When OBGYN Dr. Mary Claire Haver set out to build The Pause Life, she wasn’t trying to create just another supplement brand. She was responding to a problem she had seen repeatedly throughout her career: women navigating perimenopause and menopause were underserved, undereducated, and left without high-quality, science-backed solutions.
After years of caring for women in clinical settings, Dr. Haver grew frustrated by the lack of supplements she felt confident recommending to her own patients, so she decided to create them herself. The Pause Life was born out of that frustration, and grounded in a simple philosophy: real food first, supplements when needed.
Today, The Pause Life serves women ages 35 and up, with a core customer base between 45 and 70. The brand pairs deep, science-backed education with targeted supplements that support heart health, brain health, immune function, and muscle recovery. Everything, from formulation to customer service, is rooted in trust, quality, and care.
A growing demand for HSA/FSA — and a subscription gap
As The Pause Life scaled its direct-to-consumer business, one customer request became increasingly clear: shoppers wanted to use their HSA/FSA funds.
This wasn’t surprising. The brand’s audience was already deeply invested in long-term health, and pre-tax dollars represented a meaningful way to make ongoing wellness more accessible. However, there was one clear limitation: being able to accept HSA/FSA subscription payments.
With a large and expanding subscription business, not being able to support HSA/FSA on recurring orders created friction. Customers were asking for it, but the existing solution simply couldn’t support subscriptions at the time.
Why The Pause Life chose Flex for HSA/FSA payments
The Pause Life evaluated several HSA/FSA solutions before selecting Flex. Flex stood out because of its flexibility and partnership-first approach.
When The Pause Life shared the specifics of their subscription model, the Flex team worked closely with their developers to quickly create a solution that enabled customers to use HSA/FSA funds for subscriptions.
Equally important was the experience of working with the Flex team. They took the time to understand The Pause Life’s business model, customer needs, and internal workflows — and adapted the solution accordingly.
“The personalization and customer service were huge from onboarding to account management. That’s what made us confident moving forward.”
Flex’s fast, flexible implementation
Implementation was refreshingly simple. The Pause Life integrated Flex into their Shopify checkout very quickly, followed shortly by updates to landing pages and product detail pages.
The team leaned into Flex’s marketing best practices, clearly highlighting HSA/FSA eligibility across the site and refreshing messaging for key moments like year-end FSA spend.
For customers, the experience felt intuitive and familiar — no confusion, no added friction.
The impact: growth with no added friction
The impact of Flex on The Pause Life’s revenue was immediate, and Flex completely changed how customers on The Pause Life made purchases. Orders placed using HSA/FSA funds consistently came with a 52% higher AOV.
While consistently having checkout completion rates over 70% after implementing Flex, this February, they saw over 80% checkout completion rate, leading to meaningful revenue for The Pause Life that wasn’t previously accessible before enabling HSA/FSA payments.
Despite the larger basket sizes, the experience remained seamless. Customers found HSA/FSA payments straightforward and easy to understand, supported by clear messaging across product pages, banners, and a dedicated landing page. For a highly educated, health-focused audience, Flex felt like a natural extension of checkout, not a disruption.
Internally, the Flex team continued to operate as a responsive, collaborative partner, supporting ongoing optimizations and new use cases as The Pause Life’s business evolved.
The result was a remarkable combination of a smooth experience for both customers and internal teams, while still seeing increased revenue and higher order values.
What the future looks like for The Pause Life
As The Pause Life continues to expand its education platform, product offerings, and subscription business, Flex remains a key part of how the brand makes long-term wellness more accessible to women navigating perimenopause and menopause.
“Flex gives our customers choice — and gives us confidence.”
