The show, organised by CosmeticsDesign-Europe.com and NutraIngredients.com, opened by addressing the current state of play in the market before offering an insight into the various opporunities available for manufacturers.
Ewa Hudson, head of global health and wellness research at Euromonitor, highlighted the fact that it is still Japan and China leading the way in the field, but that there is potential for growth, particularly in Europe and the US.
Peter Wennstrom, president of the Healthy Marketing Team, followed this with the ways in which companies can effectively market their products for success.
Consumers need to understand, rather than be baffled by claims
According to Wennstrom, nutricosmetic firms need to take a step back from boasting the beauty claims of their products, and rather explain the health benefits.
“You can't just jump to the beauty benefits of the product, without explaining how the products work,” he explained.
Each consumer is different and will have different demands of a product, explained Wennstrom. For example, some consumers will focus on efficacy and technology, whereas some will be interested in peer recommendations or tried and tested products that have been distributed in the mass market.
It is important for companies to understand what the consumer wants and recognise the opportunities in the market, in order to reach the consumer and make the best connection, according to the Sweden-based consultant.
This point was reiterated by Imedeen international marketing director, Marie-Louise Haxthausen, who also urged nutricosmetic brands to not focus purely on their claims, but rather focus on an explanation of the products so that the consumer can understand better.
“There is a tendency for brands to over-promise and underperform. But if they do this, they will tend to disappear from the market,” she explained.
Interactive session sparks into life
The morning session ended with an interactive workshop in which all attendees in the packed conference room were invited to work in teams and decide how to develop and market a successful product.
Teams were given a choice of various product types, product forms and then decided which marketing strategy they would use to educate and communicate nutricosmetics to the consumer.
The session saw a lot of energetic and innovative concepts presented, incorporating all the learnings from the morning's educational programme. Some of the highlights included a hair pill targeted at the male youth market called 'Hairy Potter', as well as a 'CocoaPearl mask-pill designed for skin concerns.