Paula Simpson founded Nutribloom Consulting in 2011 and has over the years, “had the privilege to collaborate and work with companies worldwide building programs, products and educating on the importance of nutrition and supplementation to promote health and vitality for ‘inside out’ beauty,” she tells Cosmetics Design.
What are beauty-from-within products?
Cosmetics Design asked Simpson for working definitions that would help make sense of this category.
“Nutraceuticals,” she says, “are natural health products formulated with actives commonly found in food or botanicals that offer a restorative and balancing action within the body. With focus on preventative health, these products are specially formulated to support targeted physiological systems, such as the immune, digestive, cardiovascular, joint/bone health to weight and stress management.”
Following from that, Simpson explains that “nutricosmetics are a type of natural health product that generally contains ingredients to promote healthy skin, hair and nails, promote slimming/body contouring, and/or protect the body from stressors that accelerate the aging process.”
And she notes that, “Although this term is not acknowledged by the FDA, nutricosmetics fall under ‘dietary supplements’.”
Looking back
Cosmetics Design asked Simpson for a historical summary of the beauty-from-within category.
“10 years ago,” she says, “although nutricosmetics were gaining momentum in Asian and European markets, there were very few nutricosmetics available in the US (and the products launched during this time didn’t gain mass momentum as expected.) Some speculate that a lack of clinical efficacy, consumer awareness, or mis-marketing were to blame.”
“5 years ago,” according to Simpson, there was “a shift in clinical research, manufacturing technologies and product forms [that] sparked interest from US companies to learn more about this category. From antioxidants, collagen to probiotics, the potential for a viable US market growth looked promising for manufacturers and marketers.”
In the last couple of years, Simpson has seen a more drastic change: “From the rapid growth and consumer demand for natural, organic and clean beauty products, a more educated consumer and the early adoption of beauty wellness products from the millennials; nutricosmetics have spring boarded to mainstream in the US.”
“Collagen based brands targeting claims for firm skin, strong, healthy hair and nails first attracted the attention of the US consumer because of the quick and visual results revealed in hair and nails. Clinical research around urban pollution and its negative impact on skin health are driving antioxidant ingredients/formulations; while evidence on the gut-skin-brain microbiome has stimulated a market of ingestible products to support stress response and balance gut/skin health,” explains Simpson.
“As the category becomes well established, transparent and lifestyle focused brands seem to be attracting today’s conscious consumer (who wants to know that an ingredient has been well studied, where it comes from and if it’s worth their hard-earned money),” she tells Cosmetics Design.
The current moment
Still there are challenges for beauty and supplement brands when it comes to nutricosmetics.
“Supplement manufacturers need to be conscious of FDA dietary supplement guidelines, market notification process, and product/marketing claims they make,” emphasizes Simpson. “This can be challenging for supplement companies because claims must be ‘non-treatment’ oriented but provide some form of ‘proof of concept’.”
Claims and regulatory challenges aren’t stopping savvy brands. Here, Simpson calls attention to six brands she sees doing nutricosmetics right:
- Well Within Beauty
- [This] brand bases their skincare and supplement line on plant-based, clean and sustainably sourced ingredients (a lifestyle the founders follow themselves). A high quality and transparent brand focused on healthy aging through nutrition, lifestyle and beauty for the educated and sophisticated consumer.
- You Theory Collagen
- focused on the ‘collagen’ craze (an ingredient,) partnered with a mass retail partner and built a brand empire. Well executed strategy.
- WellCo/Beauty Chef/Moon Juice
- [these three brands specialize in] lifestyle-focused products with beauty-from-within benefits. Founder/Celebrity endorsed to support marketing story. Products come in many forms support a variety of lifestyles.
- Olly Beauty from Within ‘Gummies’
- diversifying from traditional supplement forms, this brand offers fun and effective formulations for beauty from within.
Looking ahead
The future of nutricosmetics looks promising. Here, Simpson outlines why:
“It’s About Lifestyle - There may be more attention on prevention and the effects that our lifestyle has on our outer appearance over beauty focused products and claims.
“Integration - between nutrition, lifestyle and natural beauty will continue to evolve within this category, bringing a variety of health and research experts to weigh in on beauty from within. Brands will integrate topical skin, haircare products along with a nutricosmetic supplement.
“Opportunity for Growth (for Indie Brands) - The rise in digital content marketing and influencer campaigns offer brands an opportunity to educate and attain third party endorsement, without the high spend through traditional advertising channels.
“Improved Research & Efficacy Bring Personalized Approaches for Nutricosmetics – clinical research will continue to grow, bringing forth sophisticated ingredients/formulations and potentially personalized or individualized products within this category.”
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Deanna Utroske, CosmeticsDesign.com Editor, covers beauty business news in the Americas region and publishes the weekly Indie Beauty Profile column, showcasing the inspiring work of entrepreneurs and innovative brands.
