According to the "2021 National Health Insight Report" released by Dr. Ding Xiang, "poor skin condition" has become the second most common health concern for the second year in a row. People continue to be concerned about the health of their skin, paying more attention to the ingredients, content and effectiveness of skincare and oral products, and trying to keep track of their skin's age. The research found that consumers are most concerned about the moisturising and hydrating effects of skincare products, as well as the most purchased product effects. Overall, it appears that moisturising and hydrating is the most important skincare claim for consumers.
Chinese female consumers consider external beauty products and internal beauty supplements to be equally important in improving skin condition, and are most concerned about the active ingredients and formulations in beauty products, citing the amount of hyaluronic acid and collagen in the skin as the key to improving skin moisture and elasticity.
As nature's best water-holding substance, hyaluronic acid, the "natural moisturising factor", plays an essential role in human skin. An adult weighing 70kg contains approximately 15g of hyaluronic acid, of which nearly 50% is found in the dermis and epidermis of the skin, where it works with collagen and elastin to maintain the skin's form, structure and function.
As the body ages, the amount of hyaluronic acid in the skin decreases, disrupting the moisture balance of the skin's original system, accompanied by abnormalities in collagen and elastin metabolism, disruption of the skin's spatial structure and gradual depression, which is the process of skin ageing and wrinkling, making pre-administration of oral hyaluronic acid an essential means of replenishment in the body.
Oral hyaluronic acid for improved bone and joint health
The accelerating trend of population ageing has increased the number of people with degenerative arthritis, and there is a growing need to maintain better body coordination and flexible movement. Secondly, the rise of young bone and joint improvement consumers has opened our eyes to a new market opportunity. Younger generations of sports-loving consumers are aware that prolonged exercise can cause ongoing damage to bone and joint and are actively seeking solutions to improve bone and joint health on demand.
In 2020, Ali Health and CBNData released a white paper on bone and joint health, which showed that the compound growth rate of national online bone and joint care-related products has exceeded 40% in the past three years, with the young post-90s and post-95 consumers accounting for 40% of the overall population. Consumers are most concerned about product ingredients when shopping for bone and joint care products, prompting an overall upgrade in bone and joint care product consumption.
While dietary supplements are still the main dosage form for bone and joint health products, there is a growing trend towards snacking on functional foods as more and more functional ingredients are used in food and beverages. At the same time, the consumer preferences of younger generations are driving the development of youthful, snackable, differentiated and fun products for bone and joint protection. Aminochondroitin occupies the largest share of the bone and joint health products market, but in China, due to regulatory restrictions, aminochondroitin can only be used in health food products.
In 2021, sodium hyaluronate came out of nowhere, not only in the oral beauty market, but also in the bone and joint health market, allowing consumers to see the huge possibilities of sodium hyaluronate in bone and joint health food.
Hyaluronic acid is a joint component of the human bone and joint and is mainly found in the synovial fluid and cartilage. The concentration of hyaluronic acid in human bone joints is higher in young people than in older people, at about 2-3mg/ml, and the average molecular weight can reach 6-7 million daltons. Hyaluronic acid in the synovial fluid is highly viscoelastic and lubricious, and has a lubricating and shock-absorbing effect on the bone and joint.
The mature application of sodium hyaluronate (hyaluronic acid) in the international arena has provided more ideas for the domestic functional food circuit, and many food brands have joined this circuit, striving to break through in innovation and seize the big opportunity of the "health dividend".
For most domestic consumers, the application of hyaluronic acid in food is still a novelty and requires more time to try, which is also a necessary stage for new products to mature from derivative to mature. As consumers become more conscious of their own health, sodium hyaluronate will be more visible and accepted by consumers in oral beauty food and bone and joint health food.
