Consumers View Vitamins C & E, Aloe, Green Tea as Most Effective Beauty Ingredients

Understanding consumer perception is a must when marketing natural ingredients. New research from Datamonitor Consumer shows the health halos surrounding vitamin C, vitamin E, aloe vera and green tea make these ingredients ideal for use in beauty and personal care products, especially as the natural beauty sector continues to grow.

Datamonitor’s latest survey, conducted in Q2 2015, asked consumers for their insights on 30 different ingredients and whether or not they’d be effective in beauty or grooming products. Consumers answered saying either effective, ineffective, neutral or not familiar. Vitamin C came in first place among the nutrients, with 81 percent of consumers perceiving the ingredient as effective, largely due to its anti-aging benefits. Vitamin E, aloe and green tea also topped the list, but green tea may have “the most potential momentum going forward," Tom Vierhile, innovation insights director, Datamonitor Consumer, told INSIDER. Tea has become a rising star in the natural ingredient world in terms of both reputation and sales.

“Green tea is certainly enjoying a halo effect as far as health ingredients go," Vierhile said. “Many of these [ingredients] are trending because they are considered ‘clean’ ingredients, or ingredients perceived to be less chemical in nature. This is really affecting how consumers perceive their beauty products."

Vierhile added that many companies have also been incorporating superfruits, such as pomegranate and cranberry, into their latest product innovations due to trends in consumer perception. Superfruits took seventh place on the list within Datamonitor’s research results, with 71 percent of consumers perceiving superfruits as effective in beauty products. Because consumers are seeing superfruits in many recently marketed healthy drinks and foods, this could be leading them to also seek out the ingredients in personal care products, Vierhile explained.

In addition, more than half of consumers said coconut oil would make an effective ingredient in personal care products, making it No. 12 on the list. This perception may also stem from consumers seeing coconut oil used more frequently as a healthy food ingredient in snack items, such as popcorn and potato chips.

For skin care specifically, Vierhile said charcoal is another ingredient bursting onto the scene within the last year or two. Though the ingredient certainly isn’t new, trends in Asia have made charcoal a rising star for use in natural beauty products.

To read about the researched benefits of beauty ingredients such as aloe vera, green tea and various vitamins, be sure to check out INSIDER’s Digital Issue, “The New Standard of Beauty."