Ten years after consumers first tasted the potential of grapes in cosmetic products, the beauty industry is still intoxicated with the desire for vinotherapy. Nadia Di Martino reports
Just like a good wine, the development of vinotherapy took its time to mature. Beauty techniques related to the power of grapes have developed considerably since the very first spa was opened in France by Caudalie in 1999.
Manufacturers today often make use of their homegrown grapes, with an appealing variety of ranges springing up from famous vineyard locations worldwide.
In countries outside Europe, including South Africa and Australia, the concept of vinotherapy remains a relatively new trend but one that is being embraced nonetheless.
Even the extremely beauty conscious and trendy Californian C&T market has taken inspiration from France to set up wine spas in the Napa Valley region. According to Sébastien Guillotin, project manager for the Spa & Cosmetic division for the French contract manufacturer and ingredients supplier Lessonia: “Vinotherapy is now a global concept.
It all started with what we call the French paradox and when studies showed the benefits of grapes and wine in food, nutriceuticals and cosmetics it became a hit. Vinotherapy today is a good combination of positive well-being and efficient products.”
This aforementioned French paradox usually refers to the suggestion that red wine, a particular favourite with the French, is thought to decrease the incidence of cardiac diseases and is generally seen as beneficial to health.
Soon the cosmetics industry, always on the lookout for the newest, most effective anti-ageing ingredient, took this idea on board to develop new treatments based on harnessing the power of the grape.
The elixir of youth?
It was a study first published in 1993 by five US researchers which found that grapevine polyphenols are 10,000 times more active than vitamin E when it comes to oxidation that first made people aware of vinotherapy.
A more recent study published in 2005 by Harvard University in the US proved that resveratrol, found in grapes, extends the lifespan of cells by 160%. It does this by acting on sirtuins, the proteins responsible for cell longevity.
French company Caudalie founded its spa based on this scientific evidence. “For us it all started in 1993 in the Bordeaux region of France among the vines at the Château Smith Haut Lafitte, the vineyard owned by my family,” says Mathilde Thomas, founder of Caudalie. “My husband and I began a close collaboration with Dr Vercauteren in order to analyse the anti-ageing properties of the polyphenols contained within grape seeds and the possibility of using them in a range of skin care products.“
Dr Vercauteren, head of the polyphenol group at the University of Pharmacy in Bordeaux, was the first to reveal to Thomas the antioxidant powers of grape seeds.
According to Thomas: “The reason no other grape-based product had been developed before is that nobody had succeeded in stabilising the polyphenols until then.”
Dr Vercauteren managed to do just that and his discovery was then patented. Shortly after Caudalie was founded.
“The company was named after the term for the measurement of the duration of a wine’s flavour on the palette,” explains Thomas. “And this is how I came up with the concept of the vinotherapy spa which in turn led to the launch of our first Caudalie Spa in Bordeaux. Today we have five spas located in Spain, US (New York) and France. And we are currently opening a new spa in Porto in Portugal.”
Combining pleasures
By 2009, Caudalie had a turnover of t80m, with 60% of the clientele in its home market of Bordeaux made up of women. “Both men and women really love our spas and the iconic treatments like the Barrel Bath and the Crushed Cabernet Scrub,” comments Thomas.
She adds: “Vinotherapy is mainly about skin care but it is also about toning and firming the body. Indeed at Caudalie’s spas you can ask for a grape eating plan that consists of eating only grapes for at least a week and this is then complemented by having vinotherapy treatments in the spa at the same time.”
Besides grapes, Caudalie uses natural fragrances like organic essential oils, grape seed oils, vine yeast, vegetal glycerine and shea butter in its products and treatments which are associated with molecules such as hyaluronic acid, said to be very effective for its moisturising benefits.
Mindful of consumer opinion, Caudalie also removed parabens, phthalates, colourants, mineral oils and animal-derived ingredients from all of its formulas in 2006. Caudalie says its Vinoperfect and Vinoexpert ranges are the leading product ranges in European pharmacies having whetted the appetites of consumers keen to see if this type of therapy really works.
