New vending machine hot chocolate makes beauty claims

A new hot chocolate sold in vending machine is a novel addition to the growing market for drinkable and eatable beauty products.The Denmark-based firms, Eurogran and Chr Hansen, joined forces to make the beauty concoction called Le Royal ChocoDark, which is high in antioxidants, the molecules associated with skin health and anti-ageing. Ingredients specialists Chr. Hansen achieved this by adding palm oil carotenoids to the brew, which is already high in antioxidants thanks to the high cocoa content of the dark chocolate.The hot chocolate drink will be sold from vending machines across Europe, after the launch of the product at the EU Vend exhibition in Cologne, Germany, on September, 20.The product will find its way into hotels, offices and restaurants as well as health shops and gyms so as to ensure that it reaches its target audience."We see great possibilities for Le Royal ChocoDark to be included in vending machines - not only in offices, but also at places like fitness centres and life-style-stores," said Thomas Stilling from vending supplier Eurogran.Food and beverages with cosmetic effects represent an emerging market that is developing fast in America, Europe and Asia, said Eleni Grammenou from Euromonitor.Reflecting this is two unusual product launches over the last few weeks. A nutritional scientist has developed an anti-wrinkle pizza in Italy and a range of beauty teas have been launched in America.Le Royal ChocoDark aims to tap into the large potential market of women who buy both chocolate and beauty products."We are sure that this chocolate drink will appeal to a wide range of consumers all over, and especially for those interested in beauty. Worldwide, female consumers are the main consumers of cocoa products, and combining cocoa with natural carotene creates a good synergy effect," said Sami Sassi from Chr Hansen. The growth in the market for cosmetic food and drink products has a knock on effect on the market for carotenoids. A 2003 Frost and Sullivan report suggested that the ingredient was being underused due to the lack of public awareness of its health benefits. A recent report from Global Industry Analysts suggested that the tide is turning and estimates that the total world market for carotenoids will reach €0.78bn by 2010.

Fonte: http://www.cosmeticsdesign.com - Sexta-feira, 24 de agosto de 2007.