Creams, lotions and alcoholic potions

It’s a fact! None of us are getting any younger, and at some point we have all been guilty of looking in the mirror to assess how things are changing. 

When it comes to ageing, we all have different ways of coping, and although some of us may be able to ’embrace’ getting older by adopting the grin and bear it mentality, 22% of consumers would like to have collagen, fat or Botox injections to plump and fill (Cosmetic Surgery Report – UK – June 2010).

Needles and expensive treatments may not be for all of us however, prompting consumers to turn to other products, which in Japan can be of the alcoholic variety.

TaKaRa Beauty Sparkling Peach Flavoured Alcoholic Drink, for example, is a reduced calorie, low-alcohol beverage containing collagen, which has been launched by the Japanese manufacturers Takara Shuzo, to offer women in their 20s and 30s a beauty pick-me-up.

Although it may seem questionable to try and appeal to wrinkle-free young adults with a product that offers a beauty boost, this age group is in fact also being increasingly targeted by skincare brands, with the one in three 25-34 year olds using skincare products to fight wrinkles and lines making for a lucrative market (Facial Skincare – UK – June 2012). It is also not only beauty products that are found to be appealing, with this group also more likely than average to say that they look out for food and drink products that promise added health benefits (Functional Food and Drink – UK – September 2011).

EU regulations say no to a beauty drink with collagen

Unlike in Japan, it would not be possible to sell a product like TaKaRa in the EU because of EFSA regulations, which state that alcohol products of over 1.2% ABV cannot make health claims. With claims also disallowed in the EU if they cannot be proved, it looks highly unlikely that we will be drinking our way to having beautiful skin any time soon.

If manufacturers were to find a way to market such a product or any with a similar proposition in the UK however, they could be better off targeting a slightly older market, as it is women aged 35 and over that are most likely to use skincare products to address lines and wrinkles (Facial Skincare – UK – June 2011). As women of this age are also arguably likely to feel more comfortable drinking a wrinkle-busting beverage in the comfort of their own living room, rather than under the watchful eye of potentially judgemental bartenders or other customers, the in-home drinking market seems best-suited to this type of product. This notion is supported by data from the Drinking in the Home – UK – June 2012 report, where it is revealed that 38% of consumers are more likely to experiment with unfamiliar drinks when drinking at home.

What’s more, if alcoholic drinks with beauty benefits are to grow in popularity elsewhere in the world, men should not be excluded from the trend, as with males now more conscious of their appearance and more open to using body and facial care products (Mintel Trend: Girly Men), who knows how metrosexual and beauty oriented lager drinking could become.

To find out more about how Mintel can help you stay ahead of the market, contact us.