The beauty industry was particularly badly affected by the recent pandemic, with global sales in 2020 down around a quarter. One area that’s been surprisingly resilient during this time is nutricosmetics, a category of beauty products that combines nutrition and cosmetics.

Nutricosmetics advocates the practice of taking supplements or consuming products that improve how you look and feel from the inside out. For years beauty brands have focused on topically-applied products claiming to penetrate the skin and deliver medical benefits. These are known as cosmeceuticals.

Cosmeceuticals have now intersected with nutraceuticals, edible products that make claims to improve health and deliver other wellbeing benefits. The result is nutricosmetics – products and ingredients that stand at the intersection between food supplements and items sold at the beauty counter.

In practice, nutricosmetics usually means food supplements that are marketed as beneficial to the user’s looks and general wellbeing. It’s an approach that chimes well with consumer interest in general wellness and health. It also aligns with cultural beliefs such as traditional Chinese medicine and ayurvedic practices, which take a holistic approach to health and wellbeing.

Nutricosmetics tend to be backed by scientific claims. They might claim to improve the user’s skin elasticity via drinkable collagen or improve gut function for better digestion by offering “good bacteria” in one-a-day capsules.