Beauty from within: the trend that won’t die down

The intersection of food and beauty trends, particularly in response to consumer’s growing desire to ‘eat themselves beautiful’, has driven beauty and wellness companies to create new ingestibles that promise to work just as well as your favourite ointments and moisturizers.

Despite having a presence in the market since the new millennium, nutricosmetics continue to gather pace across the globe even today. Edible beauty products have been hailed as the next big thing in functional food and cosmetics since their conception, although history proves that they have been a hit and miss trend.

Early attempts

Back in 2009, the failure of Essensis, a yogurt brand under the French multinational Danone, sparked fears that the trend is more momentary than long-lasting. This brand claimed that its product would “nourish your skin from within” with daily consumption, though sales never matched expectation, prompting Danone to pull the product two years after launch.

At the time, promoting ‘beauty from within’ through the consumption of functional food and drink products was an underdeveloped and unfamiliar concept to consumers. Given this unfamiliarity, consumers were unwilling to pay the price premium charged for the product, especially if under financial strain caused by the recession.

The Essensis range was released before its time. Now, according to GlobalData’s research, 54% of consumers globally somewhat or completely agree that food and drinks can provide the same or better health benefits as non-prescription medications can. Although it seemed likely at the time, the demise of Essensis was not indicative of the trend’s future. Growing consumer familiarity with the trend means that it continues to influence innovation within the personal care and food sectors.

The new wave

Most recently, personal care brand Burt’s Bees has announced its venture into the functional food category with the introduction of a range of plant-based protein shakes. These shakes claim to not only enhance your daily nutrition, but also to support specific areas. These include digestive health, and a variety of shakes that are said to “feed your inner glow” and promote radiance in the skin.

It will be interesting to see if consumers will respond more favourably toward Burt’s Bees, a personal care brand that consumers associate as being more ‘inspired by nature’ as compared with food giant Danone. In particular, is it possible that Burt’s Bees’ reputation in the personal care sector will positively influence sales of its functional food product range?

Irrespective of the outcome of this latest innovation, as of now, it is clear that nutricosmetics are here to stay. The products simultaneously meet physical needs and mitigate beauty concerns, and illustrate the consumer shift towards a more natural approach to beauty and wellbeing. Convenience is king, and if brands claim that consuming a single product will address specific beauty concerns, curiosity and image consciousness will result in product sales.