Food firms jump into beauty drink market

By Rachel Lee

Micho Collagen by CJ Cheiljedang

Companies are rushing to produce new functional beverages because they are an opportune market, especially beauty drinks that target women of all ages.

According to industry sources, the country’s functional beverage market has expanded gradually over the last year with a wide range of beauty drinks launched. It includes general health drinks for skin and more specific products for anti-aging and slimming.

“The trend began with vitamin drinks followed by energy drinks and beauty drinks have now become popular these days due to their appeal to health- and beauty-conscious women who are increasingly seeking out more unique benefits offered by the specific drinks,” a marketing manager at Hyundai Pharm told The Korea Times Tuesday.

The firm has produced such hits as Miero Fiber and recently released beauty drink Delicious Collagen Tang Tang, which contains 100 milligrams of fish collagen. “Some collagen products can smell bad so we got rid of that as much as possible by adding a raspberry flavor so that more women can enjoy the drink while supplementing the necessary ingredients,” the manager added.

CJ Cheiljedang

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a food and pharmacy affiliate of CJ Group, is a trend leader in the industry. It has shown a number of such beauty drinks as Innerb Eat Beauty that contains fiber and ingredient good for the skin and Micho Collagen, a fruit vinegar mixed with collagen.

“We added collagen to an existing Micho product so that it gives more benefits to consumers. They will find it helps them digest food well and their skin will benefit from it,” Kim Yun-hee, a PR specialist at CJ Cheiljedang said Tuesday.

Food manufacturer Samyang Group has also jumped into the beauty beverage market with its new product BDlab Skini designed to help people lose weight and detoxify. According to the company, the product is specifically aimed at women in their 20s and 30s. Food firm Pulmuone targets young female professionals with its breakfast drink She Love Pomegranate & Cherry.

“I have always watched what I eat and drink and these beauty drinks are one of the ways to relieve stress from work because they make me feel good about myself,” Kim Mi-kyung, a 27-year-old office worker, said Tuesday.

Industry insiders declined to give exact overall sales figures for this category, but they expect the market to grow further this year and in years to come.

“As the number of health- and diet-conscious women increases, we are planning to launch more products this year so that they will enjoy a wider range of drinks according to their preference,” the Hyundai Pharm marketing manager said.