How Food-Inspired Ingredients Are Reshaping Fragrance, Personal Care, and Beauty Trends
Authored by Cris Stroever
Food’s influence on beauty is bigger than ever. Clean beauty, functional formulations, and sensory experiences dominate 2025’s biggest launches, leaving synthetic-heavy products feeling outdated. Indie brands are also moving fast, experimenting with kombucha skincare, coffee-infused body oils, and upcycled food ingredients.
Consumers trust ingredients they recognize, and food-based formulations make beauty products feel more authentic, natural, effective, and indulgent. In fact, 45% of consumers are willing to use natural ingredients or food products as substitutes in their beauty care routines. Additionally, 52% of consumers actively seek skincare products with recognizable ingredients.
Food trends go beyond just what’s on our plates as we see them trickling more into fragrance, skincare, and personal care categories. Up-and-coming food products like ube chocolate, seaweed chips, fermented beverages, and CBD or collagen infused edibles are primed for the next wave of beauty product development.
The Science Behind Food-Based Beauty
Beauty brands are ditching artificial additives, synthetic fragrances are being replaced with essential oils, and chemical preservatives are losing ground to food-grade alternatives like coconut-derived surfactants. Consumers are demanding it, with 40% now prioritizing natural ingredients in beauty products.
Food-derived ingredients are backed by science. Antioxidants from fruits like berries and citrus help slow premature aging and protect skin from environmental damage. Fermented ingredients like kombucha and probiotics help balance the skin microbiome, improving barrier function and reducing inflammation. Plant-based oils and butters, like jojoba and shea, mimic the skin’s natural lipids, promoting deep hydration without clogging pores.
We’re seeing five trends showing how food is driving innovation for the next wave of beauty and personal care.
1. Functional Foods Ingredients
While superfoods are great for fueling our bodies, they’re also taking over beauty, bringing powerful, skin-loving benefits straight from the kitchen to skincare and haircare.
Adaptogenic herbs like ashwagandha and ginseng are making their way into skincare for their ability to combat stress and support skin resilience. Meanwhile, dark leafy greens such as spirulina and kale are becoming anti-aging powerhouses, while exotic fruits like acai, dragon fruit, and yuzu bring brightening, hydrating, and antioxidant-rich benefits to skincare and haircare.
Functional Mushrooms are on the rise for their cognitive and stress-relief benefits, with ingredients like reishi, lion’s mane, and chaga making their way into both wellness and beauty. They are valued for their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, helping to protect and restore skin and scalp health.
Upcycled ingredients are gaining traction in beauty, with nearly half of skincare products using coffee grounds, seed oils, and fruit extracts. Haircare is catching up, growing 7.37% as brands swap synthetics for fruit peel and seed extracts in shampoos and conditioners.
CBD edibles draw Millennials seeking stress relief and Gen Z favoring natural wellness solutions. From gummies to beverages, CBD is now spilling into beauty, with skincare and haircare brands using it for its soothing, anti-inflammatory benefits.
Functional Seltzers infused with vitamins, minerals, and adaptogens are popular with Gen Z and Millennials seeking health benefits beyond just hydration. Brands are incorporating adaptogens and botanical extracts into skincare and haircare products for their calming and balancing effects.
2. Sustainable & Ethical Movements
Beauty is embracing the farm-to-face movement, where sustainability meets transparency. Brands are sourcing local, organic ingredients, reducing their carbon footprint while ensuring ethical, traceable sourcing. Consumers trust farm-grown botanicals, driving demand for small-batch beauty and farm-fresh skincare that supports local agriculture and minimizes waste.
Beyond local sourcing, sustainable and ethical beauty is shifting toward regenerative farming, plant-based alternatives, and responsible ingredient sourcing. As consumers demand zero-waste practices and fair-trade partnerships, brands that prioritize eco-conscious innovation are setting the new industry standard.
Regenerative agriculture is gaining traction as Gen Z and Millennials seek ethically sourced, eco-friendly products. Beauty brands are responding by using botanicals from sustainable farms to create skincare and haircare that supports soil health and biodiversity.
Plant-based “seafood” is rising as Gen Z and Millennials embrace sustainability. Beauty brands are following suit, using marine ingredients like seaweed, algae, and vegan collagen for hydration and nourishment.
Insect Protein is up-and-coming as a sustainable, high-nutrient alternative, for eco-friendly food and beauty innovations. Insect protein’s rich amino acids and chitin content are being explored in hair and nail care, offering a natural, high-performance alternative for strengthening and repairing.
Consumers are demanding ethical sourcing, with one in four Gen Z shoppers favoring brands that share ingredient origins. This is driving companies to highlight fair-trade shea butter, responsibly harvested botanicals, and other ethically sourced ingredients that align with their values.
