Eat yourself beautiful

You are what you eat? For a European public increasingly enamoured with good nutrition, this certainly seems a sound proposition.

The beauty industry is a multi-million euro business and products sell for premium prices that even gourmet food manufacturers rarely attain.

Consumers are becoming increasingly aware of how foods might be used to enhance appearance - so it hasn't taken long for food manufacturers to realise that linking nutritional health with beauty is a lucrative market with great growth potential.

Not only is production of cosmetic food supplements growing apace, but Asia's trend for foods fortified for beauty enhancement is also showing European potential. It seems those seeking to enhance their appearance might be just as keen to ingest products to improve the condition of their skin and hair as they are to apply them externally.

And attractive statistics are in place to confirm demand. In an oft-quoted study by Datamonitor, it was found that the US nutriceuticals market showed annual growth of 8.2% between 1998 and 2003 - although this figure included energy-boosting products and supplements.

Perhaps more significantly, however, nutriceuticals is the only sector Datamonitor expects to avoid the market deceleration predicted for the other health-related market segments.

Instead, the US functional foods category is expected to grow by 13.7% - reaching nearly $1bn by 2008.

Mintel predicts a similarly positive future for the growth of the cosmeceuticals market in Europe - though the impending Nutrition and Health Claims Regulation, seems to have brought new product launches to a temporary halt.

"It's definitely an area with European potential but I think a lot of manufacturers are holding back to see how the new legislation will apply to products like these," says David Jago of Mintel, who has conducted extensive research into the topic of cosmeceuticals.

Jago also says he encountered widespread confusion over the categorisation of such products. In the industry, the terms cosmeceuticals, nutriceuticals and functional foods often appear to be interchangeable. But some experts believe that nutriceuticals is often used erroneously to describe products that have only cosmetic benefits. The latter, according to some, should be termed cosmeceuticals as the former applies to products that confer particular health benefits.

In consumer terms, of course, the issue is largely academic, as few - if any - shoppers would use the term cosmeceutical. But in terms of how such definitions might apply to the new legislation later this year, the distinction could be very significant indeed.

In the European market, the majority of products currently available are cosmeceuticals - supplements and skin-care products rather than foods, which have grown in popularity in Asia.

It seems that consumers in Europe have found it reasonably easy to make the connection between taking vitamins for health and popping other natural pills for beauty benefits, with France, Italy, and Spain driving the market.

"We are currently selling very well in France and we're aiming next for Italy, because this is the second largest market in Europe after France for beauty supplements," says Dr Marie Bejot, head of Oenobiol Cosmeceutical Laboratory.

Oenobiol produces a number of top-selling supplements, which cover everything from sun-protection to skin, nail and hair care.

And the manufacture of beauty supplements is by no means limited to smaller organisations.

As a number of new cosmeceutical products emerge, large food and beauty conglomerates are joining forces to develop new lines.

Cosmetics giant L'Oreal and Nestlé formed a partnership in 1985 to develop a range of such products.

The alliance has produced a skin care supplement called Inneov, which claims to promote healthy skin, hair and nails. Like many supplements currently on the market, the product contains lycopenes found in tomatoes, along with soy isoflavones and vitamin E.

"Inneov is selling well on the French market," says a spokesman for L'Oreal. "It's part of our continued drive to bring real science to the issue of beauty. This product has been clinically proven to increase skin micro-density and to enhance the appearance of hair and nails."

Along with supplements claiming broad beauty benefits, products have emerged to target more specific problems, such as acne.

One such product, Face2Face from DMV International, uses the trade-marked ingredient Praventin, which has as its active ingredient lactoferrin.

The product has produced impressive results in clinical trials, significantly reducing the blemishing of the face and body associated with acne. Trials recorded a 71% decrease in blemishes after one month and 95% after two months.

But perhaps the most interesting growth area is that inspired by the Asian market for functional foods.

While European manufacturers tend to fear overstating the potential of their foods to confer beauty benefits, the Asian market displays no such reticence.

"European manufacturers will tend to focus on the health benefits of foods, and steer clear of overtly labelling a product for its beauty benefits," says Jago. "I think it's just more of a cynical market.

"But part of what appeals to the Japanese market, for example, is novelty. So you'll see products that European consumers would think were too strange to buy, or with ingredients we wouldn't associate with foods.

"Ingredients like collagen, for example, would probably dissuade a European customer from buying a product, whereas antioxidants are widely known and accepted as food ingredients that have beauty benefits."

Accordingly, in Asia, functional food products are sold that are viewed with a large degree of scepticism in Europe.

But the tide could be turning as a number of Asian producers are looking with optimism towards Europe.

One Tokyo-based confectioner, Eiwa Foods, hopes to offer its best-selling range of collagen-containing marshmallows in Europe to help plump up cheeks and lips.

"This product has been an enormous success and soon we are hoping to export to the UK and elsewhere in Europe," says a company spokesman.

"We feel that it will sell well in European supermarkets or sweet shops, as it does in Japan. That is our ambition."

But sceptics would tend to argue that products such as these would need further tailoring if they were to appeal to European consumers.

"I think the Asian products get the ingredients wrong for the European market," says Jago. "But that's not to say there isn't a growing market for functional foods.

"Functional beverages, in particular, look like they have very healthy growth potential. But I think for success in Europe the branding needs to be more about subtly promoting the beneficial ingredients."

Consumers in general seem happier to accept functional foods in beverage form and for this reason a wide range of drinks have been released that claim, among other things, to reduce the appearance of ageing and to tan skin.

Yagua Beauty Juice, which has been launched in the Netherlands as a natural anti-ageing drink containing aloe-vera and collagen is selling well. As is SkinCola, an oxygen-enhanced purified water developed to boost the immune system and promote cell growth and repair.

SkinCola, an all-natural beverage that contains filtered water and a combination of Zinc, Vitamins B, E, and C, along with various other vitamins and minerals, has been launched in the US.

It also contains oxygen, collagen and biotin, other components said to promote skin health. Expect it to arrive in Europe this year.

Other beverages are already selling well in Europe. Microfluid Biotechnology sells a bronzing water drink in France called L'Eau Bronzante, for example.

The product claims to tan the skin if a 500ml bottle is drunk every day for nine days because it contains nutrients such as aloe vera extracts, vitamin C, beta carotene and lycopene.

In terms of foods, those already associated with the health sector promise the biggest potential for growth. So after health drinks, yoghurts and cereal bars look set to take advantage of the latest consumer trend.

The Emmi yoghurt range, which contains aloe vera and promises to improve skin health, is already on sale and industry giant Danone plans to launch a "cosmetic yoghurt" in Europe.

The company has experimented with functional foods previously and has recently relaunched its B-vitamin fortified Vitalinea range of yoghurts in Russia. The product is aimed at female consumers.

A spokesperson for Danone confirmed that the group is planning to launch cosmetic yoghurt products in the rest of Europe in 2007 but was unable to give any further information, possibly because the company is waiting for an EU decision on the definition of medical and cosmetic products.

It has been reported, however, that the yoghurt is to be called Essensis and will have detoxifying properties to enhance skin health.