“Glow inside out” is an apt phrase when communicating the benefits of beauty-from-within products, but the messaging must evolve according to target consumers as it has expanded beyond the traditional older female audience.
Nick Morgan, founder and director of Nutrition Integrated, will discuss the shifting innovation and marketing techniques in this category in the kick-off to an international series of events throughout Aker Biomarine’s ‘Vitality Month’ from Sept. 16 to Oct. 7.
The series kicks off with an opening event in London next week before travelling across the globe from Oslo to Madrid and Paris to São Paulo, spotlighting cutting-edge advancements in ingredient science related to beauty, weight management and healthy aging.
Speaking to NutraIngredients ahead of his on-stage appearance, Morgan said: “I think that people tend to forget the intrinsic link between beauty and aging. It’s wonderful to not look your age, but it can also mean you don’t move like a 60-year-old, or your life doesn’t strictly look like that of a 60-year-old.
“There’s been a massive break down in the way we look at age, stage and beauty, and an important part of that is the reframe of beauty-from-within to being part of a much bigger, more holistic, picture, and so people are engaging with it differently.“
Not only are consumers thinking about beauty and aging in a more holistic sense, but the categories are picking up a wider demographic of consumers than traditionally thought as younger consumers are engaging with the products, largely as a result of exposure on social media.
This insight is backed by McKinsey & Company’s 2025 Future of Wellness research, which revealed that Gen Z places a higher priority on appearance than other generations. ‘Better appearance’ shifted from the sixth-most-important dimension of health and wellness for U.S. Gen Z consumers in 2023 to the third most important in 2024.
Gen Zers in other markets also placed greater emphasis on appearance and are purchasing beauty-related products at a higher rate than other generations.
Morgan explained that this generational interest requires the implementation of multiple marketing techniques.
“You have a prolonged engagement, from younger consumers who require products to be more accessible, which lends itself to things like gummies,” he said. “But then as you get to the older generations, they are starting to look for next-gen products, and here is where you are starting to see very traditional ingredients like collagen, marketed in a new way—by linking it to cellular health.”
He noted Dose and Co’s ‘Beauty is Cellular’ range of capsules that target the visible signs of aging “by working at a cellular level.”
Morgan highlighted that this marketing goes beyond “collagen makes you pretty” messaging, and it is used as a tool to differentiate products in an incredibly crowded market.
“There’s so much collagen out there, and people don’t know the difference between Types 2 and 3, or know all the actives, but as soon as you say ‘cellular’ it sounds more interesting,” he said.
Partly as a result of the heightened interest from younger generations, Morgan said men are also entering this category, as gender stereotypes are being broken down among younger generations.
“There’s a huge untapped market for men,” he said. “Aging and aesthetics are just as important to men, but they don’t engage in the category, and perhaps therein lies an opportunity for innovation. Marketing to this audience would just require the use of different language.”
Morgan will delve deeper into this topic and the market data to back his insights during next week’s event.
Mercè Piñol, senior vice president of sales human health ingredients, EMEA & LATAM at Aker BioMarine, said the series has been developed to inspire wellness enthusiasts, product formulators and health advocates, among others.
“These events offer a unique opportunity to hear from thought leaders about the synergies between high-impact ingredients—and how they work together to deliver powerful health outcomes,” she said.
