Holistic nutricosmetics: Ingestible beauty evolves into health-promoting wellness

An interest in holistic health solutions and a widening consumer base drive demand for proactive nutricosmetics products that support beauty and overall well-being. Innova Market Insights data indicates that beauty-from-within product launches grew 21% CAGR from July 2019 to June 2024. These supplements increasingly combine skin care with other benefits, such as brain and mood health.

Nutrition Insight discusses the expanding ingestible beauty market with professionals from ADM, Bioiberica, Lubrizol Life Science, and Balchem. 

“The future of ingestible beauty lies in a comprehensive approach merging beauty with health and wellness,” says Vaughn DuBow, ADM’s senior director of Product Portfolio Marketing in Health and Wellness. 

“Products will increasingly focus on the connection between mental well-being and physical appearance, offering solutions for stress, sleep and mood alongside skin, hair, and nail health.”

Antonio Vendrell, marketing director at Bioiberica, points to efficacy, proactivity, and convenience as the main themes of nutricosmetics. 

“Unlike other beauty segments with a near constant trend-turnover, the essential themes shaping the ingestible skin care space remain fairly consistent. What does shift, however, is how these themes manifest in the consumer imagination.” 

“Take format innovation, for instance — once upon a time, an easy-to-swallow skin health tablet might have been considered the height of convenience, but today, fun and functional foods, such as fortified teas or soft drinks, are far more likely to capture the attention of  consumers.” 

Vendrell adds that consumers are less focused on avoiding negatives like skin aging, wrinkles or blemishes but are proactively pursuing a “natural glow through a healthy lifestyle.” 

From topical care to beauty-from-within

Isabel Gómez, global marketing manager of Nutraceuticals at Lubrizol Life Science, says that beauty and nutraceutical brands focus on improving skin from the inside out in response to consumers increasingly recognizing the limitations of topical cosmetics and the growing interest in holistic health. 

“Beauty products are evolving into health-promoting wellness products that address the skin, mind, and body as a whole,” she adds. 

“We expect to see more brands offering a more comprehensive skin care regimen, combining topical products with nutricosmetics that provide science-based solutions.”

Shifting consumer interests from appearance to feeling good on the inside is blurring the lines between beauty and well-being.Jessica Arnaly, senior marketing and business development manager at Balchem Human Nutrition & Health, says the growing interest in holistic health boosts the ingestible beauty market to “substantial growth and evolution.” She says that shifting consumer interests from appearance to feeling good on the inside is blurring the lines between beauty and well-being.

“Skin health is becoming a top concern for consumers as they become more aware of the link between skin health and nutrition."

“We’re likely to see brands get creative with synergistic formulations that combine both emerging and tried-and-true nutricosmetics ingredients.”

Bioiberica’s Vendrell highlights that the market needs “products with reliable, effective ingredients, wrapped up in smart, convenient delivery formats.”

He says that for average shoppers, a “skin-health supporting gummy or snack featuring science-backed ingredients with demonstrable effects is far more attractive than another expensive cream that will just gather dust on the bathroom shelf.” 

“We see there simply being more skin beauty supplements to choose from in future as they become more mainstream, though there is still work to do to convince consumers they can be equally, if not more, effective than traditional creams and serums.”

New skin care consumers

Vendrell also highlights that the ingestible skin care market caters to an increasingly broad consumer base. 

The experts say there is a growing consumer base for ingestible skin care, such as men and younger consumers.“By bringing beauty topics out of the exclusive purview of cosmetics and its associated conventions, we expand our understanding of ‘the skin care consumer’ to include previously overlooked groups — such as men or younger women.” 

“Looking ahead, we see this democratization of skin health products accelerating, just as attitudes are shifting regarding aging. In a few years, for example, we predict claims such as ‘anti-wrinkle’ or ‘age-defying’ will be replaced with more positive language that reflects consumers’ desire to look good and live well rather than adhering to narrow definitions of what it means to be beautiful,” says Vendrell.  

Arnaly from Balchem highlights that men are increasingly interested in beauty supplements and personal care products as part of a broader shift toward self-care and wellness among men. 

“Modern male consumers are becoming more aware of the benefits of skin care and grooming routines, including the use of supplements to enhance their appearance and overall health.”  

She predicts: “Brands are developing products specifically tailored to men’s needs, and supplements supporting male hair issues will likely become more popular.”