Beauty-from-within and sports/active nutrition, two leading categories in the dietary supplements landscape, are closely intertwined. Fitness is on-trend among people of all ages, and experts believe consumers have a better understanding about the influence that exercising can have on appearance, beyond general health and wellness.
 
For active consumers, modern conceptualizations of beauty entail a certain degree of athletic prowess; “new beauty” projects health, strength, and radiance from within. Beauty today is a component within a broader view of wellness. 
 
“Fitness has been extremely on trend recently, and even with recent gym closures people have been incorporating a number of ways of staying active. The rising fitness trend is influencing the natural beauty category,” said John Tobin, president and CEO of AMH Pharma Development Group and NutraFood Science Delivery System. To meet that trend, brands should adapt to this modern beauty influence with “clean label bioactive ingredients that are backed by science and new innovative on-the-go delivery formats such as Oral Thin Film Strip Melts, gummies, soluble powders, and drinkable botanical beauty supplements for greater simplicity.”
 
Sales are lower for the traditional cosmetics market, and this downward trend has continued since early 2020, said Steve Fink, vice president of marketing for PLT Health Solutions. “This is not the case in the nutricosmetics beauty market which tends to focus more on health as a driver than just appearance. That has helped fuel growth in the cosmeceutical market, and the U.S. is now catching up with the rest of the world in this category.”

 
Form & Function

The goal of achieving well-being by balancing physical, mental, and emotional health needs is highly appealing to a broad range of consumers. Brands are campaigning to attract consumers from both the beauty and fitness arenas at once with lifestyle products that promote health and more resilient looks.
 
Consumers hope to achieve beauty without relying on artificial ingredients. Instead, they are turning to exercise and nutraceuticals to achieve natural enhancements not just to form, but also to function, according to Mayumi Honma, manager, sales & international, at Vitamin C60 BioResearch Corporation. “In addition, with the growing interest in environmental issues and SDG [sustainable development goals] initiatives, the popularity of natural cosmetics which was already quite high in the past has been growing even higher.”
 
Companies are challenged to make cosmetics in forms as close to nature as possible, and this trend now applies to packaging and manufacturing as well, she noted.
 
On that note, Honma said that achieving efficacy comparable to artificial ingredients with natural alternatives to surfactants, solubilizers, and sometimes emulsifiers is one of the leading challenges when maintaining a clean label. “Even though functionality of natural cosmeceuticals should be claimed in natural beauty products, most of the ‘natural’ ingredients work very mildly and it is often hard to see efficacy clearly. Therefore, another challenge in formulating cosmeceuticals is to select naturally-derived ingredients that have high functionalities.”

Sourcing & Constituent Considerations

Proper botanical formulations come with their own challenges from farm to finish, said Shaheen Majeed, president worldwide, Sabinsa. “Everyone prefers natural herbal cosmetic products over synthetic/chemical ones. But the herbal cosmetic industry faces many challenges in formulating a product sourced from botanical sources properly. The botanical activities will vary in their constituents depending on soil, climate, and from season to season.”
 
Further, compliance and pharmacopoeia standards are high during storage, transport, and manufacturing; following these checks, efficacy must be consistently evaluated. Natural surfactants, preservatives, and forms of sunscreen also have key bioavailability challenges that need to be addressed, he said. To top it all off, maintaining fully sustainable supply chains is of the utmost importance.
 
“Ethical purchasing drivers are increasingly important,” said Zev Ziegler, head of global brand and marketing, Lycored. “For example, around half of American skin care consumers want products that are all-natural or free from synthetic chemicals, with 68% buying at least some natural or organic products. The ‘blue beauty’ movement also puts a spotlight on the impact of harmful chemicals and packaging on marine ecosystems, and consumers are more willing than ever to change their habits to reduce their environmental impact.”
 
In addition to sustainable sourcing, natural product formulations can offer added appeal if they do not trigger sensitivities or tolerability issues, have anti-pollution and anti-microbial properties, contain high-purity ingredients, and don’t include compounds that affect hormones, Majeed noted.
 

Bending with Cultural Shifts

The social media boom, with its emphasis on photos and attractive imagery, has played a significant role in leading consumers to products across industries, including beauty, fitness, and overall wellness.
 
Moreover, influential personalities can serve as proponents of the latest innovations. A rising tide of online sponsorships and immersive marketing is leading to a groundswell of “celebrity” trainers and other popular figures who focus broadly on wellness and the all-encompassing role that exercise plays in health.
 
“In a crowded market with a diverse range of ingredients, beauty-from-within products stand out among competitors through their marketing, advertising, and social media processes, as well as celebrity involvement,” said Tobin.
 
At the same time, the flexibility that comes with e-commerce and direct to consumer channels, has led to cross-industry collaborations. For example, suppliers from the beauty side of the wellness spectrum can work with brands skewed more toward conventional fitness, and vice-versa.

 
Formulating for Active Beauty

Collagen, a structural protein found throughout the body, including hair, skin, nails, bones, and joints, has gained mainstream attention from consumers. This structural protein naturally begins to deplete in the human body at an early age, offering formulators broad opportunities to deliver solutions for the active beauty consumer.
 
