Neutrogena creates gummy skin supplements with AI, 3D printing

Skincare will be the focus of at least one of the many new tech products that are set to be unveiled this week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

The news: Skincare brand Neutrogena and 3D-printed vitamin maker Nourished are pooling expertise in AI and advanced manufacturing to create a new line of supplements that are designed for skin health. Called Neutrogena Skin360 Skinstacks, the product combines results of a quiz and customer skincare goals to recommend a stack of gummy supplements and topical routine.

How it works:

• At the SkinStacks website, consumers scan and take a picture of their face for a digital skin assessment. This analyzes a range of parameters, like clear skin, radiance and smoothness.
• Based on the results and a consumer’s individual skin health goals, the system issues a personalized recommendation for seven vitamins and nutrients to make up the stack.
• Users are then redirected to the Nourished website, where they can choose a flavor of 3D-printed supplements. The supplements are vegan and sugar-free.
• A 28-day supply of supplements is then shipped in plastic-free, home compostable packaging within 14 days. The price is $49.99.

Key quote: “At Neutrogena, we are grounded in the belief that beauty begins with healthy skin and are proud of a heritage that consistently delivers skincare solutions built at the intersection of science and technology, in a way that makes sophisticated science simple and inclusive for our consumers,” said Roberto Khoury, senior vice president at Johnson & Johnson brand Neutrogena, in a statement. “Working with Nourished allows us to further that commitment by marrying our award-winning digital skin assessment with Nourished[‘s] elegant 3D printing technology to create on-demand dietary supplements to help consumers meet their personal skincare goals.”

Trends to watch:

Partnership: When it comes to technology, the question before brands is often posed as, build or buy? Partnership offers a third way. Neutrogena has an AI assessment tool that the brand said was developed using 10,000 facial databases across ethnicities, skin types and ages, as well as 10 types of lighting. Nourished is bringing the rapid, automated manufacturing of 3D printing to consumable products that are designed for wellness. Joining forces allowed the brands to complement each other’s capabilities, with emerging technology applied both in the “bits” of the digital shopping experience and the “atoms” of production and logistics.

Personalization: Increasingly, consumers want products that are made for them, and advances in AI are making it possible. SkinStacks is built for this at each step, from the skin assessment to the incorporation of consumer priorities to the flavor selection to the on-demand ordering.

Built for routine: Consumers think about products in groups. Just as they need ingredients to make a full meal, they want goods that will fit into a full beauty routine, and supplements are becoming a bigger part of it. In this case, nutrition and beauty are coming together, pointing to a future where it's all part of the same package. The creation of a “stack” of products indicates that these brands are thinking in bundles, too. Given how the products are tuned to preference and taken regularly, it's also easy to see these orders being easily replenished, which sets them up for repeat buying.