• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, September 5, 2008

When the world's largest food and beverage company jumps on "nutraceuticals," you know the trend has arrived.

F&B experts have for some time been saying that ingestible products with beauty-enhancing/age-retarding ingredients are on the verge of breaking through in the U.S., as they have in Japan and Europe, and Nestlé's Glowelle launch would certainly appear to signal such a milestone.

Glowelle, a beauty drink dietary supplement that "protects and hydrates the inner and outer layers of the skin," includes a proprietary blend of high-antioxidant vitamins, botanical and fruit extracts, and phtyo-nutrients. (Phyto-nutrients are organic components of plants shown in studies to reduce cancer risk and enhance human health, although Glowelle isn't making health claims). The product's core selling point is its claim that it "fights the signs of aging by nourishing your skin from within."

Glowelle is not the first nutraceutical (a.k.a. "beauty food" or "nutracosmetic") marketed in the U.S.: NV Perricone MD and Borba are among the companies that have been doing brisk business with ingestible products that tout skin-enhancement and other appearance benefits. Coca-Cola is teaming with L'Oréal to produce a tea-based skin-care drink, Lumaé, due to be launched this year. However, the Nestlé product is the most high-profile U.S. beauty food launch to date, coming out of a major F&B company.

This is not to say that the product is one that your average consumer is going to be tossing into her grocery cart. Glowelle comes in two flavors (Natural Pomegranate Lychee and Natural Raspberry Jasmine) and is available in ready-to-drink glass bottles and powder stick packs. The bottles are $7 each, and the powder packs are sold for $112 for a 30-day supply or $40 for a seven-day supply (the latter includes a canvas carrying pouch).

Glowelle is being sold exclusively through Neiman Marcus's 41 stores nationwide (and Web site) and Bergdorf Goodman's store in New York City.

As for marketing, Glowelle's taglines invite consumers to "Fall in love with your skin in 30 days" and "Drink in pretty." The launch campaign includes "heavy outreach" through women's magazines and blogs targeting beauty pages, celebrity and influencer sampling, partnerships with Shecky's in key cities across the country for sampling and giveaways, and personal appearances and skin nutrition consultations at select Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman stores, according the product's marketing team.

In addition, an online "What Makes You Glow" contest will encourage consumers to make a "personal and emotional connection" with the brand, Nestlé reports.

Scores of topical products claiming to retard or reduce the appearance of aging are on the shelves and cleaning up ... but might an ingestible product face somewhat different hurdles with consumers?

"Consumers--even those not traditionally 'food-aware'--have come to have more sophisticated palates," observes Ramin Ganeshram, director and consumer strategist, food/beverage for trend-spotting/analysis firm Iconoculture. "This means that even in terms of functional or good-for-you food, there is an expectation of deliciousness, or at the very least inoffensive taste. So to my mind, the key is that this product can't rest on the laurel of its beauty promise--it will need to taste good, as well."

In addition, because "part of the message of 'functional beauty'-- particularly around food sources--is purity, those with a true food bent will want to know the whole food sources from which these vitamins, minerals and antioxidants are derived," Ganeshram notes.