“This approval opens the door to broader geographic manufacturers and more importantly, introduces healthy, radiant skin support solutions to new consumer audiences,” Christiane Lippert, global product manager, beauty from within, at Lycored, told NutraIngredients. “Europe as a region shows substantial potential for both market volume and growth.”
According to the 2024 BrandEssence Global Nutricosmetics report, the EU is the second largest market for nutricosmetics in both size and projected growth levels, she noted.
“Beyond Europe, today’s global marketplace trends for skin, beauty and nutricosmetics are often being driven by social media influences such as TikTok and Instagram, where geographic borders no longer exist. The introduction of Lumenato and Lycoderm to the EU allows for an inclusive global conversation,” Lippert added.
Responding to skin health trends
With regards to skin health trends, Lippert has seen a broader convergence of lifestyle, topical and ingestible skin and beauty solutions with a focus on the cellular hallmarks of aging and photoprotection.
“In fact, a 2023 study highlights 12 individual hallmarks that can be influenced to decelerate aging, including cellular impacts such as chronic inflammation and altered intercellular communication,” she said, adding that these are proven endpoints in all Lycored’s proprietary tomato extract and blend portfolio.
Lippert highlighted the limited public awareness about photoprotection and its role in pigmentation and skin aging.
“It’s common to think UV damage stops when you step out of the sun, when in reality, damage continues even after exposure ends,” she said. “This is referred to as the ‘Dark Sun Effect’—a delayed wave of DNA damage that occurs hours after sun exposure, even in the absence of light.
“In addition, damage caused to skin cells and DNA goes beyond the sun. Relatively recent insights include the negative impacts of fluorescent and LED lighting (even in our workplaces and homes)”.
Lippert noted that photoprotection today must consider oxidative stress and UVA in addition to UVB to support antioxidant defences and DNA repair “with a long-view approach to daily light exposure.”
Backed by research
Lumenato is a standardized, solvent-free yellow tomato extract, and Lycoderm is a Mediterranean diet-inspired blend of tomato and rosemary leaf extracts.
Applications of the products include soft gels, liquid-filled capsules, powder beverages, gummies and nutritional bars.
“The results of four pre-clinical and three human clinical trials highlight the bioavailability of key phytonutrients of Lumenato (Phytoene and Phytofluene) in the blood plasma in as little as two weeks”, Lippert said, adding that the results also demonstrated collagen protection and pro-collagen production.
She noted that Lumenato works deeply and in multiple layers with the ability to halve inflammation levels and support a four-fold reduction in oxidative stress exposure.
“In a study, participants with impaired skin barrier supplementing with Lumenato were shown to bring their skin to normal dermatological levels. Those supplementing with Lumenato showed 60% stronger skin and 2.5 times faster skin repair time compared with a placebo.”
Lycoderm is Lycored’s photo-aging defender that uses phytonutrients to protect from light and provide antioxidant and anti-inflammatory support to the skin.
“When combined with SPF, Lycoderm supports close to 100% oxidative protection from UV and protects from incidental photo-damage by almost 90% vs placebo,” Lippert. “After one dose per day over 16 weeks, subjects’ self-assessments reported users had 90% more hydrated skin, 80% smoother skin and 81% overall improved appearance of the skin.”
Lippert noted that the products align with consumer trends toward evidence-based brands with proven efficacy. The products’ applications support the trend towards multiple formats, offering new opportunities for European skincare brands in the beauty-from-within category.
