New beauty icon may be something you eat
From lip kits to jelly sticks, celebrities' beauty playbook is shifting from what goes on the skin to what goes into the body.
The change is evident on social media, where posts like Kylie Jenner's TikTok uploaded last week quickly went viral.
“I’ve added a new favorite to my routine. Pomegranate-flavored cutting jelly. This is not a typical jelly. It’s for digestion. My goal is to snack less for the new year. I’ve been bringing this everywhere,” she said, filming herself pulling a stick-type jelly supplement out of an Hermes bag and eating it in her car.
The message was clear: beauty routines are no longer limited to serums and creams. They now extend to functional foods and supplements designed to support digestion, skin and overall wellness — a category widely known in Korea as “inner beauty.”
Cardi B delivered a similar endorsement in December, praising the same type of “cutting jelly” on Instagram. Marketed as helping control post-meal blood sugar spikes and promote regular digestion, the product combines pomegranate concentrate with dietary fiber in a portable, single-serve format. “With this, I can eat whatever I want,” she said in the video, reinforcing the idea that beauty and body care are increasingly framed as lifestyle habits rather than cosmetic fixes.
Industry watchers see these celebrity shout-outs as a sign that inner beauty has entered its next growth phase. According to Kolmar BNH, the health-functional-food arm of Kolmar Korea, the global inner beauty market is expected to grow about 2 percent annually through 2027, driven by rising interest in skin, hair and gut health. “Inner beauty products are gaining attention worldwide across multiple wellness categories,” the company said.
Search and sales data support the shift. On Korean beauty app Hwahae, October’s top global search terms included not only skin care but also supplements such as zinc and selenium. At Olive Young, the country’s largest beauty retailer, sales of inner beauty products rose 24 percent among domestic customers and 49 percent among overseas shoppers in the first 11 months of 2025 compared with a year earlier.
The collagen boom sits at the center of the movement. “Collagen is king,” said Olive Kim, founder of supplement brands Clöud Café and Collagelée, noting that ingestible formats — from liquid shots and stick jellies to gummies and powders — are gaining favor as consumers seek visible skin benefits from within. Industry experts note that, because collagen molecules are difficult to absorb topically, many dermatologists and dietitians recommend oral supplementation to support elasticity and hydration.
Format matters as much as function. Fruity jellies, liquid shots and drinkable supplements are turning what was once a chore into a daily habit many consumers enjoy. As Korean-style holistic beauty gains popularity worldwide, the line between snack, supplement and skincare is increasingly blurred.
Copyright © 코리아헤럴드. 무단전재 및 재배포 금지.