Haircarebear is a brand that specializes in functional gummies and is part of Australian Health Vitality, which also owns brands such as IsoWhey, weight loss Celebrity Slim, Life Botanics and Wheyless.
The brand started selling hair care supplements about four years ago and has noticed a more pronounced demand since COVID-19.
Australian Health Vitality director Jimmy Seelvai said sales of the brand’s best-selling hair gummies soared 300 per cent in the year they were launched.
Over the past four years, annual sales growth has remained in the double digits, averaging 60 percent growth.
The brand also offers products like collagen, hyaluronic acid, and apple cider vinegar gummies.
The company’s sleep gummies and tummy gummies are its second and third best-selling products, behind hair care products.
In Australia, the products are primarily sold in grocery chains such as Coles and Woolworths. The brand also has presence in various parts of Asia, including Singapore via Watsons, Malaysia via Watsons and Caring Pharmacy, China and Indonesia.
It is also sold in Cambodia through approximately 300 privately owned stores.
Food ingredient researcher Seervai told NutraIngredients-Asia that the primary consumers of hair gummies are women aged between 18 and 45.
“We found that girls between the ages of 18 and 23 were using it to add shine to their hair.”
“As women enter the childbearing and delivery stage, we realised they too were having hair problems. We found that this consumer demographic was purchasing our products the most.”
The idea to develop a hair care supplement came about during conversations with retail customers who noticed that young women were struggling with thinning hair.
“We were talking to a lot of our retail clients about what was missing in the market in terms of what people were looking for: thicker, fuller hair.”
This conversation sparked the development of Hair Care Bear’s first original product: hair gummies.
The brand name “Hair Care Bears” was born from Seelvai’s daughter, who was four years old at the time, who thought that Care Bears could help people who suffered from hair loss.
The trend in hair care products has become even more pronounced since COVID-19, which he attributes to changes in lifestyle.
“Many consumers are staying home and not getting enough Vitamin D during COVID-19. Their diets are changing and they’re noticing that their hair is starting to thin, especially in younger women.”
Still, market demand has exceeded expectations, said Seelvai, who is also known as a contestant on season two of Australia’s MasterChef.
“I think we underestimated the deficiencies of certain minerals that existed among people of that age.”
“We were pleasantly surprised when the orders started coming in. We started developing our products in our office and lab with our own labels, but before we knew it, we were having to make thousands of labels.”
Our best-selling hair gummies contain 50mg of biotin per two gummies, which is 167% of the Estimated Safe and Adequate Daily Intake (ESADDI).
Other key ingredients used include Vitamins A, B5, B6, C, D, E, folic acid, zinc, iodine, choline and inositol.
In Australia this product is sold as a combined supplement sports food.
According to Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ), these products “may contain certain ingredients that are not permitted to be added to ‘general use’ foods and drinks, or that are added at higher levels”.
Seelvai explained that the vitamin and mineral-rich product formula is one of the things that differentiates the hair gummies from other hair, skin and nail gummies on the market.
“Our actual specific formulas target thicker, longer and shinier hair. Our hair, skin and nail products have silica and a few other different ingredients in them, which also work, but they’re not specifically targeted at hair growth, hair strength or hair shine,” he said, adding that the taste of the products is another area the brand focuses on.
They use pectin instead of beef gelatin, making them suitable for vegans.
The brand has also obtained Halal certification to introduce its products in regions such as Malaysia, Indonesia and the Middle East.
Pipeline: Sugar-free, personal care
HairCareBear’s upcoming pipeline includes sugar-free gummies and personal care products that also target hair health.
These personal care products include hairsprays, hair tonics, hair conditioners, hair oils etc. These are expected to be launched in the second quarter of next year.
A sugar-free option would also address demand for gummy supplements, especially among young people.
“There are lots of supplements out there targeting hair, skin, nails etc, but we’ve just installed equipment in our factory in Nowra to make gummies.
“And we’ve seen momentum with more young people preferring gummies over tablets,” he said.
“We made it into a gummy because we didn’t want to confuse our product with something that needs to be taken to treat flu symptoms or immune symptoms, and also because our target market is a little younger,” he added.
Market footprint
The brand is expanding aggressively across the world, with Vietnam, the US and Canada being some of the markets it has recently entered.
Next destinations include the Middle East.
“We are close to launching it in the Middle East and it will be available in pharmacies across Dubai and in Saudi Arabia,” Seervai said.
