Beauty food trend slows in Europe

By Leah Armstrong

- Last updated on GMT

Related tags Coffee Mintel

The trend for ingestible beauty products with beauty enhancing claims has slowed in Europe despite last year’s brighter predictions, according to Mintel.

Launch activity for ingestible beauty products in Europe had doubled in 2008-2009, says Mintel, with over 300 new products being launched. In 2009, there were only 100 launches with beauty enhancing claims.

The market research company had previously forecast a rise in the number of beauty food launches in Europe, but recent research shows Asia is still dominating this sector of the market, just not as dramatically as before.

European consumers not convinced

Mintel attributed this disappointing result for the beauty food sector to the ‘growing understanding of the impact a good diet has on outward appearance’, which is ‘a strength as well as a weakness for the market’.

In a survey conducted by Mintel, 4 in 10 women said that they believe there is no need for nutricosmetics if they have a healthy diet. In addition, among women who use nutricosmetics, only 19 per cent say that they think this type of product really works.

In spite of this, Mintel claims that there is still evidence of continued growth in the sector in Europe. A range of newly launched ‘beauty food’ products, mostly drinks and tablet supplements, illustrates this.

New launches suggest some more growth

Of the ‘top beauty claims’ within the ingestible beauty products sector, anti-ageing and anti-oxidant properties are said to be the strongest growth categories. Caudalie’s Anti- Ageing Dietary Supplement is an example of one such new launch. The brand claims that the capsules ‘work at the heart of the dermis to reduce wrinkles, moisturising and protecting skin against free radicals’.

Caudalie also stresses that it has certification for its products from the French Ministry of Health and uses a ‘cosmo-ethic chart’ to ensure that the ingredients used are safe for the user’s skin and environment. This emphasis on clinical endorsement is something Mintel has highlighted to be increasingly important for companies to consider when launching in the beauty food sector.

Drinks with beauty enhancing claims have been very successful in the Asian market and a number of new launches attempt to continue this success in Europe. Jilin Food Group’s Fresh Corn Drink claims to delay ageing and aid in beauty. In addition, a new product from Japan, called ‘Beauty Care Chocolate’, claims to contain collagen to keep skin moisturised and firm.

Educating the consumer is key

Body Styling Beauty Tea, which has been launched by Beverages Innovations Club, in Hungary, is promoted as a means of ‘drinking your way to better looks’ and contains rooibos tea, pure green tea, aloe vera and lemon juice in its ingredients. This tea also claims to offer anti-oxidant effects, a trend Mintel noted to be rising among the ingestible beauty products.

It would seem that although the trend for beauty foods has not been quite as dramatic as once predicted, these new launches still show that there is some potential for further uptake of the trend in Europe. However, Mintel reinforced that to encourage more growth here, brands should use multimedia and point of sale to educate the consumer about the benefits of these products more clearly.

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