Can a beverage make you beautiful?
Several marketers want to find out, and one of the newest beauty trends is teaming up what you ingest and how you look.
Beverages and skin care are being linked more and more in today's health and wellness conscious world. Some of the trends are starting in the upscale market. For example, in France, category specialist Sephora will unveil a new, in-store beauty concept featuring nutritional supplements and drinks. If it works, the good-for-you products could roll into America, too. The Sephora department consists of a healthy and beauty bar stocking 10 brands of nutritional supplements and drinks. The lineup includes Fushi, Dr. Perricone and Dr. Murad, plus the house brand called 24H Slimming Program. Another leading line with drinks and topical products is Borba and it is also sold in upscale stores.
Coca-Cola and L'Oreal are working on a beverage to improve the skin called Lumae. Whole Foods has been merchandising beauty and supplements side by side for many years. Another new concept is Danone's Essensis, vitamin-rich yogurt positioned as an oral beauty supplement. There is also a line of beverages from Borba.
Some of the new lines aren't drinks, but beauty products using the heritage of beverages such as PepsiCo's new Aquafina Advanced Hydration RX skincare line, which is set for an August debut on drug, food and discount store shelves. Aquafina, the top-selling national brand of water, licensed its name to Added Extras last year to introduce a line of lip exfoliators. Now there is a full line of 10 SKUs, including cleansers, toners, masks, moisturizers, under eye creams, wrinkle release and hydrating sprays. Prices range from $4.00 to $20.00.
The target audience is 25- to 45-year olds, especially those interested in health and fitness. The products can be used as a regimen or just as items for specific needs, such as cleansing and toning.
The growth of good-for-you beverages and foods could work well for mass merchandisers, especially food stores where consumers are accustomed to buying drinks. Some chains could even cross merchandise the beverages in cosmetics for multiple sales.
Discussion Questions: How do you handle these skin care beverage products in-store? Do products get merchandised in beauty, beverage or both? Do these types of items require a staff person to help sell them?