Naturally, the industry has responded with an upsurge in ready-to-drink beverages and products that contain collagen, vitamins and aloe vera – all known to aid in the healthy appearance of the skin,
However, for Golan Raz, head of global human health division at Lycored, anti-ageing is perhaps the wrong term to use, conjuring up an impression of avoidance and fighting against a natural process.
“I think ingestible skincare is the natural evolution of people’s understanding of what beauty is,” he said.
“The more this develops, the more this will be accepted as a core way to enhance beauty and wellness of appearance. We will then see less use of the word ‘anti-ageing.’”
“As an industry player and Lycored as a brand, we like to stay away from ‘anti-ageing,’ which in our minds translates as ‘anti-time,’ and hence is impossible to achieve.”
Vitafoods 2018 highlights
Raz’s comments come as Vitafoods Europe begins on the 15th May, once again in Geneva, where nutricosmetics have taken a leap in focus at this year’s event.
Here, the event’s ‘Ingredients LaunchPad’ will showcase ingredients targeted at the nutricosmetics industry as well as the return of the Vitafoods Life Stages, with a keynote presentation on anti-ageing’s evolution to enhanced health by the University of Geneva’s Dr. Astrid Stuckelberger.
It is a far cry from the early days of Vitafoods, in which the infancy of the nutrition industry gave very little away to its rapid ascent into the mainstream, buoyed on by the rise in sports and personalised nutrition and now nutricosmetics.
“In the last three or four years, Vitafoods has become a show with a ‘finger on the pulse,’” commented Raz.
“In the last few years the event has become very good at identifying and acting upon the industry pulse, working with participants and exhibitors, to be able to provide a diverse platform for visitors.
“With ingestible skin care and growing awareness around beauty, people who came to the show were able to consume from multiple sources relevant information about this ‘beauty from within’ phenomena.”
A €2.8bn industry
Numbers from Global Industry Analysts Inc attest to this rise in popularity. They believe the global market for nutricosmetics, valued at €2.8bn ($3.36bn) in 2013 is predicted to reach €6.2bn ($7.4bn) by 2020.
The market research firm believe a liking for oral nutritional supplements to boost appearance drives the sector.
With companies such as Jusuru International, ExcelVite and Lycored active in ingestible skin care and nutricosmetics, the sector appears to be, according to Raz ‘one piece of the puzzle to address the internal to influence the external’.
“The difference between topical skin care and ingestible skin care is the latter’s ability to journey much deeper, having the ability to influence the person’s own perception.
“There is a crucial step in between focusing on the topical and outside of the skin and the realisation that you can also affect the skin’s health from the inside. This is our philosophy that is driving the team at Lycored.”
In addressing what is an age-old problem, Lycored have been recognised, winning the ‘Finished Heart Health Product of the Year’ category in the NutraIngredients Awards of 2016.
Its Cardi-O-Mato phytosterol complex contains natural tomato carotenoids such as lycopene and phytosterols, beta-carotene and tococopherols, exhibiting antioxidant vitamin E activity.
The food supplement also contains thiamine, which contributes to normal heart function.