inequality,” Saffron recalls. “I had a discussion with one of our former co-founders, Ella, and we talked about the challenges women face understanding how your hormones impact your ability to do fitness.”

That conversation sparked something. Quickly realising they needed technical expertise to bring the idea to life, Saffron reached out to Dhru, a gym friend who she knew ‘did something with computers’. “I kind of dragged her into this – took her out for a coffee and said, ‘I’ve got this idea, would you be interested?’ And by some luck, she said yes.”

Since then, Bobbi has gone from idea to MVP – thanks to early wins including the University of Sheffield’s Emerge competition and an NHS FemTech accelerator. The first version of the app launched in January 2025, and they’re now building out a full version based on user feedback. “Releasing our MVP has given us the validation we needed to continue. The feedback we’re constantly getting is ‘I love this. I want more,’” says Saffron.

Despite having full-time jobs, both founders are all-in. “It’s a lot,” admits Saffron, who works in project management within the Civil Service. “But I thrive in fast-paced environments and whilst I enjoy my role, this is a little bit more iterative and innovative.”

Science-informed and body positive: what makes Bobbi different

In a crowded app market, Bobbi stands out by merging period tracking with personalised fitness recommendations. “Where you’ve got your period tracking apps and your fitness apps for women, we’re right in the centre of that Venn diagram,” Saffron explains. “We want to combine the two.”

The app asks users to check in daily with how they’re feeling, and then suggests tailored workouts based on their cycle phase and symptoms – including cramps or fatigue. “That in itself is relatively new,” Saffron says. “Most period apps don’t give recommendations, or they’re hidden behind a paywall. And most fitness apps for women don’t include cycle tracking.”

Crucially, every recommendation Bobbi makes is rooted in peer-reviewed science. “Everything we do is science-informed. We have a scientific advisory board. But the research into women’s health is limited – and if we become a big company, one of the things we want to do is actually commission our own research.”

Bobbi is also deeply values-led. “We’re a body positive company,” Saffron states. “We’re very particular in how we discuss women’s health and bodies. Our market research showed that a lot of women had developed eating disorders because of how fitness apps talked about food and calories. I would never want to put something out into the world that was going to have a negative impact.”

From language choices to workout design, Bobbi’s philosophy centres on care and inclusivity – designed not for elite athletes, but for “regular women with any sort of fitness goal to have a little bit of a go at.”

“It can be tough talking about periods in a room full of men”

As a female-founded tech company working on women’s health, Bobbi has faced its share of obstacles. “It can be tough going into rooms that are mostly men and saying, ‘We’re going to talk about periods,’” Saffron says. “Once, someone even asked us how we’re ‘factoring in the weather,’ because they thought that affected periods. I thought, OK maybe this isn’t for you – but it was useful for me because I realised I misread that particular room.”

There are also moments of encouragement. “Sometimes we go into a room and a man says, ‘My wife was just talking about this the other day.’ That’s really refreshing. We believe this education isn’t just for women – we need to have a wide range of allies who will share it.”

Right now, Bobbi is a two-woman team, supported by volunteers. “We don’t have much time, and we really don’t have much resource,” Saffron admits. That’s why they have now launched the opportunity to pre-order their app subscription. “We’re raising funds to bring in freelancers for design and front-end development. It’s important to get this right because we want the next version of our product to be ready for growth. We don’t want this to come onto the market and that be done – we have a solid five-year plan in place.”

While open to angel investment, the duo are being careful about who they work with. “We’re only going to take on an angel who aligns with our values. That’s not something we would ever negotiate on,” Saffron explains.

Fortunately, Sheffield’s ecosystem has helped Bobbi move forward despite their limited time and resources. “The startup support here is just right. Not too competitive, not too pressured – just helpful. Whenever we’ve asked for help, it’s been there. And honestly, the informal settings have really meant a lot to us .For example, there is a Founders Breakfast Club where we meet up and have a good gossip about how things are going, the challenges, the cool things that people have been up to – it is sometimes the best networking you can get because it’s honest and authentic conversations.”

Looking ahead to its five-year plan for Bobbi, the team hopes to add features focussed on nutrition – tailoring meal plans to different cycle phases and symptoms – and build partnerships with employers and health insurers, giving them a B2B slant. “A lot of workplace provision at the moment focuses on menopause. But what about the decades before that? Much of what you experience in the menopause is decided in your twenties – such as bone density – so we’d like to get to women in the workplace when they’re younger, to inform and educate them. That’s where we can make a big impact.”

Find out more

Visit wearebobbi.co.uk to learn more or sign up for updates and you can find the team on LinkedIn or through Sheffield’s startup community.