An increasing number of companies have started to focus on incorporating the power of grapes and vines into their skin care offerings too. Lessonia, best known for its C&T products based on gold and caviar extracts, is now getting in on this trend and is currently working with champagne, vine extracts, grape seed exfoliators and grape microzests.
“The only limitation with these type of products is that Muslim countries do not accept alcohol derivatives in their C&T items,” says Guillotin. “We have a lot of expertise in natural raw materials for use in the cosmetics industry including exfoliants, natural pigments and seaweeds. Now we have started to focus on grape seed extract and also on champagne extract.
Our customers wanted us to extend our knowledge to using champagne and this ingredient is highly concentrated in antioxidant compounds such as polyphenols,” he adds.
Branching out
Although vinotherapy has its origins firmly rooted in France, other countries are really getting in on the act. Spain, US (California), Australia and South Africa have rapidly followed suit.
And US company d’vine manufactures products based on a Californian wine formulation that features a blend of grape seed extracts which are said to be packed with antioxidants and soothing skin nutrients. Christina Milton, director of global education and development for d’vine says: “d’vine is the first complete vine and wine therapy skin care line in the US and we know that red and white wine contain phytolalexins, which improve the integrity of the skin’s capillaries.
“Our target group was initially the 30+ age group, however our remarkable results in alleviating skin problems including acne meant we have widened our range to the teenage category as well.”
Meanwhile Kristin Fraser Cotte founded The Grapeseed Company in California in 2004 after studying plant-derived ingredients for over ten years around the globe.
“While I was sailing the Atlantic and around
the Caribbean for two years, I discovered the benefits of natural oils and plants used by local islanders in making cosmetics in small batches. After settling back in Santa Barbara, I then launched a line of bath and body products centred on a local antioxidant-rich ingredient: grape seeds,” she explains.
It was obviously a lucrative move as the company grew by about 70% last year and Fraser Cotte forecasts the vinotherapy trend will only soar as more people start to realise the benefits.
“There is now a great deal of research proving the positive effects of consuming red wine in particular and grape seed and resveratrol vitamin supplements are also a big trend here, with medical research pointing to possible cancer prevention, blood and circulatory health benefits.”
In August The Grapeseed Company opened a new shop in Santa Barbara and it has also just started distributing products on the UK market.
Fraser Cotte adds : “We are thrilled to open our doors to the local community, to engage people in classes and to teach them about eco-friendly practices using our products.
“I have seen a great deal of interest in vinotherapy from people I speak to, particularly when using local Californian grape seeds to create skin care products. We’re in the middle of a very exciting time right now.”
Sewing future seeds
It was scientific research into the medical benefits of grapes that first caught manufacturers’ interest in the use of grapes for beauty purposes. And the concept of vinotherapy spas is now proving a successful marketing tool with consumers already aware of the positive effects of grapes and what they can offer.
With this concept, manufacturers have found it relatively easy to lure consumers to try vinotherapy spas when on their holidays or as part of a weekend break and it is really a movement that people worldwide seem to have bought into.
According to industry insiders, there is likely to be an increased demand for such products and treatments and vinotherapy will continue to play an active part in the C&T industry for years to come.
Players will therefore increasingly develop new and different products of this ilk to harness and showcase the advantages of a sector which, being a natural one, often has a head start with today’s consumer anyway.
Says Thomas: “The spa sector has seen great expansion in the past ten years. Caudalie has been one of the pioneers of spas in France and today this sector has reached a period of stabilisation.
Meanwhile some less profitable spas have closed and others have floundered. On one hand, after the boom of the past ten years, investors really have a deep knowledge of the industry. But on the other, consumers now recognise genuine spas from fake ones and they are looking for top quality these days.”
And it would seem that consumer appetite for all things vinotherapy related, whether it’s trying the new products, sampling the treatments or visiting the themed spas, is far from quenched just yet.
