Global wellness company Lycored surveyed 508 physically active consumers in the U.S., Australia and New Zealand in October 2020. Almost half (44%) said they usually exercised outdoors, compared to 24% who mostly exercised indoors. Nearly four in 10 (38%) said they had exercised outdoors more since the COVID-19 pandemic, while 24% had exercised outdoors less.
 
Avoiding skin damage while exercising outdoors was a concern for 63% of respondents, ahead of avoiding muscular injury (53%) and immune health/avoiding illness (51%). Seventy percent of respondents had experienced damage to their skin, such as sunburn, at some point.
 
Ingestible Sun Care
The consumer survey reveals notable demand for ingestible sun care. Nine in 10 (89%) consumers liked the idea of a supplement that could promote a healthier relationship between their skin and the sun, with 44% said they find it very appealing.
 
There was an even more positive response to the idea of a hybrid supplement combining skin support with other benefits, such as anti-oxidation. Nine in 10 (91%) of the respondents said such a product would appeal to them.
 
‘Sun-Aware’
“It’s important for all of us to look after our skin, and this need is heightened when we exercise outdoors. Sun-aware behavior, in particular the use of sunscreen, is the best protection strategy, and ingestible sun care is no substitute,” said Zev Ziegler, vice president of brand and marketing at Lycored. “However, there is a growing body of evidence that nutrients such as beta-carotene and lycopene can offer additional environmental stress benefits.”
 
He added, “It’s natural that physically active consumers love the idea of supplements that can promote a healthier relationship with the sun. What is perhaps surprising is that there aren’t more sports nutrition products that specifically target sun care as a key aim, or hybrid products that combine it with other benefits.”
 
Lycoderm is Lycored’s nutrient complex for sun care supplements. The proprietary complex of tomato phytonutrients and rosemary leaf, offers optimal concentrations of lycopene, phytoene and phytofluene, as well as carnosic acid and naturally occurring vitamins A and E. In 2019, a study found that it could help balance the skin’s response to environmental challenges. Specifically, the study tracked UV-induced erythema formation as well as important skin biomarkers such as TNFα and IL-6 (Groten, K et al., Skin Pharmacol Physiol 2019;32 101-108).