Laboratoire PYC taps into nutricosmetics with clean label collagen food supplement

16 Nov 2021 --- French manufacturer of protein products and food supplements Laboratoire PYC is unveiling a clean label collagen food supplement designed to meet consumers’ expectations of naturalness. The supplement features a collagen and vitamin C formula with a clean label composition. It also has acerola extract, fruit powders and natural flavors combined with fish collagen hydrolysate.

Steviol glycosides from stevia provide the sweetness of the supplement.

“The market for collagen peptides is growing because collagen is a recognized functional ingredient. Its taste in an application is neutral, and awareness is growing among people about health and nutritional products,” Aurélie De Schuyteneer, marketing manager at Laboratoire PYC, tells PersonalCareInsights.

Formulated with dehydrated extracts
The clean label formula is offered to international brands in the health, beauty and nutrition sectors, De Schuyteneer notes.

“The formula is developed in our R&D laboratory in Aix-en-Provence. We formulate with dehydrated extracts titrated inactive ingredients. We work without silicon dioxide, nor titanium dioxide and our flavors are natural, and so is the coloring of the products.”

The Collagen Clean Label formula from Laboratoire PYC is offered in a doypack of soluble powder to be rehydrated.

Laboratoire PYC has previously offered nutricosmetic formulas designed to improve the appearance of hair and skin. In this space, Laboratoire PYC released the Skin Pollution Defense, a drinkable supplement that protects the skin from pollution.

Keeping up naturality
Laboratoire PYC prioritizes sourcing ingredients of natural origins to achieve transparency in its supplements.

Considering consumer demand for naturalness, Innova Market Insights’ data reveals that personal care products featuring an “organic” claim have experienced a 34% average annual growth between 2016 to 2020. 

According to Laboratoire PYC, a report highlighted that the market for collagen peptides continues to grow globally at a rate of 8% per year.Collagen, when taken orally, reinforces hydration, firmness and elasticity of the skin.

The Laboratoire PYC R&D team has chosen to reduce the list of ingredients to avoid an “unnecessary surplus” in its formulations.

Additionally, the company oversees a program to industrialize eco-responsible packaging within the company.

Collagen and vitamin C effects
According to the company, studies have confirmed that collagen, when taken orally, reinforces hydration, firmness and elasticity of the skin with doses of between 5 g and 10 g per day after eight weeks of consumption.

Type I collagen is recommended for the skin as its hydrolyzed form has an absorption rate of approximately 90%.

Laboratoire PYC adds that European authorities recognize the essential role of vitamin C in the synthesis of collagen in the skin with the claim: “Vitamin C contributes to normal collagen formation for the normal function of the skin.”

Vitamin C is therefore an essential cofactor for the enzymes responsible for collagen synthesis. Research has also shown that vitamin C acts directly on DNA to increase transcription and stabilize procollagen messenger RNA, thus maintaining the intercellular amount of collagen.Type I collagen is recommended for the skin as its hydrolyzed form has an absorption rate of approximately 90%.

In addition to increased collagen synthesis, vitamin C provides many other benefits to the skin, such as photoprotection, highlights De Schuyteneer.

“This vitamin is essential for collagen synthesis as it is a cofactor for the two enzymes required for this synthesis,” she continues. “The prolyl hydroxylase stabilizes the collagen molecule and lysyl hydroxylase gives structural strength cross-linking.”

Peptide use remains strong
Peptides are amino acids that are the building blocks of certain proteins essential to skin health, like collagen and elastin, which are a potent ingredient for beauty solutions.

For instance, collagen fragments – known as bioactive collagen peptides (BCP) – were recently found by Gelita to stimulate the body to produce more collagen in a target organ.

Last Friday, Nuritas raised US$45M to scale its AI-powered Peptide Discovery Platform to further its development of plant-based bioactive peptides for use in the cosmetic space.

By Nicole Kerr