Solbar moves soy isoflavones into beauty market

The debut launch is said to follow two years of product development and will allow the Solgen brand - which has been around for a decade - to take advantage of the growing global cosmeceutical market. This is not the first time a functional food company has turned its attention to the beauty industry. Just last September Wimm-Bill-Dann, a producer of healthy and functional food products based in Russia, announced the release of Neo Beauty, a range of dairy products specifically designed to improve skin, nails and hair. Solgen is available as a dietary supplement in soft gel and tablet form and for water and oil-based cosmetics. Cosmeceuticals can be defined as beauty products with highly active ingredients that blur the boundary between drugs and cosmetics. According to 2006 research by Freedonia, US cosmeceuticals demand will grow 8.5 per cent annually, propelled by a stream of new products offering age-defying and other appearance-enhancing benefits. Datamonitor said the European cosmeceutical market will see a compound annual growth rate of 4.8 per cent between 2004 and 2009, raising it from a value of $929m (€633m) on to $4.4bn (€3bn). Solbar's range of Solgen natural soy isoflavone extracts have been designed for both topical and "inside out"​ beauty applications. Soy Isoflavones are phytoestrogens and are structurally and functionally similar to oestrogen. Solbar said clinical research has shown that soy isoflavones can act as age-defying ingredients, not only helping in various conditions from hot flushes to osteoporosis, but also to help recover and reinforce skin elasticity, and improve antioxidant activity. Karina Bedrack, global marketing and sales manager said: "The opportunity for food and ingredients suppliers to provide manufacturers with products that truly make good on their promises of improved skin tone has opened up exciting new opportunities." ​ Solbar's new marketing campaign is using the slogan "Not even Cleopatra could rely upon baths alone for beautiful skin."​​ Phytoestrogens have demonstrated important synergistic benefits together with extracts such as grape seed and natural lycopene, the firm said. Marketing and development vice president Gary Brenner said: "We believe the age of single ingredients as an 'end to all problems' is past, with responsible suppliers discovering the benefits of comprehensive synergistic properties of multiple actives. Our focus on cosmeceuticals applications will take this approach into consideration.​" ​