Beauty-from-within: Personal care and nutrition merge for dietary-induced glow ups

20 Feb 2023 --- As holistic consumers increasingly target nutrition and beauty simultaneously, nutricosmetic producers are poised to attract the accelerating market of health-driven consumers.

PersonalCareInsights speaks to Lycored, Nexira and Rousselot representatives to find the latest insights in nutricosmetics. The category has moved to incorporate younger consumers from both sexes, has continued investing in R&D and has moved to make products more convenient.

Furthermore, producers can’t slack on the taste portion of nutricosmetics.“ Beauty-from-within is a lot about the ‘feelgood factor,’ but it’s hard to deliver that if you don’t have the ‘tastegood factor’ too,” says Dr. Karin Hermoni, head of science and nutrition at Lycored.

“As beauty supplements need to be consumed daily, we think consumers do not want to experiment a lot. They want a flavor they like 100% and are used to so they do not get tired of it,” adds Clara Fontaine, project manager at Nexira.

Hair nutricosmetics, personalized products
Hair care is highlighted as the segment with particular growth potential.

“We see the hair care segment as a key development site for nutricosmetic manufacturers, particularly in addressing consumer concerns around hair strength, thickness and fullness. We, therefore, expect this to be a major area for development in the months to come,” says Florencia Moreno Torres, health & nutrition global business development manager at Rousselot.

She highlights that collagen peptide supplements have been proven to impact hair loss reduction positively. 

54% of millennials and Gen Z want personalized products and servicesTo better understand the mechanism of action behind collagen’s use as a hair supplement, researchers at Rousselot partnered with Monasterium Laboratories to investigate the potential impact of collagen peptide (Peptan) supplements on the natural hair regeneration process. 

“Supplementing with Peptan inhibits the death of hair-producing cells, helping keep the follicle younger. This suggests that Peptan collagen peptides can slow down hair loss in both men and women – a major finding in the context of the booming ‘beauty-from-within’ nutricosmetics market,” she notes. 

Personalization is also key in the segment, underscores Fontaine. Globally, 54% of millennials and Gen Z want personalized products and services. As some consumers are conscious that skincare products on the market are sometimes too generic.

“Consumers want products suited to their skin or hair types, but also to their gender and skin color. More than one in two consumers say they are willing to pay more for personalized beauty consultations, personalized beauty products based on skin or hair analyses or personalized products following a DNA analysis,” she notes.

Cracking convenience
Hermoni explains that with an increasing amount of supplements reaching the shelves, producers ought to simplify consumers’ shopping experiences. 

“With thousands of skin and beauty products on the market making similar health claims, consumers want to know which products they can trust to deliver the results. Scientific substantiation can help answer consumers’ questions about a product’s efficacy.”

“Over half of consumers say science-backed ingredients are important to them when deciding to purchase a nutritional product, and one-third research the efficacy of skincare ingredients before they buy.” 

To meet this consumer need, according to Hermoni, brands should look to not just work with ingredients that are well-researched but also proactively educate consumers on the benefits of the ingredients they use – not just on the pack and at point-of-purchase, but at every possible touchpoint, including those online too.Manufacturers are exploring more versatile delivery forms for nutricosmetics, such as gummies.

“Since supplements are now considered essential to a healthy lifestyle, convenience is paramount. Busy consumers are looking for products that fit easily into their daily routines. For manufacturers, this means shifting away from traditional pills to explore more versatile delivery forms such as powders, flavored drinks, capsules and gummies,” adds Moreno.

New demographics
As consumers become more health aware and tap into nutrition and beauty aspects of nutricosmetics, the buyer’s profile of these products has also changed.

“Traditionally, women take action as soon as they notice the first signs of aging. For example, women used to start taking beauty products at an average age of 35. Today it is common knowledge that collagen degradation in the body begins as early as 25 years of age. So many women start taking collagen at this age to prevent collagen loss earlier,” says Fontaine. 

The target markets for beauty-from-within – and beauty in general are informed by changing social attitudes toward gender, according to Hermoni.

“For example, in 2017, Lycored research found that a significant number of consumers (8% overall and 22% in the youngest age groups) believed that it was more important for men to look good than women. When we repeated the research in 2022, that figure had nearly doubled, with 15% of consumers now saying that looking good is more important for men than women,” she explains. 

“The beauty-from-within space is rapidly moving toward the mainstream as part of the holistic health movement. Health-conscious consumers understand that supporting health in one area can impact another and are, therefore, increasingly taking a proactive, all-round approach to their well-being,” she concludes. 

By Marc Cervera