The first edition of Cosmopack International Business Forum & Exhibition at the Hilton Midtown Hotel in New York was held September 16-17. Organized in collaboration with Cosmetica Italia, Polo Tecnologico della Cosmesi and with the participation of ICMAD (Independent Cosmetics Manufacturers and Distributors) and ITA (Italian Trade Agency), the event showcased the excellence of the Made in Italy mark, and spotlighted the know-how and innovation of Italian and other leading international companies in the beauty sector. 

The streamlined B2B event was organized by Cosmoprof/Cosmopack, and featured a half-day of educational topics focused on conducting business in the U.S.—including vital information on regulations, trends and communication strategies—followed by a day and a half of pre-arranged, one-on-one meetings set up between suppliers and buyers.

According to the organizers, more than 676 B2B meetings were held. At least 83 buyers and distributors—from the U.S., Canada, Europe, China, Korea and UAE— attended pre-scheduled meetings with 44 vendors who represented the whole beauty supply chain. Specialties ranged from raw materials to machinery and technologies, contract manufacturing to primary and secondary packaging.

Dino Tavazzi, CEO, BolognaFiere Cosmoprof, told Beauty Packaging that he was “very satisfied” with the New York event. He said the format provides a new experience, something different. “It’s more like a community than a trade show,” he said, “which was the original intent.” Conducive to optimal networking opportunities, many of the participants stay in the same hotel and attend social events during the two-day event. Tavazzi described the “B2B matchmaking” as unique and successful. The educational component, he said, spoke about everything that’s new in the cosmetics industry.

According to Tavazzi, the majority of participating suppliers were returnees from Cosmopack New York’s premier event in 2014, but there were several new additions, especially in the areas of machinery and packaging. Looking ahead to next year’s event, Tavazzi predicted: “I think it will be bigger than this year’s.”

Educational Sessions

Cosmopack New York’s educational sessions were designed to address areas of key interest to participants, and ranged from trends in ingredients, to essentials for retail packaging, to the latest thinking regarding GMPs and transparency.

“Retailers Perspective: The Visual Impact & Merchandising,” moderated by Pete Born, executive editor of Women’s Wear Daily, featured a discussion between Marcia Gaynor, DMM prestige, global and exclusive owned beauty brands; Jessica Richards, founder Shen Beauty; and Shawn Tavakoli, founder and CEO, Beauty Collection.

Born introduced the session, saying, “The market has undergone a retail revolution in the past ten years, and products are under a lot of pressure to stand out.” In response to his question, “When you look at a product the first time, what do you visualize?” all of the panelists immediately responded that packaging is key to awareness. Richards said, consumers first focus on what the package looks like, the color and shape. Then they look at the product, at the ingredients. Gaynor said, “Packaging first. Does it pop? Is it different? How does it fit in?” She added, “The packaging has to attract attention and draw curiosity” as a first step.

Tavakoli agreed. “Packaging is critical—it’s the brand’s promise,” he said. Performance, too, is of course, utmost, he added. “Once they get beyond the packaging, what’s inside has to perform.”

Additional takeaways included the rising importance of customer service and trusted, educated beauty advisors. Panelists also said that packaging has to be simple and clear and tell the product story in laymen’s terms. Tavakoli emphasized that shoppers always want something new—they’re always looking for the next big trend. Regardless of increased interest in online sales, panelists said consumers still want to come into stores where they can touch and feel. What to watch for on shelves in coming months? Wellness and ingestible beauty brands and charcoal masks were a few of the products mentioned.

The Session called “From Green to Clean: Branding Insights,” was moderated by Dr. Brooke Carlson, a professor at FIT. Speakers were Amanda Bopp, director of Macy’s consumer insights and analytics; Corey Moran, senior director, marketing, mass fragrances at Coty; and Joshua Onysko (please see video at BeautyPackaging.com), founder & chief product officer, Pangea Organics.

The discussion focused on topics including trends among millennials, such as a shift to e-commerce, a tendency to spend money on experiences rather than possessions and a growing preference toward smaller “mom & pop” retailers and “slow shopping” similar to a Starbucks atmosphere where they can relax and be pampered. Many of these consumers strive for authenticity and transparency in their product purchases.

Holding millennials’ interest and establishing brand loyalty is a growing challenge. Moran said FIT Capstone research showed that consumers would not care if 73% of brands disappeared tomorrow. Bopp told the audience that the human attention span has declined to 8 seconds, adding, “A goldfish’s is nine seconds.”

For expanded information and videos highlighting brands, buyers and suppliers at Cosmopack New York, please go to BeautyPackaging.com.

VIDEOS:
Pangea
Ancorotti Cosmetics
Marchesini Group
Omnicos
Penelli Faro
DermStore


Cosmopack by the Numbers

Here are a few facts regarding the Italian cosmetics industry as relayed by Maurizio Forte, Italian trade commissioner and executive director for the USA, during the introduction to Cosmopack New York’s educational presentations and roundtables:

—More than 60% of cosmetics are made in Italy (whether branded as such or not)

—The U.S. imported almost $7 billion of Italian products in 2014.

—Italy is the fourth largest supplier to the U.S. market.
(The U.S. was the No. 1 destination of Italian cosmetics export after Germany, France and the UK.)

—Italy is the fourth largest supplier of makeup to the U.S. market.

—Italy is the second largest supplier of skin care to the U.S. market.

—Italy is the largest supplier of hair care to the U.S. market.

—Sales in all categories above rose double digits in 2015.