The product known as Skin Moisturising Hyaluronic acid is a 50ml beverage shot.
Launched this month, it contains 125mg of hyaluronic acid and vitamin B6 crucial in utilising protein and amino acids for the production of healthy skin cell.
The firm added that the product contained 1,200mg of collagen for skin elasticity and 10mg of cysteine amino acid for promoting healthy nails and hair.
The product comes in the flavour of green grape and Kiwi blended together.
While the drink is only sold in South Korea, Cenovis already has a hair, skin and nails nutricosmetic sold in existing markets such as Australis.
The product contains silica, vitamin C, zinc, biotin, and manganese and is also said to reduce free radicals formed in the body.
Small but growing
According to Sanofi Korea, the hyaluronic acid health functional foods (HFF) market is relatively small in the country, yet, it is growing speedily.
Sumni Park, head of communications told NutraIngredients-Asia that the market was worth about nine million euros (US$10m).
However, the market has been rapidly growing at a CAGR of 51% between 2018 and 2020, largely led by consumption from young females.
The plan ahead is to cater to the needs of females between 25 and 29 years old, Park said.
“Cenovis will expand inner beauty product portfolio to meet fast changing consumer health needs and cover the target consumer,” she said.
Aside from Cenovis, other brands have also come into the hyaluronic acid supplement scene.
An example is CUBEME by Amorepacific. The brand delivers hyaluronic acid, collagen and collagen in chewable tablets.
Chromadex is selling TRU NIAGEN Beauty containing hyaluronic acid, nicotinamide riboside in Hong Kong.
Scientific evidence
There has been scientific evidence supporting the supplementation of hyaluronic acid for its skin moisturising benefits.
A 12-week double-blinded, placebo-controlled study conducted by Japanese researchers found that individuals who took hyaluronic acid had showed significantly diminished wrinkles as compared to the placebo group.
A review, also conducted by Japanese researchers, also came to similar conclusions.
They pointed out that hyaluronic acid would reduce in amount as one aged, due to factors such as ageing and UV radiation, and air pollutants, which all induce skin dryness.
However, supplementation can moisturise the skin, since the metabolites of hyaluronic acid can the increase skin’s moisture content.
