The flora yogurt drink claims to relieve dry skin and keep it moist with its functional component, lactic acid bacterium Lactobacillusrhamnosus GG, reported to help moisturise skin from inside.
The product is sold as a FFC, and contains 14 billion strains per 100mL.
Skin study
L. Rhamnosus is known for its gut health benefits, but there have also been recent studies in the area of probiotic on skin health.
Lolou and Panayiotidis have reported some studies utilising probiotics for normal function of healthy skin as well as their role in the prevention and therapy of skin disease.
In one study, participants consuming L. rhamnosus indicated improved levels of skin hydration and cathepsin-L-like activity levels, which is a marker of skin barrier function.
Another study reported supplementation with L. rhamnosus improved the severity of eczema by 56% in children.
In a study on wound healing, L. rhamnosus induced cell death of pathogens like S. aureus, effectively acting as an antibacterial agent.
Bold beauty
Yuko Nagai, manager in charge of public relations at Takanashi Milk Products, told NutraIngredients-Asia: “The recommended intake is one bottle (100mL) daily.”
The company said one bottle contains 66kcal energy, 3g protein, 1.2g fat, 11g carbohydrate, 0.1g salt equivalent, and 97mg calcium.
It is considered a low-fat yogurt drink, containing 8% fat free milk solids, and 1.2% of cream.
Nagai said the product was aimed at people who were concerned about dry skin as well as those who were concerned about fat content.
The full list of ingredients are raw milk (domestic), skimmed milk powder, sugar, fructose, cream, honey, rose extract, and sweetener (potassium acesulfame, sucralose). Rose extract and honey are used for flavour.
As a dairy product, it is suggested to store at 10° C or below.
The package is apparently designed with roses to reflect the image of “beauty”.
Nagai said the product will be launched on October 1, 2019 in supermarkets and convenience stores nationwide.
The suggested retail price is JPY138 excluding tax.
As the product is different from foods for specified health use (FOSHU), it is not intended to diagnose, treat or prevent any disease.
Beauty forecast
According to a report by Mordor Intelligence, the APAC nutricosmetics market is forecasted to grow at a CAGR of 9.24% to reach USD 2.4 billion by 2024.
Within APAC, China, Japan, and Korea continue to be the largest markets for nutricosmetics.
The huge population in China and India is expected to further boost the nutricosmetics market growth in the region.
Japan is a mature market for nutricosmetics with functional ingredients like collagen added into foods and beverages including tea, cookies, chocolate, coffee, and water.
In January this year, POLA Orbis Holdings launched its Orbis Defencera product, a powder consumed orally. It contains glucosylceramide and is said to prevent skin dryness.
This year, Nissin also released its Fermented Hyalmoist Lactobacillus Drink for skin moisturising benefits. Its active ingredient is lactobacillus.