The Praventin supplement, said to spur the body's natural defenses to fight acne-causing bacteria, has already been launched in nine other countries. In the UK, considered by many to be a key market in Europe, it will be sold under the band Face-To-Face (F2F).
Supplements for outer beauty is a relatively new area, with the first market research this year putting the global market at around US$1bn. It expects that it should sustain double-digit growth over the course of the next five years.
While some of the products in the category have been criticized as gimmicky, with no proven effect on outward appearance, Praventin comes with a store of science. It is backed by a placebo-controlled trial on 64 consumers who found they had smoother, softer skin after taking the supplement for six weeks.
There is a lot of interest in natural products for personal care, and the category is definitely growing," explained Fiona Taylor, product development manager.
"Most of our ingredients work on an inflammation basis and many of these skin conditions are benefited by reducing inflammation," she told NutraIngredients.com last year.
Praventin was born out of DMV's cysteine peptide, which has been on the market for three years and was positioned as an energy ingredient and for liver health. Cysteine is a precursor to glutathione, an important antioxidant that is produced by the body in the liver and needed to break down toxic substances, like alcohol and caffeine.
The peptide form of the ingredient, proven to increase levels of glutathione in animals, is also thought to boost energy and improve sleep quality by allowing the body to act more efficiently on alcohol and caffeine, known to disrupt sleep patterns. This positioning has proved successful in the US, Germany, Japan, Taiwan and China.
Cysteine has not previously been researched for its role in skin health but Taylor notes that "antioxidants are well known for their properties on skin health". DMV has also tipped that Praventin can be easily formulated into functional foods.