'Beauty from Within' concept accepted globally

ALTHOUGH still in an embryonic stage, the nutricosmetics market is forecast to witness robust growth over the long term. Globally, the nutricosmetics market is forecast to reach $4.24 billion by the year 2017, powered by growing urbanisation, aging population, greater spending power and the need to look youthful and attractive through safe and natural methods. In addition, according to a comprehensive global report on Nutricosmetics market from Global Industry Analysts, the concept of 'beauty from within' is rapidly becoming a catchphrase with consumers the world over.

Growing more health conscious, consumers are emphasising on total wellness and health, rather than just external beauty. As personal care and medical science become interwoven with the aesthetics industry, consumers are increasingly embracing the 'beauty from within' concept for promoting external beauty and optimising total health.

The turbulent years 2008-09 witnessed the beauty products industry reeling under the pressures of constrained economic environment and limited growth. The situation was further complicated by drastic changes in consumer perceptions towards products/services aimed at luxury, well-being and exclusivity. During the recession, cash-stretched consumers voted out indulgence in favour of functionality as they became more frugal in their spending habits. As a result, per capita spending on premium and luxurious cosmetics contracted sharply, whilst demand for economical mass products increased. The recession also impacted the marketing aspect of beauty products. A more personalised online advertising, targeting at-home consumers was the order of the day in an environment where consumers preferred to spend most of their time online, carefully scrutinising their purchases.

Nonetheless, Nutricosmetics is the latest food trend that is gaining popularity worldwide due to increasing consumer desire to go beyond conventional beauty solutions. Various food, drinks, supplements, and confectionaries have been developed to assist consumers in treating different body, hair, and skin ailments.

Factors such as increasing awareness amongst consumers, rising number of ageing population, inclination towards less invasive beauty treatments, emergence of the 'spa culture' and environmental and societal pressures are likely to drive future acceleration. At a time when conventional cosmetic and food companies are facing the challenge of understanding complex customer needs, nutricosmetics are providing the ideal solution.

This is the reason why the Nutricosmetics industry offers tremendous growth potential as the world moves towards a future where ingestible products would be developed specifically based on hormones, physical needs, and health, the GIA report, "Nutricosmetics: A Global Strategic Business Report", noted.

Anti-aging concerns

In general, nutricosmetics products are primarily targeted at women aged 40 or above since the group is particularly concerned about their appearance, health and age related issues. However, lately the products are also gaining popularity amongst younger women in the age group 25-35, due to desire to stay youthful and start early with remedial measures. Lately, the nutricosmetics gambit has further widened to include the hitherto largely ignored category of men as a niche, but critical target segment. Although at present the market potential is highly untapped and mainly restricted to products dealing with hair loss issues, the male grooming segment is beginning to catch up with the rest, judging from the slew of beauty products specifically aimed at men.

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