Beauty and the feast: Taking the risk out of beauty-from-within
The new 120-calorie nimble bar from Californian firm Balance Bar contains 10mg of Kemin’s FloraGLO lutein plus beta carotene (to help tackle redness and UV induced damage), fiber, protein, calcium, iron, folate and vitamins D and B6 and is sweetened with Cargill’s Truvia natural sweetener from stevia.
Marketed by DSM Nutritional Products in partnership with Kemin, FloraGLO is a powerful antioxidant derived from marigold flowers claimed to protect skin against premature aging caused by oxidative stress and increase skin hydration and elasticity.
“This is the first bar being launched - to the best of my knowledge - at least from DSM ingredient perspective, with a beauty bonus,” said Caroline Brons, senior marketing manager, DSM Nutritional Products.
Beauty is a bonus, not the sole reason to buy
While some market watchers regarded the beauty-from-within market as too risky, or too niche, Balance Bar was simply inviting consumers that already bought nutrition bars to “dip their toes in the water”, the firm’s new chief executive Peter Wilson told NutraIngredients-USA.
He added: “Beauty is not the entire focus of this product, it’s a bar offering balanced nutrition that tastes great with the beauty aspect as an added bonus.”
At $1.69 per bar, it was slightly more expensive than other bars in the range, but still affordable, added director of marketing Erin Lifeso.”We’ve had some great feedback in test markets in the south west and in New York City.”
While the nutrition bar category was very competitive, firms able to deliver nutrition and more exciting flavors and textures that appealed to mainstream consumers would continue to grow, said Wilson, who joined the company two weeks ago.
Beauty-from-within in the grocery aisles …
While women are clearly prepared to pay a premium for topical beauty products and dietary supplements, the beauty-from-within concept has had mixed fortunes in the food and beverage market, with some successes in flavored waters, juices and yogurts tempered by some high profile failures.
Three of the best-known products in this emerging sector – Mars’ Dove Vitalize and Dove Beautiful chocolates, Danone’s Essensis yogurts and Nestlé’s Glowelle drinks – have all been withdrawn, although Nestlé is understood to be working on the next generation of Glowelle products.
However, new products continue to hit the market on both sides of the Atlantic, with Brazil offering strong potential according to a recent report from Datamonitor.
Are consumers convinced?
Commenting on a new beauty drink from Brazilian firm Sunlover containing beta-carotene, vitamin A, and amino acids recently launched in Brazil and Portugal, the market researcher said: “The concept of beauty foods has proven particularly popular in Brazil, where according to Datamonitor research 63% of consumers found the products to be appealing, compared to typical approval ratings of 35-40% in Europe.”
It added: “Consumers' views seem to be somewhat polarized when it comes to beauty foods and drinks. Datamonitor research conducted in 2010 shows that 44% of consumers across 20 countries found the concept to be either ‘very appealing’ or "somewhat appealing,’ with 51% believing that it is ‘not appealing’.”
Balance Bar Company, which was founded in 1992 as Bio Foods Inc by a group of entrepreneurs, was acquired by Kraft Foods in 2000 for $268m and sold on to private equity firm Brynwood Partners in December 2009.
Beauty From Within Conference 2012
Our sister publication CosmeticsDesign has once again teamed up with NutraIngredients to host the second Beauty From Within Conference in Paris on 27th October 2011.
This year's conference will explore a range of issues from the challenges surrounding the marketing of nutricosmetics to consumers, to scientific validation, new product development and how to navigate regulatory hurdles.
For more information on speakers, the programme and to book your delegate place, please click here or email pbasreraprf@jeoz.pbz.
