Azelis: “Consumers want effectiveness with less” via beauty fusions with food and nutrition applications

13 Dec 2022 --- Azelis has observed changes in beauty regimens with the rise in “beauty fusion” attributed to personal care innovations, consumer expectations and social contexts like the COVID-19 pandemic that left many isolated at home. PersonalCareInsights speaks to the company to uncover details of the emerging fusion trend that combines personal care with innovations arising from nutrition and food tech.

“COVID-19 has accelerated the simplification of beauty routines among customers who are increasingly adopting an uncomplicated but targeted course of treatment,” notes Ghislaine Vigier, Asia-Pacific head of marketing at Azelis.

“Instead of the ten-step skincare routine, consumers are streamlining their regimens by reducing the number of steps and using fewer products. This is also in line with the heightened sustainability awareness where consumers are rethinking their beauty consumption and priorities and adopting more thoughtful consumption that generates less waste and impacts the environment.”

In sum, Vigier says that consumers want effective products with less – quality over quantity. “They want multiple products offered in one, with at least the same level of effectiveness, in a convenient, fun or sophisticated way, and with a limited eco-footprint.”

Enhancing by merging
Vigier clarifies the difference between multi-use beauty products and beauty routine fusions. “Multi-use beauty products can be qualified as traditional two-in-one products that can be used for multiple purposes within one category, such as makeup or hair care – a two-in-one blush and lip tint or a conditioning shampoo, for instance.”

“On the other hand, beauty routine fusion is fusing two or more steps across different applications or categories of the beauty routine into one. For example, instead of applying a hand sanitizer followed by a moisturizer, consumers can combine these two steps by using a hand sanitizer with moisturizing benefits,” she continues. 

“This underlines that consumers now demand simple, convenient, yet effective beauty solutions to make the most of their time and investments.”

Moreover, beauty routine fusion goes beyond personal care, according to Vigier.Beauty fusion is about merging different technologies, from various sectors, to create an efficient combined product.

“It is also about blending concepts and technologies from other fields with beauty. For example, the personal care industry can adopt and apply technologies from food and other sectors to bring new solutions regarding product benefits, the sensory profile, usage and even the production process,” she suggests.

“Beauty fusion is the concept of rethinking traditional concepts and bringing them together or merging them with technologies inspired by new industries to improve the benefits of a single product, enhance convenience, or create a new experience.”

Harnessing food and nutrition for toothpaste
Vigier shares that Azelis application labs work with the marketing and sales team to develop new concepts for beauty routine fusions. “One example includes what we have developed in Asia and presented as part of our campaign nature fused with science for in-cosmetics Asia 2022.”

“In 2021, the oral care market in China was largely dominated by toothpaste applications. We captured an exceptionally fast growth in mouthwash and dental cleaning. With these insights, we challenged ourselves to innovate in the mature toothpaste market and bring trending tooth-cleansing products,” she shares.

“To do so, we harnessed our expertise in confectionery, specifically gummy products, to innovate our approach to toothpaste formulation. Aligned with the need for sustainable and convenient solutions, we developed a ready-to-use tooth-solid and packaging-free toothpaste called Chew & Brush Gummy Tooth Clean.” 

Vigier adds that the gummy format is a convenient way to encourage children and adults to brush their teeth due to their ease and fun use.

“During the development, our personal care team collaborated with our food and nutrition team to create a chewable, bouncy and gummy-textured toothpaste. The thoughtful selection of ingredients allowed herbal fermented actives (super trending now) and essential toothpaste components to be added into a stable formulation in a wide range of temperatures,” outlines Vigier.

“In terms of process, and in line with our sustainable engagement, we developed a cold-processable formulation. It was a total success,” she remarks.

Story building for body care
Vigier takes body care as an example and shows how beauty fusion can be adopted.Merging personal care with nutrition or food sectors can allow for a more creative story behind the product offering.

For instance, night body wash with liquid to creamy foam inspired by shaving products can be designed, suggests Viger. “You can position it as a cocooning break before bedtime. It can also be enriched with active ingredients that boost moisturization, microbiome balance, blood circulation and mental wellness.”

“For example, body care products can incorporate sleep-aiding and soothing benefits from botanical plants and essential oils to appeal to consumers emotionally. Build your story by taking inspiration from multiple applications and fusing them with your products.”

Vigier touts Azelis’ presence in a wide range of sectors, allowing the company to leverage trends and knowledge from different applications when combining ingredients and formulations with market knowledge. “Our ingredient, formulation and market expertise, combined with our knowledge across multiple industries, allow us to assess and leverage macro and micro trends and insights.”

Tracking Azelis
In a previous interview with Azelis, we spoke with Jacqueline Hoe, market segment director of personal care at Azelis Asia-Pacific, to investigate the rise of conscious beauty. We delved into the role of social media, beauty trends and the prospects for more efficient and holistic changes.

She said that companies are propelled to pay more attention to product transparency and its impact on the world as consumers become more conscious about what kind of personal care and beauty products they consume and question how they are sourced. 

In business moves, the company acquired 100% of the shares of Chemiplas Agencies, a specialty chemicals and ingredients distributor in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. The transaction is expected to close before the end of the first quarter of 2023. The financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

By Venya Patel