We spoke to beauty industry innovation expert Rosalia di Gesu, associate director for beauty and personal care at market intelligence firm Mintel, about longevity, anti-aging science and the increased focus on beauty-from-within.
Longevity is a hot topic in beauty right now. So, what kinds of innovation are you expecting to see in this space?
Rosalia di Gesu (RG): Yes, there is lots of excitement around longevity in beauty and personal care right now. It really took off last year and is poised for continued growth this year and beyond, and that’s because of many different factors. Firstly, the media attention on the idea of longevity and the health span. Secondly, there is notable consumer interest, which we are seeing Mintel, in this area. Thirdly, there is a white space for longevity innovation as well.
We know from our data that more consumers are taking a holistic and preventative approach to aging. People are increasingly understanding that how well you age is based more on your lifestyle, so there’s a white space there.
For example, in 2024, data from our Global New Products Database showed that less than 1% of skin care launches clearly promoted longevity concepts. Most of them were in the prestige facial skin care category, but the excitement is going to continue this year and beyond, and I think it will evolve as well. I think there’s potential for the idea of longevity concepts to expand beyond the facial skin care category—for example, into the body care category, and into the hair care category as well.
In hair care, there’s been a bigger focus on scalp health, and that’s where longevity-focused innovation can expand, especially when we think that the scalp tends to age more quickly than facial skin as well.
I think there’s particular potential for longevity-focused innovation to expand into the beauty supplements space too. Late last year, I started to see many more kinds of disruptive beauty supplement innovations that explored the topic of longevity and focused more on biological age, and some of these were showcasing disruptive ingredients like NAD+. So this, for example, is an exciting space to watch.
What exactly are NAD/NAD+ and how can they fit into skin care products in the future?
RG: It’s a fascinating ingredient—a coenzyme, Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD), which is found in all living cells and is being valued for its anti-aging properties. For example, it has the ability to help repair skin cells and regenerate skin health as well.
As we become older, our levels of NAD decrease, and this depletion is linked not just to appearance-related aging issues like loss of elasticity but also age-related health issues like arthritis and dementia.
I’ve started to see more products in both beauty supplements and topical skin care products point to their ability to boost NAD levels, and these are being linked to the idea of longevity.
It’s still very niche, but it’s interesting to see brands point to NAD, NAD+ and also its precursor ingredients—the substances that can convert into NAD. These include nicotinamide riboside, nicotinic acid, nicotinamide, nicotinamide mononucleotide and tryptophan.
Overall, I’m starting to see more beauty and personal care brands pointing to these NAD+ ingredients and precursors.
It’s also been hyped up by celebrities. I’ve heard about Jennifer Aniston using NAD+ IV drips, Kendall Jenner and Hailey Bieber as well.
Are beauty brands making these kinds of claims on pack and using this terminology in the marketing?
RG: Yes, they are. There’s some disruptive beauty supplement ingredients and brands that that are promoting their ability to boost NAD+ levels.
One to look out for is a brand called Jung+, which has launched a range of supplements called the Total Longevity System. It includes a core longevity-focused foundation supplement that consumers can mix and match with different, boosters as well. This brand promotes how it uses niacin as a precursor to NAD+ to help boost levels.
Another supplement that’s pointing to an ability to boost NAD+ levels is Wonderfeel Younger NMN, and another is from a brand called Age Factor Cell Defense in the beauty supplement space.
But I’m also starting to see it in the topical skin care segment as well. For example, a brand called, Dr. Sam Bunting has a facial serum product that talks about the use of a sunflower shoot extract to boost NAD+ levels. There is also Lancôme’s Absolue L’Extrait, which points to a complex that helps to replenish the skin’s age defying molecule, NAD+. It claims to do by 43%.
There are also some interesting hybrids—skin care brands that are offering both topical products and supplements. Aramore Skin care is one that focuses on NAD+ and offers both topicals and ingestible products. And InVita, is another that is suggesting this kind of ‘inside-out’ regime.
So, these beauty innovations are tapping into the wider beauty-from-within and biohacking trends at the moment?
RG: Yes, there’s lots of that. Consumers are interested in the ‘inside-out’ beauty concepts. Off the top of my head, a third of beauty shoppers in Spain said they were interested in vitamins, minerals and supplements that would help slow down the aging process.
This is kind of spurring on those beauty supplements that are focused on longevity, biological age and boosting NAD+ levels.
I’m also expecting both longevity and NAD+-boosting innovation to further expand beyond just the beauty and beauty supplement industry.
For example, I do think there’s room for longevity-focused beauty brands to tap into the popularity of bio hacks.
There are also opportunities for more cross-category collaboration as well. So, bio-hacks that are designed to help enhance your health and longevity, whether it’s cold and hot therapies, red light therapy, and bio hacks that appeal to that consumer desire to take more proactive steps to manage their health and expand their lifespan.
There is opportunity for longevity-focused beauty supplements and topical skincare products to build consumer trust by teaming with third party companies and industries focused on longevity. And that could be teaming up with biohacking centers or biohacking experts such as Mark Hyman, a longevity expert who hosts a health hacks podcast. They can also team up with these longevity wellness retreats that I’m seeing as well or with longevity telemedicine platforms.
So, there’s potential for both topical beauty brands and beauty supplement brands to team up with third party organizations that are focused on longevity as well.
In terms of other areas of future skin care innovation beyond longevity, what could skin care brands be exploring right now? What will the future skin care consumer want?
RG: Yes, there are other trends happening in the skin care category—it’s not just solely about longevity.
Beyond longevity, there’s opportunity for brands to really continue to place a greater emphasis on evidence-based positions, and a second theme that is particularly poised for growth is climate-adaptive or climate-smart skin care concepts.
In terms of evidence-based claims, well there’s lots of misinformation out there, and we think that the future skin care consumer will increasingly expect brands to provide more evidence for the claims they’re making. We have Mintel consumer data showing that three-quarters of UK adults think that beauty brands should provide more scientific evidence to validate the claims that they’re making.
Brands can position themselves as trusted, educational partners and share those results that they have from their clinical trials and then provide that visual proof of effectiveness as well.
I know it might be a struggle to include all this information on the packaging, but our data shows that consumers do want to see that information around the proof of effectiveness and around the results of the clinical trials.
I came across a new product from the brand ROC, a retinol-based firming serum stick in very small packaging, but it had an outer sleeve area attached to the main packaging that showed before and after images of visibly firmer skin. It also clarified that it was an untouched image, so this is one example of how this can be done.
And then climate adaptive is another exciting area to explore. We know that climate change is becoming more and more real for consumers. Temperatures are rising, pollution is getting worse, and people will be increasingly interested in products that that can alleviate some of the beauty issues around this.
It’s about brands planning and anticipating how rising temperatures and pollution are going to impact consumers’ skin health and their skin care routines as well.
Most obviously, it’s going to be about elevating the focus on protection. There’s opportunity to anticipate for greater interest in cooling formulations and also in products that are effective when used with cold water, as during facial cleansing routines as temperatures heat up, people will most likely be using colder water temperatures. This means skin care brands have to consider the dissolvability of formulations and the stability and so on.
Also factor in worsened skin disorders that may arise because of worsening pollution and rising temperatures. This will mean more consumer interest in products that address issues like skin sensitivity, eczema, acne and hyperpigmentation.
Want to know about future skin care innovation? We spoke to a host of experts in this sector to find out more. Sign up here to watch our on-demand broadcast on this topic.
