You are what you eat - Nutriceuticals

What we eat has become the focus of intense media speculation, with concerns about what we put in our bodies being linked to obesity, heart disease and even the rise in diabetes.

As a result consumers have forged a stronger association with food and health and are swapping junk food for so-called superfoods, rich in nutrients and phyto-chemicals such as antioxidants, in their droves. These good for you foods include blueberries, pomegranate, açai berries, green tea, soy and goji berries, the latter being claimed to contain more iron than a steak and more vitamin C than an orange.

According to a report by research analyst Datamonitor, food and beverages offering specific health benefits beyond basic nutrition are expected to have doubled in the period from 2001 to 2010. That's certainly food for thought.

And as superfoods have become more fashionable and readily available, the beauty industry has recognised the potential of this rapidly growing sector, committing significant investment to developing functional foods with a beauty claim. Food ingredients such as grapes have long been used in the development of cosmetic products but this new wave of beauty foods promises to provide cosmetic benefits from a nutritional perspective. From anti-ageing teas and jams to collagen-boosting yoghurt, manufacturers are looking beyond conventional beauty formats to create a new breed of cosmetic products.

“The world's health drive is forging growth across other markets such as cosmeceuticals, vitamin and mineral supplements and contemporary medicines. Beauty foods and supplements are well placed to absorb this momentum,” says Mintel's senior cosmetics analyst, Alexandra Richmond.

Christian Lee, senior nutritionist at NV Perricone MD, agrees. “The trend is definitely on the increase in this sector - people are really getting the message about beauty from the inside out,” he tells ECM. “People are aware we are what we eat; nearly every glossy [magazine] you pick up has something to say about nutrition. In turn more and more beauty companies are including nutritional products in their portfolios and functional foods are leading the way in this respect.”

Asian influence

The concept of beauty from within is not a new one however. Consumers in Asia Pacific, and particularly countries such as Japan and China, have a long history of drinking teas for their beautifying properties and have traditionally seen food, drink and dietary supplements as a way of maintaining and enhancing health and beauty.

“Markets in Japan, China and South Korea are the only markets where the beauty foods concept is really quite developed and well established,” comments Diana Dodson, senior industry analyst, cosmetics & toiletries at Euromonitor. “In Japan for example, there is a long-held belief that chicken soup is good for the skin - and it is true that chicken and all meat is high in collagen. So when Nissin Food products launched a collagen-enriched soup, Biken Kenshoku, while sounding strange, not to say unappetising to many in the west, it was an idea that resonated with consumers in Japan.”

Clearly the west has some way to go before it reaches the sophisticated penetration levels beauty foods enjoy in Asia, although there are clear signs that these ideas are catching on, with countries such as Spain and France listed as key markets for beauty foods, according to Euromonitor.

A yoghurt a day...

Perhaps the most influential development in the beauty foods sector in recent months was the launch of Danone's skin care enhancing yoghurt, Essensis.

Already available in Belgium, Spain, France and Germany, and with plans to extend this roll-out in Europe, Essensis is claimed to provide essential nutrients to the skin, effectively nourishing it from within and helping it appear more beautiful.

“Essensis represents a revolutionary breakthrough in skin care as the first functional food to specifically target the skin. It offers a very different approach to skin care,” says Danone. “Essensis is effective on skin all over the body, thus complementing creams applied externally.”

The product contains ProNutris Complex, a patented combination of omega 6 from starflower oil, antioxidants from green tea, vitamin E and a probiotic.

“Danone's research has revealed that these nutrients can be more easily absorbed by the body when delivered in the format of a dairy product,” the French manufacturer continues. “Specifically, increased bioavailability means that omega 6 can be assimilated twice as effectively.”

“Consumers are looking for anything possible to ward off the signs of ageing,” explains Mintel's director of custom solutions, Lynn Dornblaser. “Well established food ingredients have a familiarity to consumers which is positive even if the functionality is difficult to understand. Products such as Danone's Essensis yoghurt are big news and are here to stay if a company as large and influential as Danone is engaging in it.”

