Move over matcha: Here's beauty’s latest food-inspired obsessions
It’s no secret that ingredients gaining cultural relevance through food and drink often find a second life in beauty, as brands increasingly seek to transform consumer familiarity into product appeal.
Reflecting recent consumer interests, shoppers are currently going bananas for, well, bananas, with searches for “banana skincare” rising by 22% in recent months. Meanwhile, ube-inspired products are beginning to gain traction, mirroring the ingredient’s growing popularity across social media and café culture.
According to new insights from Fresha, banana-based beauty products align with growing demand for what it describes as “edible” beauty - products that feel more natural, approachable and recognisable to consumers, rather than relying on ingredients that may be unfamiliar to mainstream audiences.
Recent launches highlight the trend’s momentum, from Joonbyrd’s Big Time Body Wash, featuring banana notes, to Rhode’s Caramelized Banana Peptide Lip Treatment and Banana Peel Peptide Eye Prep Patches. Prada also previously generated significant online buzz with its take on a banana lip balm, while Dr.PAWPAW introduced a more affordably priced alternative.
However, this isn’t the first time bananas have made their mark in beauty. They’ve been trending for years. Ole Henriksen’s Banana Bright Eye Cream - and the wider banana-inspired range - has been a long-time favourite among beauty enthusiasts. Meanwhile, The Body Shop’s banana-infused shampoo and conditioner have remained popular for years, cementing the fruit’s enduring appeal in hair and skincare alike.
"In 2026, brands are under more pressure than ever to make beauty feel more accessible and less clinical, and food-based ingredients are perfect for this, which is where bananas come in," explains Fresha beauty expert Annabelle Taurua.
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"A great example of this is Hailey Bieber's brand, Rhode, which has been an early adopter of the emerging trend, recently launching its Caramelized Banana Peptide Lip Treatment and Banana Peel Peptide Eye Prep Patches, showing how quickly food-inspired beauty can take off once celebrities and influencers adopt it."
Alongside bananas, Fresha highlights the growing popularity of ube, the purple Filipino yam, which is attracting attention for both its novelty and visual appeal. Unlike bananas, ube remains relatively unfamiliar to many Western consumers, a characteristic the platform suggests may contribute to its appeal.
More than three million people searched for “ube” in the past month, while ube-based food and drink products - including lattes, ice cream and protein powders - continue to gain visibility. The trend is also beginning to influence beauty, particularly within make-up, where ube-inspired shades are driving interest in cool-toned lilac and lavender colour palettes. Examples include Huda Beauty’s ube-inspired cosmetics collection and Tower 28’s LipSoftie Lip Treatment in the shade Ube Vanilla.
"Trend-forward beauty shoppers are always looking for the next big thing, and ube’s offers a sense of discovery that mainstream ingredients can’t replicate," added Taurua.
“Ube’s violet purple to bright lavender colour palette offers a playful and bold appeal. And in an era where shareability drives discovery, that visual impact matters enormously. A product that looks as good as it performs is always going to have an advantage, and ube delivers on both fronts."
It comes as brands and creators are increasingly drawn to food-inspired language, textures and visuals to market beauty products, transforming skincare and makeup into something that feels almost edible.
Terms such as “glazed donut skin”, “juicy” lip oils, and blushes inspired by jelly sweets or fruit syrups are tapping into a sensory, appetite-led aesthetic that makes products feel desirable.
As for ingredients, recent market trends have also been dominated by matcha - a concentrated form of green tea - which is commonly used in masks and creams and is often associated with “detox” and purifying claims.
Meanwhile, coffee and caffeine frequently appear in eye creams and bodycare products, where they are marketed for their ability to reduce puffiness and improve circulation.
Cherry has also experienced a notable resurgence across both beauty and fragrance. This includes the popularity of cherry-forward scents such as those from Phlur and Coach, as well as skincare products like the Elemis Black Cherry Cleansing Balm and The Beauty Crop Cherie Mist.
