Growing vitamin use in cosmetic industry to contribute to global market

Market researcher Global Industry Analysts (GIA) has forecast the global market to reach $3.2bn/ €2.4bn by the year 2017 in its latest research, “Vitamins: A Global Strategic Business Report”.

There are wide ranging applications of vitamins in the cosmetics industry, such as key ingredient in skin care lotions, sunscreens, and anti-aging creams.

Vitamin E takes centre stage​

Vitamin E, for example, is in wide use due to its varied functionality related to the skin. As such, its use in the cosmetics industry is potentially beneficial, and there are comparatively fewer regulatory hurdles for cosmetic manufacturers in comparison to the food manufacturers, according to the report.

“In recent years, the antioxidants industry has grown considerably, due in part to the increasing use of Vitamin E,”​ the research states.

The report also mentions that Europe is the largest regional market for vitamins, with the US as the single largest market, and Asia-Pacific expected to be the fastest growing market in the coming years.

Vitamin E represents the largest market segment, owing to the use of these vitamins in cosmetics, as well as in pharmaceutical and food end-use applications.

Increased demand for a small category​

The cosmetics industry, though relatively small in terms of the percentage share, is emerging as a key end-user with a CAGR of 4.6 per cent over the analysis period, according to GIA.

The growth in the cosmetics industry is being driven by the nutricosmetics segment due to increasing demand for these products.

As well as increased demand in the cosmetics and pharma industries, GIA also says that the evolution of the innovative food concepts and increased importance of sports nutrition are contributing to the market growth.