Gastronomia part 2: What’s next for natural ingredients?
The cosmetics, beauty and personal care sectors continue to take insight and ideas from the food and drinks industries through exploring product claims and new ingredients.
“From the food and drink that we consume to the beauty products that we use, it’s a very natural transition between the beauty and food and drink industries and several food categories are gradually transitioning into beauty and personal care (BPC) products,” said Sharon Kwek, Senior Beauty and Personal Care Innovation and Insight Analyst at Mintel.
“For example, gluten-free claims are growing in popularity in the beauty market, while so too is the rise of ‘super’ ingredients such as mung beans, coffee, kale and cucumber,” added Kwek.
Food and drink-based cosmetics
Brands in APAC are drawing upon the benefits and influence of the food and drinks industries through creating various beauty lines that merge the natural properties of fruit and vegetables and limited penetration to date of utilising unique food and drink-based ingredients with striking packaging and innovative technology.
Japan-based Fermented Foods Kouso has expanded into the Chinese market and consequently grown in popularity. The company states that extracting enzymes from fruit and vegetable fermentation not only supports bodily functions such as improving metabolism, helping the immune system and protecting vital organs but also provides skin whitening and antioxidant benefits.
As APAC consumers purchase multifunctional products that help foster a healthy lifestyle, those that combine physical benefits with an effective and desirable beauty regime are pushing the sector forward.
Singaporean Katfood: ‘Almost Edible Beauty Stuff’ has made its name in the natural beauty sector and is renowned for its 100% raw, organic, chemical-free skin and hair care products.
Upcoming launches
As the naturals trend gears towards DIY cosmetics developments, brands are focusing on giving maximum control and choice to its consumers.
With its slogan, ‘Make your own natural cosmetics’, Njud does exactly that by providing its customers with a do-it-yourself at-home cosmetics kit that enables buyers to select specific ingredients for their products.
The startup SproutsIO smartphone app merges the natural trend with the food industry and gives consumers control over the products they use in their daily beauty regimes.
SproutsIO enables consumers to grow their own food with a soil-free in home system. The app gives the user maximum control by building sensors in the plants and ensuring they can be looked after from remote locations.
Anti-ageing retailer FaceCamp combines skin care facials with internal nutritional features that are delivered in smoothies and juices as part of a holistic seven-day boot camp for the face.
Throughout the personal care industry, companies are also now starting to look at upcycling food waste to turn it into popular products such as organic fertiliser. This waste can then, in turn, be developed into food-based ingredients for new personal care formulations and launches.
