Inner beauty beyond whitening and brightening: Soaring opportunities for hair growth, weight management products in APAC - LISTEN

10-Oct-2023 - Last updated on 10-Oct-2023 at 23:59 GMT

Asia Pacific’s beauty supplement market is undergoing notable shift with increasing diversification of product offerings including for hair growth and weight management, says an industry expert.

Koe Tingmin, editor of NutraIngredients-Asia, told the Beauty 4.0 Podcast that she has observed more distinct segmentation within the category and seen more players branch out into more subcategories.

“It’s no longer just about skin moisturisation or skin brightening. I’m also seeing more focus on areas like hair fall control or hair growth,” she elaborated.

Nutraingredients-Asia and CosmeticsDesign-Asia are hosting a free 90-minute beauty-from-within webinar on November 2 at 3pm Singapore time (GMT +8). Registration enables you to view the live event or watch on demand at a time of your convenience.

Hair supplements are one of the growing subcategories in the beauty-from-within space, with players like Unilever’s Nutrafol and startups like India-based Soul Strips.

“I’m seeing greater attention on hair health, specifically on hair fall and hair growth in the past year. If you visit a pharmacy in Singapore, you’ll see that the product range has increased quite rapidly. This is also seen in other APAC countries, such as China,” said Tingmin.

Another major category is weight management. This trend is especially prominent in North Asian markets like China, Japan, and South Korea.

“Especially in South Korea, weight management is a top concern,” said Tingmin.

At the same time, there is still a big market in Asia for oral supplements for skin brightening and skin radiance.

Novel dosage and delivery formats

One of the major areas of innovation in the beauty-from-within category are the novel dosage formats. Instead of just capsules or tablets, companies have developed gummies and effervescent tablets, as well as oral strips.

Aside from different formats, companies are employing different delivery system technologies, most notably, liposomal technology.

“Liposomal technology is especially useful for ingredients with low bioavailability. I’ve seen companies using this technology on ingredients such as curcumin, but also for water-soluble ingredients like vitamin C,” said Tingmin.

Furthermore, health supplement industry is experiencing a remarkable transformation, thanks to technological advancements such as 3D printing.

“We’ve seen Japanese company Suntory and UK company Nourish3d launch a personalisation service where people can answer questionnaires and it will come up with a 3D-printed seven-layer gummy, with each layer addressing different health needs,” said Tingmin.

However, Tingmin also highlighted major challenges in the market, including consumer scepticism and their need for scientific evidence of efficacy.

She also emphasised that companies could do better to cater to consumer needs, especially as more people tighten their purse strings in the face of economic uncertainties.

To hear more of Tingmin’s insights into innovations, ingredients, and trends in the beauty-from-within category, check out the podcast above.