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Natural Ingredients for Cosmetics and Human Nutrition
Natural ingredients present increasing opportunities for applications in cosmetic, human nutrition & drug development. The use of naturally derived products as active ingredients in cosmetics, skin-care products, supplements and nutritional products is an exciting area of potential development for the global consumer chemical market in 2025 and beyond.
In recent years, increased consumer awareness of the benefits of natural ingredients towards nutrition, skincare and wellness has seen the market for naturally derived products increase. The size of the natural cosmetics market was valued at $37.8 billion in 2022, and is expected to grow to $85.47 billion by 2032, with an annual growth rate of between 6-10% CAGR, according to various industry sources.
Reasons for the increase in naturally derived active ingredients
The projected growth of this market can be attributed to several factors.
A more knowledgeable, health conscious and eco-aware consumer base has seen growing concern of the perceived risks of using chemically manufactured products for cosmetic and human nutrition, resulting in increasing numbers of consumers choosing products with naturally derived ingredients over synthetic ones.
Consumers are also displaying an increased desire for more ecologically sustainable products, combined with an increase in online sales channels for cosmetic and human nutritional products.
Consumers are also showing an increased interest in multi-functional products which use a number of plant-based or naturally derived active ingredients to deliver several benefits in a single product. Multi-functional products fit in with consumers’ increasingly busy lifestyles, and using multiple naturally derived active ingredients in a single product is more desirable than using traditional chemical ingredients.
Large number of different products and beneficial properties
The sheer breadth of natural products means that despite the natural ingredient cosmetics and nutrition market already being a significant size, it is still largely uninvestigated and many natural products have yet to be fully researched for their potential beneficial effects on human health and nutrition.
Natural ingredients have a myriad of beneficial properties including anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, anti-ageing and increased brain activity, while also being safer and more eco-friendly than their chemical counterparts. Naturally derived ingredients with pharmacological activity are used as candidates in drug discovery and development.
Product examples
Examples of emerging products include Ergothioneine, a naturally occurring amino acid which possesses powerful antioxidant and regenerative properties, and which is used in skin care, cosmetic and nutritional products.
Ergothioneine
Although naturally occurring, Ergothioneine is exclusively obtained through diet for humans, occurring in foods such as mushrooms, beans and offal. Ergothioneine has been formulated to be included in many skincare products and has seen year-on-year growth of over 4000% in China up to 2023, where products containing Ergothioneine as an active ingredient are wildly popular.
Previously, the manufacturing cost of Ergothioneine was very high but due advances in the manufacturing process, which includes the use of enzymatic methods in the synthesis of Ergothioneine, the manufacturing cost has seen a substantial reduction.
Polyphenols
A group of compounds showing increasing commercial interest are polyphenols. This group of compounds occurs abundantly in nature in many different plants, and the consumption of polyphenols has been shown to have positive effects on skin-ageing, weight control & brain health.
Although known for many years, increased understanding of polyphenols’ benefits and mechanism of action makes these kinds of compounds potential targets for product development in cosmetics and human health. Polyphenols include such compounds as flavones, flavonoids, isoflavones, stilbenoids and phenolic acids.
How are plant-based and natural products obtained?
Plant-based natural products are derived through various methods, offering eco-friendly and potent alternatives to synthetic chemicals.
Extraction and Separation
Active compounds are isolated from plant biomass using techniques like solvent extraction, cold pressing, steam distillation, or supercritical CO₂ extraction.
Chemical Transformation
Raw plant materials undergo processes like hydrolysis, fermentation, or oxidation to enhance or modify their properties for specific applications.
Enzymatic Chemistry
Enzymes assist in extracting or synthesising bioactive compounds, especially when natural extraction is inefficient. This method improves yield and reduces the need for harsh chemicals.
Biotechnology
Engineered microorganisms or synthetic biology replicate and produce complex natural compounds like cannabinoids or resveratrol at scale.
FB Pharmtech’s natural product service
FB Pharmtech offers a range of active ingredients for applications in cosmetics and human nutrition, many of which come from natural sources.
We provide commercial quantities of natural ingredients that are used in manufacturing, as well as smaller quantities of specialised natural products which can be used for the research and development of new cosmetics, nutritional products and pharmaceutical products.
We are working with experienced manufacturing partners in this area to develop new products that can be provided in g-Mt quantities.
Our advantages in this area include:
- Access to a range of high quality natural products from a number of reliable manufacturing sources.
- Access to global sources of plant biomass material that can be screened for desired natural products
- Quality Control & pre-shipment analytical checking
- Utilisation of a wide range of extraction, separation and purification technologies to extract natural products from biomass sources
- Price advantage
- Ability/facilities to scale up natural products from g to Mt quantities
- Different grades available
- Access to GMP compliant manufacturing capabilities
- Established supply chains
Please see our list of natural ingredient products for more details.