WATCH: Amado Group and COSMAX on beauty, weight management trends amid COVID-19

Thailand health and wellness company Amado Group and South Korea’s dietary supplement ODM/OEM company COSMAX said in the latest episode of Nutrition Asia that they have developed new products or ingredients for weight management and skin health.

First, weight management has become a trending concern as consumers are forced to spend time indoors to curb the spread of COVID-19. This has resulted in many leading a sedentary lifestyle.

Amado Group’s chief marketing officer Jong Shan Fan revealed that the company has been developing probiotics for weight loss.

This will complement the company’s bestselling products Colligi – a tri-peptide collagen powder and Ben-C​, which contains vitamin C from acerola cherry, vitamin B2, B3, and B6.

In fact, the company entered the probiotic space only recently via a joint venture with Japanese firm Morishita Jintan, where it is now the authorised distributor of the latter’s products in Thailand.

Aside from weight loss, the company has also developed a new product containing probiotics and zinc for acne control.

“After we were able to able to acquire quite a bit of the probiotic market share in Thailand [by distributing Jintan’s products], we are launching probiotics for the skin…It helps to reduce acne through controlling hormones. Another probiotic that we will be launching very soon is for weight management,” ​Fan said.

In the same vein, COSMAX is also seeing opportunities in both weight management and anti-ageing for skin health.

In terms of weight management, it will be launching a new ingredient made from hydrangea serrata leaves.

Known as Re:Seringe, the new ingredient has been studied in pre-clinical trials, where it was shown to suppress fat accumulation in the liver, as well as regulate cholesterol and fat metabolism.

A human clinical study is underway and preliminary results have shown to decrease body weight, total body fat mass, and visceral fat after three months of supplementation.

It will be launched in the second half of this year in Korea, and in the US, Japan and China next year.

“Due to COVID-19, many people have been restricted in going outside or doing outdoor activities. Therefore, they are worried about weight gain, as a result, many dietary supplement companies in South Korea are developing dual-claims labels for both skin health and weight management,”​ said Dr Yu-Kyong Shin, senior researcher at COSMAX Bio.

On the other hand, the area of skin moisturisation and protection from UV damage is still on top of consumers’ mind, and the company is working with a new partner from the US in incorporating its skin health ingredient into new products.

The ingredient, known as Agatri, is made from Korean mint, and claims to provide skin moisturisation and protection from UV damage.

It works by acting on the fibroblasts – cells which are responsible for synthesising collagen, said Angie Jang, new technology and innovation lead at COSMAX NBT.

Brands such as Nutrione, Lab and Beauty, and GNC have already incorporated the ingredient in their products and the company has received its first purchase order for the ingredient from its US corporation.

Jang added that the beauty-from-inner market will continue to soar.

“It was discovered that consumers in their 40s tended to take more inner beauty products than other age groups…Most consumers are concerned with skin hydration, wrinkles, and skin elasticity because they want to look healthier and younger than their actual age,”​ she said.