Consumer Perception and Market Trends Along the Carrot Value Chain for Value-Added Applications

Carrots, rich in carotenoids and other bioactive compounds, are a promising raw material for value-added applications such as nutricosmetics. Nutricosmetics represent a rapidly expanding segment of the beauty and wellness industry, driven by rising consumer interest in natural ingredients and health-focused products. However, the use of carrots as bio-ingredients in nutricosmetics remains limited due to a disconnect between production systems, scientific research, and market expectations. This study integrates bibliometric, social media, consumer-survey, market-trend, and foreign-trade analyses to identify the key gaps hindering the valorization of carrots within this industry. A systematic literature analysis showed a strong emphasis on postharvest quality and bioactive characterization (approximately 70% of the dominant thematic focus), with minimal attention to commercialization or circular-economy frameworks (less than 5%). Social media results revealed that public discourse is dominated by culinary and gardening themes (around 82% of extracted mentions), with very limited awareness of cosmetic or wellness applications (below 10%). Google Trends demonstrated moderate global growth in interest in nutricosmetics (approximately 28% increase over the analyzed period), with higher activity concentrated in Spanish-speaking countries (about 63% of the top interest locations). Consumer surveys in Colombia (n = 191) indicated that 70.16% of respondents were unfamiliar with the term “nutricosmetics,” though 54.45% reported consuming such products once definitions were provided, revealing a latent market potential. Trade analysis highlighted Colombia’s dependence on high-value imported ingredients, despite existing capacity to export value-added goods. Together, these findings reveal structural gaps between research, industry, and consumer awareness, offering a roadmap for positioning carrots as a viable ingredient for value-added applications in the nutricosmetics sector.