“Beauty from within” market appeals most to young males, suggests Lycored

05 Apr 2018 --- Males are an ideal market for ingestible skincare, claims Lycored, as a generational shift has brought the popularity of “beauty from within” to the forefront. A survey conducted by Lycored has found that three-quarters of surveyed men demonstrated openness to the idea of ingestible skincare products, as opposed to 58 percent of women.

“There’s a definite generational shift away from topical skincare towards beauty from within, for both men and women. We found that consumers in the millennial age group were much more likely to have used ingestible skincare products than baby boomers,” Zev Ziegler, Head of Global Brand & Marketing at Lycored, tells NutritionInsight.

The survey conducted by Lycored included 480 European consumers, who had all purchased a skincare product – including moisturizer, or a supplement from beauty or skin health – over the past 12 months. NutritionInsight has previously reported on a past Lycored survey, which also documented a shift of consumers – men and women – interests in ingestible beauty products. 

Furthermore, Ziegler states that men are responding more quickly to this generational shift of “beauty from within” due to potential “cultural pressures.” He pinpoints the pressure that some men may feel to seek “a pragmatic, solution-orientated approach to things.” This, he explains, “might explain why many of them like the idea of taking a pill or a supplement to meet their skincare needs.”

This also ties in with Lycored's further finding that illustrated how men are also less willing than women to spend time actually applying topical products. 37 percent of the men surveyed said they wanted to spend less time on their skincare regimens, compared to 28 percent of women. 

In this way, “cultural assumptions about skincare have changed a lot, but not to the point where expectations about men and women are exactly the same. So while it’s now the norm for men to care about the health of their skin, they’re generally not expected to devote as much time to it as women.”

“When you consider that young men are one of the groups most open to ingestible skincare, it’s clear that there are huge opportunities for pills and supplements that meet men’s skincare needs.”

Pills and supplements hold the advantage of delivering potentially substantial doses in a matter of seconds.

Moreover, Lycored suggests that the market for young men's ingestible skincare products hold vast potential as “many young consumers believe looking good is more important for men than women. In our study, twenty-two percent of people in the 18-35 age group took this view, compared to an average of eight percent.”

“We’re increasingly seeing products that target men’s health generally, and the addition of ingredients that benefit skincare, such as lycopene, could increase consumer appeal significantly,” Ziegler adds.

Lycoderm, is Lycored's proprietary carotenoid blend that is said to meet many of men’s skincare needs. “Lycopene from tomatoes with carsonic acid from rosemary….together, these two natural ingredients trigger multiple physical benefits for skin health and beauty and this is the basis of Lycoderm, our proprietary carotenoid blend,” Golan Raz, Head of Global Health division, Lycored, tells NutritionInsight.

The move toward “beauty from within” is not a new phenomenon, and ingredients such as collagen have seen worldwide applications and up and coming ingredients such as carotenoid antioxidant astaxanthin hold great promise. In fact, Innova Market Insights show that Latin American and Asian markets have seen the fastest growth regarding collagen applications over the past five years, with CAGRs of 33 percent and 23 percent respectively. North America and Europe, on the other hand, sit at just 16 percent and 11 percent respectively.

“Most cosmetic companies are still focused on traditional topical products, but the power of beauty from within is just waiting to be harnessed,” adds Raz. This trend is expected to also attract women, but for now, men are the group that have expressed the most openness, Ziegler reiterates.

At Vitafoods Europe (May 15 to May 17) Lycored it will be showcasing Lycoderm, its proprietary carotenoid blend for skincare supplements.

By Laxmi Haigh