The crossover between food and beauty is increasingly apparent, with global food and drink product launches with a ‘beauty enhancing’ claim increasing by a staggering 306% from 2005 to 2008, according to Mintel.

“One in five US women between the ages of 18 and 25 are interested in trying beauty functional beverages,” Taya Tomasello, Senior Beauty Analyst at Mintel, advised. “These numbers really point to an opportunity within this new segment in the beauty industry.”

While beauty food and drink products have seen significant growth – albeit off a low base, overall global food and drink product launches have only seen a 35% increase during the same timeframe. This data speaks to the impact ‘beauty foods’ are having on the market, according to the researchers. In addition, already in 2009, nearly 300 food and drink product launches with a ‘beauty enhancing’ claim have been launched, surpassing the total number launched in all of 2008.

Kracie Foods, based out of Japan, recently launched fruit snacks consisting of dried mangoes, pineapples, papaya and cranberries coated with collagen. It targets women in their 20s to 40s who are conscious of their skin health. Another new beauty product launched in Australia is Tea Tonic’s Complexon Tea that claims to help “revitalize each cell of the body within, and is a positive step towards achieving beautiful luminous skin and a fabulous complexion.”

The trend was picked up a few years ago and could be something to watch as the global economic outlook improves.

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