“A trusted cosmetics brand is more likely to succeed as a nutricosmetic,” says industry expert

In this second edition of ‘Voice of the Industry’, a brand new series to the Cosmetics Design sites, we spoke to the global product manager of nutricosmetic giant Rousselot, a specialist in collagen peptides about what the industry is chasing down now, growth drivers and the alignment of pharma and food industries. 

Trends​

As aforementioned, Nygaard says the biggest trend to note is beverages, “you see a lot of activity where the active ingredients are integrated into products such as beauty shots or other ready to drink products or as a flavoured powder that you mix with water.​”

In terms of distribution outlet, she says in the West, supermarkets and direct marketing such as web based sales or mail/post order are the biggest whereas in Asia, beauty from within products are very widely available and typically sold in convenience stores on every street corner. ​

“The markets have different traditions and a different level if maturity for these products, therefore you will see differences in the marketing and distribution approach​.” 

No points for guessing that women are taking the lead in this area, but Mai reveals that while this may be - there is an upcoming trend, especially in Asia where successful men that take care of their looks are open to some of these products.

Age wise the product manager says Asian women start to consume these type of products earlier and have a more preventative approach to skin ageing, while Western women often wait until their mid 30's before starting to look for anti-age products like BFW.  

Chasing ​

With the sector set to reach as high as 4 billion by 2015, Nygaard reckons the industry will see a lot in innovation and exciting developments to come but stresses that communication is key if the sector is to successfully evolve.

Educating and informing the consumer is a key issue because there are many good ingredients out there, we just need to work on the communication now to make sure people trust and recognise the new concept.​

In terms of what the industry is chasing down now, the product manager says the overall challenge remains in producing something that the consumer can trust in, backing up marketing claims and establishing brand loyalty.

“We need to continue to invest in clinical trials that can prove a product actually works - because this is still a new area for the consumer​.”

Specifically highlighting consumers in South America and how they have quickly embraced BFW products, Mai says this is a classic example of consumers embracing nutricosmetics by recognising the ingredients from cosmetic products they may have used.

“Consumers might already trust the cosmetic manufacturer or brand they use - if they see that brand goes in and launches a beauty food they might be more willing to try that product​.”

Growth ​

Growth wise, Mai says the last five years of the sector “has been a really interesting category to be involved in​.”

Asia is still number one today, she stresses but agrees that a clear movement to Europe, USA, South America and South Africa has become prevalent, describing the latter as “a very strong market.​”

Aligning areas ​

Enquiring if there are aligning areas to report of, Nygaard agrees that the pharma and food sectors are beginning to cross over as society starts to move towards alternative ways to feel and look good.

“I think there is an opening there, before, people might have gone to the doctor once a problem was quite progressed, now as a society we are moving towards prevention, treating early symptoms like the onset of wrinkles, which can only encourage consumers to look at food supplements​.”

“But clearly food is not as regulated today as the pharma industry – so it’s still considered to be two different segments​,” she adds.

If you see yourself as a bit of an industry expert and would like to take part in a ‘VOI’ series on key issues please contact us via the editor button below for consideration.​

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