Sun, skin care and supplements: French nutricosmetics startup wants to ‘break barriers’ in sun care with co-branding push

French direct-to-consumer nutricosmetics startup D+ For Care launched its Aloha Prepare and Repair beauty supplement duo in June last year after 14-months in production – supplements created to prepare and repair sensitive skin before and after time spent in the sun. The Prepare product contained a blend of vitamins, beta-carotene and zinc, designed to boost melanin production and cell renewal and leave skin glowing year-round. The Repair product contained a blend of chia, evening primrose and borage oil to offer intense hydration from within.

Both supplements were available online and in select stores in France, packaged in 100% biodegradable bottles made from sugar cane to plug eco-friendly expectations in the sun care category. The Repair supplement was also encased using tapioca starch.

Claire Despagne, founder and CEO of D+ For Care, said the goal behind the supplement duo had been to mirror the traditional two-step routine in topical sun care products – preparing the skin ahead of sun exposure and repairing it afterwards.

“I thought if we have this two-step routine, where we prepare the skin in the morning and repair it at night, then we should apply this to how we think about our supplements when we look at sun or summer supplements,”​ Despagne told CosmeticsDesign-Europe.

Importantly, these supplements had been designed to work as a complement to regular sun care protection topicals, prompting the brand’s decision to co-brand and partner with sunscreen brands.

‘Supplements are supplements’ – traditional, topical sun protection is still needed​

“Supplements are supplements; they come in addition to any other normal thing you should be doing for your health,”​ Despagne said.

The Aloha duo had been designed to “give a bit of a kick”​ to achieving great-looking and healthy skin during summer, or even year-round; not replace sunscreens, she said. “…I believe supplements are complimentary to the rest of your routine.”​

Despagne said D+ For Care was just finalising co-branding contracts for summer 2021 with a selection of cosmetic and swimwear brands, as well as influencers, to build out the messaging holistic sun care was important.

“I think it’s our responsibility as a supplements brand to keep reminding people of what they should be doing, and then obviously it’s up to the customer to eventually do the right thing,”​ she said.

Consumers today were clearly looking for a happy medium between getting enough sunshine and protecting their skin, though, which carved out important opportunities and responsibilities for products that stretched beyond traditional lotions and sunscreens, Despagne said.

“I do believe people are looking at their wellness and beauty routine in a much more balanced way and they just want more comprehensive solutions.” ​Despagne previously told CosmeticsDesign-Europe the consumer world was definitely ready for an inside-out beauty boom​.

D+ For Care is about breaking barriers – Aloha can hopefully shift sun care ideals​

Asked what her hopes for the future of this supplement duo were, Despagne said: “I just hope that we can again think about a healthy approach to the sun (…) I think that we all need to get a bit of sun sometimes and what I wish for Aloha is that it maybe helps democratise the fact that it’s okay to exposure yourself to the sun sometimes, and that you can do it in a completely healthy way.”​

“…The whole point of Aloha, and our supplements in general, is to break barriers around things that are being stigmatised – it’s all about balance. I wish for Aloha to be one of those little things that are going to help have a more tolerate messaging around approaching the sun,” ​she said.