It's hard to believe that Vida Glow - now a globally renowned nutricosmetics brand that hails from Australia - first hit the beauty market in 2014. Today, one unit of Vida Glow's Natural Marine Collagen range is sold every four seconds. 'When we launched, Australia was ready for ingestible beauty,' says Anna Lahey, Vida Glow's founder, speaking exclusively to Grazia, 'an inside-out approach to beauty is a concept that aligns with the Australian beauty consumer, but we still had a lot of educating to do.' Anna's biggest obstacle at the time was product awareness, she says, 'and I could relate to that - when I first heard about collagen I thought it was Botox!'
Anna discovered the benefits of ingestible collagen when she was overseas. 'I was looking for something to help me address the significant hair loss that I was experiencing at the time,' she says, 'I'd tried everything and only saw results from taking a daily marine collagen supplement.' That was Anna's lightbulb moment. 'That spurred me on to invest in research, to look for scientific evidence that backed the results I saw in my own hair, skin and nails.' And the results? 'The data spoke for itself,' says Anna, 'I knew I had to share this, I felt very passionately that I had to launch a brand that would make this accessible to more people.'
Vida Glow launched into a real gap in the market. 'I quickly realised that in Vida Glow, we weren't simply launching a brand, we were launching a whole category,' says Anna, 'and today as leaders in ingestible beauty, a lot of what we do as a business impacts that category, it's a responsibility that we take very seriously, it's why we prioritise science, transparency and creating products that deliver visible results.'
Eight years on and Vida Glow has amassed a cult following and reeled in numerous celebrity fans - think Elsa Hosk, Poppy Delevingne, Pixie Lott and Rita Ora - with its range of stylishly packaged ingestibles, but there's serious science behind the trend-led hype. 'As a brand we like to show up as vibrant and bold,' says Anna, 'and we create everything through a scientific lens, our ingestible beauty products are designed to address skin, hair and nail concerns from the inside, while our topical beauty products work on the surface.'
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And Anna doesn't hold back when it comes to dipping into Vida Glow's extensive range herself. 'I'm a business owner and mum of three little children - plus two dogs! - so I understand the challenges of our time-poor consumers, that's why we make our products as fuss-free and convenient as possible.' Shop Anna's go-to Vida Glow routine below:
Shop: Anna Lahey's Go-To Vida Glow Routine
Vida Glow Anna Lahey - Grazia 2022
1 of 3Vida Glow Radiance Capsules, £49
'I take a Vida Glow Radiance capsule with a glass of water at the same time as I apply my skincare. I place the bottle in my vanity next to my moisturisers and serums so that I remember to take it.' - Anna Lahey.
2 of 3Vida Glow Natural Marine Collagen Mango Flavour, £39
'Around mid-morning I mix a Vida Glow Natural Marine Collagen Mango Flavour sachet into a glass of water - it's so refreshing.' - Anna Lahey.
3 of 3Vida Glow Natural Marine Collagen Original, £39
'And in the evening I'll blend our flavourless Vida Glow Original Natural Marine Collagen into a camomile tea. Our formulas are heat stable so you can mix it into any drink you like, hot or cold, and it will still perform with the same efficacy.'
On The Collagen Factor
'For a long time there have misconceptions about the science of collagen supplements and this has been a barrier,' says Anna, 'a lot of people believed it was all pseudoscience.' 'As leaders in this category, we're doing everything we can to break this stigma,' continues Anna, 'we work with a panel of external skin experts, including dermatologists and skin experts who publicly support ingestible beauty as part of a beauty routine.'
'We also put extensive investment into clinical trials,' says Anna, 'putting products through clinical trials is going above and beyond the standard procedure for our category, we're committed to leading with science and having confidence in the performance of our products.'
Vida Glow's Latest Release
Adding to their ever-growing line-up of capsules, Vida Glow has most recently added an ingestible that targets the symptoms of mild to moderate acne to its Advanced Repair line. The vegan, once-daily capsule includes hero ingredient AcuSolve, which has been scientifically proven to reduce the symptoms of pimples and acne by 50% in the first three months of consistent use. Designed to clarify, clear and restore, the Clear Capsules fight acne, breakouts and pimples and can be used within your daily routine. We can't wait to see what's next for Vida Glow!
