Beauty supplements look set to boom

In the developed and emerging markets 'beauty drugs' are tipped for major growth in the near future, while faster developing markets such as China and Brazil are also expected to tap into the trend. According to a new Strategy Briefing from Euromonitor on beauty drugs, women's increasing fixation with youthful looks and a smooth skin is feeding this trend, coupled with the desire to avoid extreme solutions such as cosmetic surgery or other expensive and possibly dangerous treatments. Referred to as Nutricosmetics, the report also highlights the fact that consumers are confused over how the products work and what their specific functions are, as this is such a new category. One of the biggest challenges presented to company's trying to increase their footing in this segment is trying to convince consumers that it is not only topical products that can help to improve skin health and reduce wrinkles. Likewise, with the recent evolution of the cosmeceutical and nutraceutical categories, consumers find it difficult to differentiate between these two very different areas and nutricosmetics. "The level of complexity of beauty-enhancing products has made it difficult to differentiate between their various functions, thus making a clear definition for the category essential for growth,"​ said senior industry analyst Diana Dodson. "Consumers also demand convenience and simplicity from their beauty regimes and this is something manufacturers of beauty drugs can really exploit,"​ she added. Industry experts have been tipping the nutricosmetics category for big growth for over a year now. Recent launches onto the global market have included a collagen supplement from New Zealand's Waitaki Biosciences and a new line of cosmetic yoghurts introduced by France-based Danone. A study published at the end of 2006 by Kline & Company found that the global nutricosmetics market was valued at $1bn, a figure the company says is set to double over the next five-year period with Euromonitor claiming it had already grown by 50 per cent between 2002 and 2006.