Selling the Idea That You Are What You Eat
When it comes to potions, lotions, pills, and other products promising everlasting youth and beauty (or just fewer lines and wrinkles), consumers have been willing, even eager, to swallow just about anything-literally.
That's been very good for Scott-Vincent Borba, a 33-year-old Los Angeles entrepreneur who's behind a fast-growing line of "edible" beauty products that claim to produce healthier, younger, and more radiant-looking skin-from the inside out-in as little as a week. From Skin Balance Waters, spiked with antioxidants, vitamins, and plant extracts, to nutrient-laden gummy bears and jelly beans, Borba's products claim to be scientifically proven to do everything from reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles to upping the skin's moisture content to firming up your sagging behind (or whatever).
Launched in 2005, and available at high-end stores like Nordstrom, Bergdorf Goodman, and Sephora, as well as on the QVC shopping network, Borba's waters, confections, and other skin-care products (including many that aren't edible) topped $5 million in sales last year. This year, revenues are expected to top $12 million, pushing the young company into the black. "You have to drink water and eat to survive, so I'm putting skin care into those things that we already do on a daily basis," says Borba, a beauty-industry veteran whose products grew out of his own desire to simplify his daily regimen of several bottles of water, umpteen nutritional supplements, and an elaborate array of lotions, creams, and other topical products. "Consumers understand that when it comes to your body and your skin, you are what you eat."
No FDA approval. And they are willing to pay up for the promise of an age-defying meal. The waters, which account for about a third of the company's sales, go for $2.50 a bottle (a 60-day supply of the active ingredients in powder form costs $100); the gummy bears and jelly beans cost $25 for a roughly 1-pound bag (meant to be a 90-day supply); a Borba chocolate bar is $8. Borba commissioned his own research on his products, which, because they are dietary supplements rather than drugs, do not require approval by the Food and Drug Administration. They are part of a booming market for so-called nutraceuticals, "functional" foods that include such health-promoting ingredients as green tea, pomegranate, and omega-3 fatty acids. Sales of nutraceutical drinks alone reached $6.7 billion in 2005, according to market research by Datamonitor, and they are expected to top $7 billion this year.
But do Borba's products work?
"I don't know of any scientific evidence that these sorts of products will enhance the skin of healthy people," says Paul Coates, the director of the Office of Dietary Supplements at the National Institutes of Health, who has reviewed the claims on Borba's packaging. "That doesn't mean they don't work. There just isn't any hard data at this point that says they do."
While Borba's products lack the rigorous clinical testing and peer review that would win over the scientific community, he has clearly struck a chord with consumers. Borba is well aware that youth-obsessed, quick-fix-loving Americans often congregate at the intersection of hope, science, and marketing, and that's where he has aimed his products. After working for some of the nation's biggest health and beauty companies, including Johnson & Johnson, he also knows his way around a focus group. The products are packaged in clean white boxes, with just the right dose of clinical-meets-trendy appeal. They taste good (the jelly beans are addictive, the waters sweet) and require virtually no behavior modification. "My products are designed to tap into common behaviors rather than creating new ones," says Borba. He has had bakeries mix his powders into icing for cupcakes, and bars combine his skin-replenishing waters with a shot of vodka for a Borba-tini (drink too many and there's a Borba hangover remedy, too). A cobranding fanatic and incessant networker, Borba has deals with Jamba Juice, which will blend his products into its drinks, and Tarte cosmetics, which is producing his first nutraceutical lip gloss, among other items. In May, he is set to announce a licensing and distribution deal for his waters with a major beverage company. Borba has been known to cold-call potential partners for months (Godiva Chocolates is his current fixation), if that's what it takes to strike a deal. The way he sees it, there isn't a single food or drink that couldn't be improved by being Borba-ized.
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