L’Oreal and Nestle plan nutricosmetic expansion in Asia

L'Oreal and Nestle, plan to enter the Chinese market in 2011 with their beauty pill brand Inneov, as more young people turn to dietary supplements to improve skin and hair conditions, according to press reports.

In a Bloomberg article, it was also revealed that Inneov is looking to expand into Latin America as well.

L’Oreal currently gets about a third of sales from markets such as Asia and Latin America and aims to increase that proportion to as much as 60 per cent in the next 10 years.

Inneov estimates that Asia accounts for about half of the world’s nutricosmetic sales (€1bn) while Europe and the Americas each generate around €500m.

“There is a huge opportunity in Asia,” said Brigitte Liberman, head of L’Oreal’s Active Cosmetics unit, which operates Inneov.

She explained that nutritional supplements for skin and hair, or nutricosmetics, are “part of the routine of Asian women.”