Global beauty industry expert Karen Grant, vice president, NPD Beauty—and a member of Beauty Packaging’s board of advisors—will open HBA Global Expo’s Trends Conference by presenting a custom HBA survey, which will identify key consumer findings on the cosmetics, skin care and fragrance marketplace and their effect on product development plans. The Trends Conference takes place throughout the day on Tuesday, September 15th at the Jacob K. Javits Center in Manhattan during HBA Global Expo & Conference, September 15-17. HBA is the largest product development event in the cosmetics, fragrance, personal care and well-being industries.

“Now more than ever, companies need strategic insight on emerging market trends, brand and sector vulnerabilities, and new opportunities for growth. This custom HBA research will provide attendees with meaningful data that will help them compete during these challenging business times and provide a stronger foundation for future developments,” says Grant.

In this special hour-long opening session, from 10:30-11:30 am, Grant will provide an overview of the beauty industry and provide current data on how the economy has affected the beauty sector and consumer buying behavior. Also discussed will be what beauty channels have been impacted the most, and the difference ethnicity and geography may have on purchasing decisions and patterns.

She will then present exclusive HBA research that delves into who is currently using and not using beauty products including makeup, skin care and fragrance. The data will unveil how these findings differ by age, region, income and ethnic group. Compelling insight on why consumers have never used or stopped using beauty products in the past two years will also be discussed.

The HBA research will also analyze the length of time consumers will try a product before deciding if it is effective and their reasons for not purchasing the product again. The overall shopping experience will also come into play as well as what other products consumers buy when shopping for beauty.