While Maren Jensen’s past is deeply rooted within the beauty space, having cofounded Stila Cosmetics alongside makeup artist Jeanine Lobell, the previous model and “Battlestar Galactica” actress is harnessing her passion for wellness together with her recent ingestible brand.

Stila Cosmetics kicked off the colour cosmetics revolution within the ’90s. Now, Jensen is seeking to do the identical within the beauty-focused functional food space in 2023 together with her bar brand Glow Beauty Fuel, which was in a soft launch phase throughout the latter half of 2022.  

Jensen’s focused devotion to the wellness category got here after she was diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome, for which there isn’t a cure, ultimately leading her to go away acting and modeling. She began using food as medicine and exploring what supplements could sustainably treat her symptoms, while also the sweetness advantages. Most notably, she became a real believer in the advantages of collagen, estimated to be a greater than $9 billion global market in 2022, in response to Grand View Research. 

At first, Jensen’s research into the health advantages of collagen was a private endeavor, but a mutual friend introduced her to Laura Shoemaker, a licensed aesthetician and classically trained homeopath. The 2 hit it off and got to brainstorming what would eventually change into Glow Beauty Fuel, focusing specifically on the food space as consumer pill fatigue is on the rise. 

“We weren’t so fascinated with going into the non-food area. Functional food as a category is, to me, fascinating. I like the concept that you may eat something delicious and likewise get these functional advantages,” Jensen said. “We began kicking the concept around of getting a wellness-based beauty brand, and I kept seeing opportunities within the bar space because I like the concept of protein bars but I hated all of them. They’re disgusting.”

Functional food is a robust area of growth for wellness. In total, the functional grocery store is anticipated to succeed in $586 billion by 2030, in response to Grand View Research, which said it has seen immense growth as consumers are more focused on their overall health while also in search of convenient complement formats. The worldwide bar market can also be expanding, expected to rise from $4.68 billion in 2022 to $7.07 billion by 2029, in response to Fortune Business Insights. Industry sources say that sales for a start-up brand like Glow Beauty Fuel could reach between $20 million and $30 million by 2025.

 Jensen noted the brand’s unique value proposition is the mix of a delicious protein bar with efficacious beauty supplements. She and Shoemaker began developing different batches of bars at Jensen’s home kitchen. “Then we joined a collective kitchen. We became licensed food handlers. We bought equipment. We hired food scientists. We kept experimenting. Literally, we’ve probably made 100 different batches of all of our flavors.” Though she says they officially have the bottom down, Jensen is constantly working with their food scientist to make the bars taste even higher. 

The bars currently are available three flavors: Chocolate Mania, Orange Dream and Cherry Grazie, Jensen’s personal favorite. They’re equal to fifteen capsules’ price of nutrients and one hundred pc of each day beauty supplements, in response to the brand, each including 6,000 milligrams of single-source, pasture-raised, grass-fed hydrolyzed bovine collagen peptides, 120 milligrams of hyaluronic acid, 400 milligrams of hibiscus flower extract and 90 milligrams of vitamin C.

The bars, priced at $29 for a six-pack, are also filled with 13 grams of protein, employing watermelon seed plant protein, to compete with other traditional options in the marketplace. By way of the advantages of the bars, Jensen says consumers will immediately notice that their skin is more moist. After consistent use, they must also see longer and stronger hair and nails, in response to the brand. 

While the bars are filled with beauty-boosting supplements, are available enticing flavors and don’t include binders or fillers, a beauty-boosting bar is a recent multifunctional concept and requires education, especially because the protein bar space is an increasingly saturated market. 

“We’re on the convergence of wellness and wonder and nutrition,” Jensen said. 

She has used the web site as a key source for education with articles and content backed by the brand’s scientific advisor Brooke Russell, who has a PhD in microbiology and spent the last 10 years studying collagen. Glow Beauty Fuel has also harnessed YouTube and Instagram as sources to teach and differentiate the product to consumers, as they aim women of their 30s and 40s.  

While Glow Beauty Fuel started off direct-to-consumer focusing entirely on education through its website, the brand can also be committed to expanding its retail footprint with spas and salons. Currently, its flagship retailer in Latest York City is The Well, and it’s also sold at Mirbeau Inn & Spa and Menla, each within the Catskills. 

While the brand remains to be within the early stages, Jensen has her sights set on retail with a goal to be in 1,500 specialty food stores and wonder apothecaries in the subsequent two years. 

“I definitely want to satisfy the client there where they buy their organic foods or their special artisanal products,” Jensen said. “That’s where we would like to be.”