Japan leads the way in nutricosmetics innovation

Nutricosmetics are oral based natural products containing targeted nutrients and antioxidants that can prevent or treat the skin, hair and nails.

The market is segmented into liquid, capsules, tablets and pills and women in this region are opting for beauty drinks or tablets on a daily basis to use alongside their skin creams and gels.

Japan continues to lead innovation in this area, estimated to hold 54.8% of the Asia Pacific nutricosmetics market by 2017, according to Transparency Market Research.

Ingredients include those we can't necessarily get in food like shark cartilage and the extract of a rare and inedible melon — they promise to address every sign of ageing. 

Japan's collagen beer..​

Suntory, a Tokyo-based food and beverage corporation, recently launched 'Precious' beer for the local market in Hokkaido, Japan’s most northern island.

Now, “the Japanese have come up with a new beer, that contains collagen, and promises to make you prettier,” ​ibcWorldNews.com reported.

Suntory also manufactures functional drinks and other beverages in Japan that have been approved as FOSHU, or foods for specified health uses.

Topical skin care formulas commonly include collagen or ingredients intended to stimulate its production. Additionally, collagen supplements are popular in numerous countries worldwide.

“Japanese women even buy supplements, powders and foods rich in the protein to maintain their young look,”​ explains ibcWorldNews.com.

Demand for collagen rich products has the industry looking for the next, best solution. In recent months scientists from the National University of Singapore, researching novel ways to deliver collage to deeper layer of the skin, innovated a patch that does so transdermally.

The research team, led by Dr. Kang Lifeng, “encapsulated collagen in the microneedles”​ of a patch and found through testing “that collagen can be delivered up to the dermis layer of the skin,” ​reported Michelle Yeomans, Editor of CosmeticsDesign-Asia.com​.