HBA 2003: 11 Years of Show Success

he 11th Annual HBA Health & Beauty America was the place to be Sept. 30 – Oct. 2 as 16,509 beauty industry professionals gathered to see the latest in manufacturing and packaging in cosmetics, fragrances and personal care products.

Held at the Jacob K. Javits Con­vention Center in New York City, the event showcased 554 exhibitors and presented an outstanding educational program. The seminar schedule was jam packed with more than 185 speakers, 45 sessions, more than 1,000 registered conference attendees, and an increased number of Master Classes for the industry.

“With the top 25 marketing and manufacturing companies in the U.S. collectively sending more than 3,500 people to the event plus an increase in international attendees—HBA Health & Beauty America is a must-attend event for the entire industry,” said Jack Gonzalez, group show director of beauty events. “We have demonstrated again that HBA held annually in New York is North America’s most important beauty business event.”

HBA kicked off with a keynote address by Susan Arnold, president of Global Personal Beauty and Global Feminine Care for The Procter & Gamble Company, titled “Growing the Beauty Business: One Consumer at a Time.”

Arnold explained how P&G’s product strategy is three-fold: understand the consumer; build strong brands and keep them young, and have leading innovation.

Awards Dinner Recognizes Individuals, Products

The opening night 2nd Annual Industry Awards Dinner, attended by more than 600 industry executives and business leaders, honored individuals who have made significant contributions to the beauty industry as well as packaging innovation. This year’s honorees were: Dr. Albert M. Kligman with a Lifetime Achievement Award for the Advancement of Beauty through Science; Kathy Kordowski, vice president, package engineering and marketing services, Avon Products Inc. with the Packaging Executive of the Year Award; the Simply White team of John Curtis, associate director, technology; Peter Santarpia, technical associate; Michael Collins, senior technical associate; and Robin Cabanas, manager, technology, with the Annual New Product R&D Technical Team Award.

The 4th Annual International Package Design Awards were also presented at the awards dinner.The Grand Award was presented to Procter & Gamble for Olay Regenerist, which also was the Category Leader for Skin Care: Mass Distribution. The four other Category Leaders were: Cosmetics—Aveda Uruku Lipstick by Aveda; Skin Care: Limited Distribution—Advanced Recovery Concentrate by Kanebo International; Per­sonal Care—Intuition by Schick and Fra­grance—Crave Eau de Toilette by Calvin Klein .

Upcoming HBA Events in 2004

In 2004, HBA Health & Beauty America will again hold its mid-year educational forums in New York City.

Advance Technical Con­ferences & Selected Exhibition is planned for April 13-14 at the Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers. This conference program and mini-exhibition will cover high performance ingredients, high impact color, and high function naturals.

The Advance Packaging Sym­posium & Selected Exhibition will take place May 4-5 at the Westin New York in Times Square.

HBA is also introducing Beauty Fusion in 2004, a beauty event for the professional spa and salon industry that will take place Sept. 26-28, overlapping one day with the 12th Annual HBA Health & Beauty America trade show and conference, Sep. 28-30, at the Jacob K. Javits Center. More information on the educational forums and HBA Health & Beauty America, (609) 452-2800; Website:www.hbaexpo.com. More information on Beauty Fusion, (888) 561-8822 (Ext.1); Website: www.beautyfusion.com.