Both industry and analysts have agreed that 2008 will see the niche market grow as consumers seek products which will help boost their appearance.
Ingredient developers at LycoRed have also turned their attention towards the emerging beauty from within segment.
Vice president of global marketing sales, Udi Alroy, said one of the reasons for this is women are often those who decide what to buy at shops, and are more concerned with a youthful appearance than men.
He told NutraIngredients.com that the company's fortification technology had been used in a range of dairy products, such as the You drink by Tara, targeted at women.
The firm is also aiming its Lyc-O-Mato - a tomato lycopene complex - as a dietary supplement for the skin.
Increasingly functional food companies are looking to launch products at this category.
Wimm Bill Dann in Russia and Israeli based Solbar have both made inroads into the market over the past few months. The former launched a probiotic drink under the Neo Beauty range as a finished product, along with a yoghurt. The range contains a blend of blend of aloe vera, anti-oxidants, minerals and vitamins.
Israeli firm Solbar extended its Solgen soy isoflavones extracts, aimed at reinforcing skin elasticity and improving antioxidant activity, into the area. The range is available as an ingredient for topical applications and "inside out" beauty food products.
The journal New Nutrition Business says the Japanese market may offer an insight into where inner beauty products may go in Europe, as it is the world's biggest market with retail sales of some €150m in 2006.
Indeed, the firm's 10 Key Trends in Food, Nutrition and Health 2008 report adds further weight to the importance of the beauty segment. Author Julian Mellentin said the charge in Europe is being led by the dairy sector.
He said: "Beauty foods .. offer a real opportunity to create new demand in a place where there are few competitors. They are capitalising on the connection the cosmetics industry has been building in consumers' minds over the last three to four years.
"The single-biggest event in food and health of 2007 was the European launch by Danone of its Essensis beauty yoghurt - one of the boldest moves in the nutrition industry in recent years."
Mellentin believes the trend will not be mass market and the size of the market will never rival that for digestive health. However, they will carve out a big enough niche to "earn good profits."
But the concept of inner beauty is also "multi-factorial - bound up with issues like weight management and even digestive health." For example, he said Danone's Activia probiotic yoghurt is marketed at digestive health but has a crossover with appearance. "A 'flat stomach' is one of the benefits that the product can offer - something that at least European women can connect with."
