Drinking Up for Sun Safety

As the multifunctional trend continues to grow and branch out, innovative companies and brands are looking for new ways to bring multiple benefits to consumers through just one product. As Mintel’s senior beauty analyst Charlotte Libby discusses in her blog post “Inside Out Beauty: The launch of a UV protection water supplement,” this has brought the trend of nutricosmetics back around.

Libby writes in her post, “With the promise of summer just around the corner, many will be stocking up on bottled water and sunscreen to safely enjoy the hot weather. Looking to combine these two summer essentials is a new sun protection product, Osmosis Harmonized H20. Developed in the U.S., it has a defense comparable to an SPF 30 and is one of the first drinkable waters with sunscreen properties.”

More and more, beauty is working to align itself with healthy living, and this type of product targets that marketing aspect perfect—and it’s likely going to take off even further. “This trend for inside-out beauty is now moving into other areas of beauty and personal care, such as sun protection. While supplement innovation has existed in the sun care market before, with products such as Nurture Protect Skin Nourishment Supplements claiming to protect the skin from UV damage as well as improving general skin health, the new Osmosis Harmonized H20 is one of the first drinkable waters with sunscreen properties. The company claims that after drinking, molecules vibrate on the skin in a unique way which cancels 97% of UVA and UVB rays, giving a comparable SPF protection rating of 30,” Libby writes.

And as the dangers of sun exposure are more and more well known globally, the importance of sun care protection continues to gain ground—making a multifunctional tool highly desirable. According to Libby, “Sun protection with high SPF is preferred by U.K. consumers, with 50% using products with SPF 30-50+ compared with 47% using SPF 15-20 and 37% using SPF below 15 in the last 12 months. However only 37% are confident they reapply sun protection often enough. This suggests that products [that] make sun protection application more convenient can ensure people reapply with enough frequency. Male sun care users are more likely than their female counterparts to display a lower level of knowledge in the sun care markets, with only three in ten (32%) confident they have a good understanding of how much sun protection to apply to different areas of the body. Male consumers can therefore be key targets of drinkable products, which can allow an all-over body application.”

Combining these elements of healthy living checks a lot of boxes for a variety of consumers. Libby concludes, “While consumers are familiar with the dangers of sun exposure, and show a high level of interest in using SPF products, there is some lack of confidence around frequency of product application. Keeping hydrated in the sun is a natural instinct, therefore smart waters containing SPF protection can hold appeal among sunbathers.”

Find out more about Mintel’s consumer research into the sun care market here.

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