PUX creates a new category of vegan nutricosmetics

Beauty drinks are currently one of the hottest trends in the European supplement and nutricosmetics industry. Collagen-based beauty drinks are leading the market, but as the creators of PUX and the Elixis brand convince, the use of vegan macromolecular hyaluronic acid in a maximum dose is a recipe for an innovative hit among supplements. Although, at the same time, no manufacturer in the world has yet managed to use this ingredient in such concentration to create such an effective beauty drink. Supplementation with Elixis – a concentrated 50 ml shot, with a daily dose of 250 mg of hyaluronan, with a recipe created by outstanding Polish biotechnologists, is to help millions of people in their daily care for their health and beauty.

“At PUX, we believe that true beauty comes from within. Only holistic support of the whole body will bring a spectacular improvement in our appearance. We are currently developing beauty drinks – ‘drinking cosmetics’ – based on vegan macromolecular hyaluronic acid, while maintaining the liquid form of our supplement. We base our product not only on hyaluron but also, among other things, on concentrated plant extracts with skincare properties and powerful antioxidants. Thanks to these solutions, the product will be much more effective than the traditional skin cosmetics used solo.”
– says Rafał Pukiński, president and founder of PUX, who has 20 years of experience in managing companies in the food and cosmetics sector.

What is the uniqueness and innovation of the nutricosmetic created by PUX? The base of the product is vegan, high-molecular hyaluronic acid, whereas other products on the market contain mainly low-molecular acid, a negligible portion of hyaluronic acid or collagen. The effect of Elixis is a much better absorption of water in the skin, i.e. more effective hydration of the skin. In addition, vegan hyaluronic acid has a protective function, preventing damage from oxidative stress caused by free radicals. It speeds up the wound healing process and exhibits anti-inflammatory properties. But it doesn’t stop there.

“The secret of Elixis lies in achieving the so-called additive synergy between natural extracts from plants, vegetables and fruits. This consists, of course, of strictly defined proportions of the ingredients, the process of their extraction and the production technology using water subjected to structure change processes. The combination of macromolecular hyaluronic acid with other active ingredients triggers regenerative processes within the body. Until now, beauty drink manufacturers have not managed to encapsulate macromolecular hyaluronic acid in such a dose in a liquid form. PUX has achieved this.”
– says Paloma Cekowska, sales manager at PUX.  

“Elixis is also rich in raw materials from nature (organically grown or all-natural and bio raw materials), without parabens, silicones, artificial fragrances, dyes and other unnecessary additives. We know that hyaluronic acid products are a popular type of product, but those in liquid form in the form of nutricosemetics are an eagerly awaited innovation. A few years ago, a similar innovation was collagen, which has now become a permanent feature of nutricosmetics.” – she adds.

Partner with experience

PUX is a team of experts in cosmetology, biotechnology and FMCG. Thanks to close production and technological co-operation with the Popławska Group, a manufacturer of cosmetics designed for professional office and home care treatments, new opportunities for the development of beauty drinks are opening up before the company. Thanks to the modern research and production facilities and experience in professional cosmetics at the disposal of the industry giant, PUX gains a partner that will enable the company to produce innovative nutricosmetics. 

“At Poplawska Group, we have been successfully developing recognisable brands of professional cosmetics for 20 years. We are also looking for innovation, and this year we started close cooperation with Wrocław Technology Park – we are a member of the Nutribiomed cluster, to which PUX also belongs. Cooperation with a startup so close to our industry provides us with an opportunity to expand our service offerings in the area of private labe production.”
– says Aleksandra Wysocka, director of the Private Label and Laboratory Department at Popławska Group.

from left: Patricia Popławska, Rafał Pukiński, Aleksandra Wysocka

Poplawska Group has made a capital commitment to the PUX supplement project, setting up a dedicated production line in Wilczyce that meets a range of requirements for the manufacture of a new category of nutricosmetics. 

“Food and supplement production requires us to adapt our production line to HACCP and ISO standards. We are in the process of completing a process line adapted to the production of Elixis, training our technologists and implementing new procedures in a dedicated laboratory. We will start production of Elixis within a few months.” – adds Aleksandra Wysocka. 

The future of Elixis

As planned, PUX will launch its first nutricosmetic within the next few months. Rafał Pukiński’s project was appreciated not only by the Popławska Group, but also by the NCBiR, which granted PUX PLN 1 million for research and development of the ‘drinking cosmetic’. PUX wants to raise PLN 4 million from investors, which it will use to accelerate Elixis sales in Poland (later in Europe) and research and development of further hyaluronan-based products.

“We are in talks with several investors and VC funds. We plan to sign the first investment agreements soon.” – says Rafał Pukiński, adding that PUX’s goal is to create a new beauty food category. “My ambition is that within 5 years PUX will become a large, recognisable company on the European beauty drinks market, producing and selling beauty food and effective nutricosmetics in liquid form. Our first focus is on the beauty drink market segment, which is still undefined and saturated in Poland.”- he adds.

The supplement market – beauty drinks

“As every body ages, it loses its ability to regenerate quickly, so it is important that body care is also supported effectively from within. The regular intake of beauty drinks will be the beauty prophylaxis of the future.” – says Pukiński, adding that he is keeping a close eye on the competition, including the distant ones. “It was in Japan 15 years ago that I first encountered ‘beauty drinks’, which only appeared in Europe a few years ago. It is Asia that is leading the way in the development of new beauty solutions and has, in a way, ‘infected’ the world with these. Polish women and men also increasingly understand that a great cream is not the same as a great beauty drink.” – adds the company’s president.

This is borne out by the data: according to the Market Data Forecast report, the Asia-Pacific cosmetic beverage market was worth US$161.3 million in 2021, which is further estimated to reach US$289.05 million by the end of 2026. However, both the East and the West are dominated by collagen-based nutricosmetics, and these solutions are also referenced in the above report. The size of the global hyaluronic acid market was valued at US$8.5 billion in 2020. (Grand View Research data). In 2022, the growth of the cosmetic market in Poland will be 6.1% year-on-year, to approximately PLN 27.7 billion. This will be the highest growth since 2009 (data from PMR report).