Dornblaser also believes the development of Essensis will help bring a new kind of consumer to the skin care sector.

“Something like a yoghurt is not a big investment as opposed to an expensive face cream. As the price point is low, if it doesn't work you can just move on to another product,” she explains.

Similarly beverage products with a beauty claim have been gathering pace. Beauty behemoth L'Oréal has partnered with drinks giant Coca-Cola to develop Lumaé, a line of drinks and nutritional supplements claimed to improve the skin, and Coca-Cola has also been working on a solo beauty drink project in Japan called Aquarius.

PepsiCo has also used its corporate strength to launch a line of drinks and cosmetic products under the Aquafina banner. The line features a number of skin care products such as cleansers and moisturisers as well as the Advanced Hydration Rx drink.

And it's not just the big beverage brands that are investing in this sector. The Sip brand of bottled water is the result of two years' brand development from beauty journalist Kate Shapland and her company Inside Out Beauty,and comprises four naturally flavoured waters with “beauty boosting ingredients”. The names of the products – Better Beautiful Skin, Gorgeous Glowing Skin, Younger Radiant Skin and Brighter Fresher Skin – clearly convey the claimed benefits, while the inclusion of natural ingredients such as lemongrass, ginger, mint, elderflower and mango also taps into the health aspect of the functional foods market.

Hot beverages with beauty enhancing properties are also growing, with the increase in consumption of Pu'er tea and launches such as Le Royal ChocoDark from Eurogran. The hot chocolate drink is fortified with a blend of natural carotenoids, NutriPhy phytonutrients and cocoa polyphenols, claimed to boost the immune system and assist the body's natural defence mechanism. Meanwhile, Maswel Brands has launched a new line of speciality teas that promise to deliver beauty and well-being benefits. The Sipping Beauty line comprises six blends of tea that claim to help with complexion, detoxifcation, weight management and even bad breath.

“Beverages with beauty claims will definitely grow. They are easy to consume and lie in a sector where drinks already claim to have health benefits,” says Dornblaser. “It's easy for the consumer to make the leap from external health to internal.”

Claims consideration

As the number of beauty foods hitting our shelves grows, consumers will undoubtedly start to question the efficacy of these products and demand proof to back up claims, as they have with more conventional skin care categories. And it’s not just consumers who may be sceptical about these products. Ursula Arens, a registered dietician and spokesperson for the British Dietetic Association would like to see more data available to the public on the claims made by manufacturers of beauty foods.

“I am open to any claim on any product but the trouble is there is no real data out there to look at. You can’t have strong messages without strong data,” she says. “A lot of the nutrients that are in these products are prescribed when someone has a deficiency in a particular substance. For instance a deficiency in essential fatty acids can lead to cracked skin, while a deficiency in niacin can lead to dermatitis and skin discolouration, and vitamin C is linked to collagen. But your diet would have to be pretty poor for these effects to even come to light and there is no linear effect to say that high amounts of these ingredients would have a beneficial effect on the skin.”

Dr Susan Mayou, consultant dermatologist and secretary of the British Cosmetics Dermatology Group agrees. “I have seen no medical evidence to show that these products work. There is good evidence that vitamin A can have a beneficial effect on the skin but the trouble with vitamins is that they are often unstable molecules that have to be in a certain form to be bioavailable but then break down on the skin.”

Dornblaser adds: “The statements are very careful and clever. They use soft statements not tied to any specific benefits or amounts. We still have a way to go before consumers demand that – and when they do it will be interesting to see what happens.”

Beauty food is undoubtedly a fascinating and innovative sector, with great room for growth. Whether consumers will abandon conventional beauty products totally in favour of a fix from the fridge remains to be seen, but a future combining topical and internal beauty products is in many minds the way to realise the true potential and benefits that skin care products can offer the modern consumer.