With several types of collagen, and methods to enhance bioavailability, brands can offer a range of products in a variety of formats to address specific health needs.
 
“Even prior to the outbreak of COVID-19, the beauty sector has been increasingly influencing the health and fitness segment, as consumers embrace a holistic approach to overall well-being,” said Oliver Wolf, global marketing head of B2B communications at Gelita. “However, the pandemic has accelerated this convergence, with shoppers actively seeking out products with multi-functional ingredients. Innovation opportunities coming to the fore, therefore, are synergistic ingredient combinations.”
 
For example, Gelita’s Verisol collagen peptides have been proven to offer a positive effect on skin, cellulite, and nails, he added. “Verisol contributes to lasting rejuvenated skin by decelerating wrinkle formation, and taking the ingredient regularly makes skin more elastic while refilling the dermis with collagen and elastin. Meanwhile, the Bioactive Collagen Peptides in Bodybalance promote body toning and enhance the positive effects of resistance training. And they, like Verisol, can easily be incorporated into foods, beverages, and supplements.”
 
Other Bioactive Collagen Peptides in Gelita’s portfolio include Fortigel, which has been proven to support joint mobility; TendoForte, which supports tendon and ligament health; and Fortibone, which supplies the body with the components necessary for strong and stable bone structure, thus supporting overall bone stability and flexibility.

 
Just as important to collagen itself are other nutrients which can enhance collagen synthesis endogenously, in order to not only offer protection but also to support the generation of new collagen for repairs.
 
OptiMSM, for example, exhibits sulfur donation, which enables a cross-linking of proteoglycans (cell membrane compounds with a role in cartilage matrix assembly) with connective tissue, noted Tim Hammond, vice president of sales and marketing for Bergstrom Nutrition. “OptiMSM combines support for hair, skin, and nails with multiple health-related benefits contributing to overall wellness,” he said. “Sulfur-rich OptiMSM helps support and preserve connective tissue, providing multiple benefits for active individuals to consider, be it muscle, joints, ligaments, or skin.”
 
Brands have an opportunity to attract older consumers with products that target not just appearance, but energy as well, said Marianne McDonagh, vice president of sales for Bioenergy Life Science (BLS). “Physical fitness can enhance body composition in addition to contributing to mood and mental clarity. Because cosmeceuticals appeal to the healthy aging market, where energy boosting is sought after, having a finished product that also supports energy production and exercise recovery could be a big advantage. Bioenergy Ribose helps muscles regenerate lost energy and helps to reduce muscle soreness so people recover energy faster after periods of intense exercise.”
 
Exercise and physical activities were on-trend prior to COVID-19. The impact of the pandemic on fitness facilities led even more people outdoors to explore alternative means of exercise. This was a big moment for active nutrition and cosmetic brands to hone in on sun protection.
 
Once reserved for topical formulations, today, ingestible ingredients may help counteract oxidative stress and inflammation in the skin caused by UV light damage.
 
“One of the effects of gym closures has really changed skin care consumers’ needs, but has received very little attention,” Ziegler said. “We surveyed 508 physically-active consumers in October 2020, and 38% had exercised outdoors more since the pandemic, compared to 24% who had exercised outdoors less. That’s a big deal because spending more time outdoors means greater exposure to environmental factors like UV light. Avoiding skin damage was a concern for 63% of the consumers we spoke to, ahead of avoiding muscular injury. Seventy percent had experienced damage to their skin, such as sunburn, at some point. Given this clear need, it’s maybe surprising that there aren’t more sports nutrition or beauty products specifically targeting sun care as a key aim.”
 
During the better part of the past two years, “the sense of nutrition for wellness grew, as did interest in nutrition for the skin,” said Sébastien Bornet, vice president of global sales and marketing at Horphag Research, the exclusive supplier of Pycnogenol French maritime pine bark extract. This potent antioxidant is well positioned for fitness and overall wellness, Bornet said.
 
Because consumer interest swelled throughout the course of 2020, and interest in exercise and fitness isn’t waning anytime soon, weight management health claims will be a perennial bridge across the active nutrition and beauty categories. “While they offer health benefits, they also go to the point of personal appearance. We see no reason why cosmeceutical ingredients wouldn’t follow this path into the active nutrition market,” Fink said.
 
Some companies are looking closely at other exercise-related effects on skin health. Kewpie, for instance, is focused on the importance of skin protection against excessive sweating.
 
“While sweat exfoliates minerals, salts, and bacteria, leaving them on can cause skin to reabsorb those impurities, leading to irritation. Wiping your face with towels could also cause friction between the skin. It is important to protect your skin before, during, and after your workout from in and out,” said Tomoyo Takamatsu, of Kewpie Corporation’s Fine Chemical Division. “Before and during fitness, sweat-proof makeup sprays are one of the options. Nowadays, these contain healthy skin care ingredients such as Hyalo-Oligo, one of the low molecular weight hyaluronic acids we have.”
 
For after-care, oral intake of hyaluronic acid is the best route to take, Takamatsu said, not only to confer benefits to the inner layers of the dermis but also to support joint pain; as a booster of collagen production, hyaluronic acid is an ideal ingredient with direct benefits to joint function as well.