3. Gourmet & Elevated Convenience
The rise of gourmet and elevated convenience is reshaping beauty, as consumers seek luxury, quality, and functionality in their personal care products. Beauty brands are crafting high-performance, food-inspired formulas that deliver instant nourishment, hydration, and indulgence.
Gourmet High Quality demand is being driven by Consumers seeking luxury and indulgence in both food and beauty. Just like premium gourmet foods, beauty products are embracing decadent textures, rich ingredients, and comforting scents. Millennials and Gen X, who appreciate elevated food experiences, are drawn to fragrances, skincare, and body care that evoke warm, nostalgic, and indulgent sensations.
Savory Yogurts-based beauty products highlights a shift toward functional, skin-friendly ingredients that mirror culinary innovation. Just as herb – and spice – infused yogurts appeal to adventurous palates, lip balms, masks, and skincare are embracing savory notes and probiotic-rich formulations for nourishment and uniqueness.
Alternative Flours like chickpea, almond, and rice are valued for their gentle exfoliating and nutrient-rich properties offer skin-smoothing, oil-absorbing, and brightening benefits, making them a rising trend in food-inspired beauty formulations.
4. Fermented & Botanical Innovations
Fermented and botanical ingredients are transforming skincare and haircare, delivering probiotic benefits, hydration, and anti-aging properties. Ingredients like kombucha, kefir, and fermented rice water help balance the skin microbiome, while botanical extracts from kelp, seaweed, and herbal infusions provide deep nourishment and antioxidants.
Once considered a niche trend, these are becoming more mainstream as their benefits are becoming more known, with beauty brands using fermented ingredients to boost efficacy and enhance absorption.
Fermented ingredients like kimchi, miso, and kombucha are redefining beauty, delivering probiotics that strengthen the skin barrier, boost hydration, and balance the microbiome. Beauty brands are using fermentation to enhance nutrient absorption.
Botanical beverages infused with butterfly pea flower, saffron, baobab, and mate leaf are inspiring beauty and personal care. These botanicals, known for their antioxidants and skin-enhancing properties, also boost boosting hydration, radiance, and protect against environmental stressors.
Kelp and seaweed, rich in vitamins and antioxidants, boost hydration, improve elasticity, and protect against stressors. As plant-based beauty grows, these marine ingredients are now key in moisturizers, serums, and hair treatments for their anti-aging and strengthening benefits.
5. Culinary Exploration & Flavor Fusion
Beauty brands are infusing products with international ingredients like ube, Thai pandan, and Japanese yuzu for their unique aromas and skin benefits. Fusion ingredients can be used to blend cultures and also embrace hybrid concepts, from alcohol-inspired fragrances to heirloom exfoliants and edible flower-infused skincare. These ingredients offer antioxidants, hydration, and sensory indulgence, pulling cultural exploration into a beauty experience that resonates with adventurous, wellness-driven consumers.
Hybrid beauty fuses unexpected notes and global ingredients, creating complex fragrances and skincare inspired by diverse traditions. From floral-spice perfumes to botanical-infused treatments, these formulations reflect an adventurous, cross-cultural appeal.
Alcohol-infused beauty brings the luxury of craft cocktails to fragrances, body care, and skincare with notes of bourbon, rum, and champagne, appealing to Gen X and Millennials craving indulgence.
Heirloom grains like black rice, amaranth, and barley are making their way into beauty, valued for their proteins, vitamins, and hydration benefits. These heritage ingredients strengthen, moisturize, and protect skin and hair, giving traditional ingredients a modern beauty twist.
Feeding the Future of Beauty
The future of beauty innovation is being shaped by the ingredients consumers already trust and love – food. Brands that successfully integrate food-inspired elements into their formulations will be primed to lead the next wave of beauty, offering products that feel familiar and functional. Consumer preferences evolve rapidly, and the difference between a viral success and a forgotten launch lies in understanding what people truly want. Consumer insights and product testing can bridge the gap between brands and consumers, ensuring that product concepts resonate before they hit the shelves.
Curion specializes in delivering impactful insights to the world’s top CPG companies, helping them develop winning, repeatedly purchased products. Curion’s deep data-driven product insights, sensory expertise, and state-of-the-art consumer centers enable them to uncover responses to critical client objectives. With over five decades of experience in the product testing industry, Curion is dedicated to guiding clients with their proprietary XP Xperience Performance platform, connecting brands to consumers at every step.
An innovator in the industry, Curion recently developed a groundbreaking benchmarking product testing method, the Curion Score™, which has become a trusted and sought after tool within the industry. As one of the largest product and consumer insights companies in the U.S., Curion has built a reputation for excellence and trust among the world’s leading consumer brands. Curion’s commitment to innovation and expertise, coupled with a passion for delivering actionable insights, makes Curion a valuable partner for companies looking to develop and launch successful products.
