The independent researching company, Mintel, has released its global predictions for new products in 2004. The company has reported that it is expecting to see a huge increase in beauty added benefits in juice drinks and in a wider range of supplements.
The trend has already begun, with Dutch company Yagua adding a new variant to its functional drinks range this year. The product, called Beauty Juicer, contains a blend of grapefruit, ginger and white cocoa and is enriched with collagen and aloe vera. The formulation is claimed to revitalise skin, hair and nails.
Cosmeceuticals now represent up to 50 per cent of supplement sales in some countries, according to research firm Market Intelligence. The category is estimated to be worth €3.5 billion globally and one of the biggest areas of innovation in the wider nutraceuticals sector.
However what does this all mean for the cosmetics sector? As the food and beauty industries move closer together it seems that some food manufacturers are moving in on the marketing ploys of the personal care industry. But, in actual fact what appears to be happening is that the two genres are borrowing from each other as they fuse closer together.
Mintel for example, has branded pomegranate as the ingredient of the year. Traditionally only seen around the Thanksgiving holiday, the ingredient is being increasingly recognised for its health benefits; being high in potassium, vitamin C and loaded with anti-oxidants. As well as these properties being used to enhance food, pomegranate is also being more prominently featured as an ingredient or scent in skincare and cosmetics products.
However Pomegranate is not the only food predicted to influence scents next year. Indulgent food scents will be the hot topic when it comes to vanity categories in 2004. The Jaqua Girls Bakery Collection features products that all smell like fresh-baked goods with ingredients like brown sugar and cinnamon.
As fresh cream, chocolate, and honey scents begin to deluge the market, who knows what direction the cosmeceutical industry will move in but Mintel suggest that for the foreseeable future, such developments are encouraging.