Barely into the new year, and the buying/buyout trend continues. And Color Cosmetics are in the lead.

At a CEW trend forecasting event in New York on January 31, Karen Grant, NPD Group’s global beauty analyst—and a member of Beauty Packaging’s board of advisors—told the crowd that beauty sales keep rising—by about $1 billion per year. Much of the attention is associated with indie brands. As Grant noted, “The little ones are becoming the A-list ones.”

And sales continue to climb. In 2016, Prestige was up 6% and Mass, 2%. Makeup topped all categories, accounting for three-quarters of the gains.

Large global brand manufacturers are seeking opportunities. At the end of 2016, we learned that Lauder had made its largest acquisition ever—purchasing Prestige indie brand Too-Faced Cosmetics for a whopping $1.45 billion.

L’Oréal made the industry’s first billion dollar-plus acquisition of 2017, when it boosted its profitable Active Cosmetics Division, purchasing Mass brands CeraVe, AcneFree and Ambi for $1.3 billion.

Next, Coty, still in the midst of settling in its dozens of P&G-acquired brands, tied up a deal with online social media direct seller Younique and its approximately 200,000 presenters and over 4.1 million consumers in 10 countries.

Some indie brands are pushing forward on their own. Milk Makeup received its first outside investment, which primes it for global expansion.

Speculation is rampant in the beauty world, and thoughts about which brands are most desirable to access dominates many conversations.

CORPORATE PROFILES

Whether established global marketers or startups with great potential, brands can’t succeed without the right packaging.

That’s why this data-packed issue remains an indispensable, year-round resource for Beauty Packaging’s 11,500+ subscribers (with a strong pass-along readership as well). These Corporate Profiles are also instantly available at BeautyPackaging.com, which receives more than 70,000 page views a month.

In addition to its print and online reach, this issue will be distributed at all major industry events throughout the year, including Luxe Pack NY and Monaco; Cosmoprof Bologna and Las Vegas; MakeUp In; and NJPEC events.

So, be sure your packaging is as on target as your products; make a big impression—you never know who’s eyeing you—or what the future holds.

We hope you enjoy this issue.