SupplySide Focuses on Cosmeceuticals

A Two-Day Primer on Cosmeceuticals

Cosmeceuticals were right at home at SupplySide West, held Nov. 6 to 8, 2007, in Las Vegas. On the show floor, manufacturers offered specialized ingredients tailored for health and beauty products, and a growing percentage of the 8,100 attendees represented personal care companies, including formulators and scientists who scoured the show for the latest studies, innovations and botanical ingredients.

Adding focus to the potential of cosmeceuticals, SupplySide West’s education program, sponsored by Cognis Health & Nutrition, added a fourth track this year. The hot topics and ingredients covered included botanical innovations, the need for organic standards in personal care, marketing trends, growth drivers, formulation tips and new findings for this booming category.

The use of botanicals in personal care garnered the biggest interest. Rebecca James Gadberry, YG Laboratories, kicked things off with a presentation on selecting botanicals for use in personal care formulations. She noted companies must stay in line with their values and philosophy, choosing ingredients and packaging based on what the targeted demographic cares about, and choosing labels, certifications, and “sexy” ingredients based on market value. Mindy Goldstein, Ph.D., Estée Lauder, shared new botanicals for cosmeceutical use, reviewing the folklore and the active components of a selection of botanicals such as milk thistle, chaparral, green tea and Ginkgo biloba. Ken Jones, Aloecorp, provided new research and the science on the effectiveness of Aloe vera; Vladimir Badmaev, M.D., Sabinsa Corp. discussed the use of turmeric, potato, black pepper and coconut in cosmeceutical products; and David Djerassi, Intrachem Technologies, outlined the benefits of L-hydroxyproline for topical applications.

Exciting innovations were highlighted by Sylvia Nefkens, Ph.D., Laboratoires Serobiologique, who spoke about use of phytosterols as an anti-inflammatory and a topical base for locking in skin moisture; and Deborah Pierce of Cognis brought forth the idea that “slowing down cell turnover may be a successful new approach to anti-aging” during her discussion of the narcissus plant as a potential anti-aging ingredient. The need for industry regulations and standards was also brought into the forefront, as Rob McCaleb, Herb Research Foundation, and consultant Linda Chaé discussed the controversy behind grapefruit seed extract as an anti-microbial preservative.

Timothy Kapsner, Aveda Corp., dug into the many ways personal care manufacturers are using the term organic on labels. He also highlighted the challenges a manufacturer may face when wanting to put an organic product on the market in the United States and in Europe. In an attempt to tie all these strings together, Kapsner announced the formation of a new trade organization called Organic and Sustainable Industry Standards (OASIS) to develop an organic standard for health and beauty products.

Market research experts also provided key information. Julia McNamara, Datamonitor, gave a presentation that noted skin care cosmeceutical products account for nearly 80 percent of the total U.S. and European cosmetic market. These numbers continue to rise, as appearance conscious consumers want to look good on the outside and feel well on the inside. Some potential hot beds for cosmeceutical formulations include products that address specific body parts, such as dry skin for the feet and the scalp, facial treatments, anti-wrinkle, anti-cellulite, whitening toothpaste, luminous/skin whitening, spider vein treatment and eyelash strengthening. Christine Chufo and Alison Tirone, both from SPINS, provided insight into the natural body care market and the health and wellness lifestyle movement that is driving the category. While consumer awareness is driving natural personal care purchases, new trends such as Hawaiian and tropical-based ingredients, baby and mom, glow and shimmer, honeybee products, marine and Ayurvedic products are also garnering attention.

For more information on the cosmeceuticals program at SupplySide East, set for Secaucus, N.J., April 28 to 30, log on to www.supplysideshow.com/east.