Cosmoprof Bologna: Molto Bene!

“Very good!” was how many suppliers described the 41st edition of the Italian beauty show, which drew a record number of attendees.

By Jamie Matusow, Editor

Bologna’s ancient arched porticoes and precarious leaning towers may come as a surprise to visitors unprepared for the wealth of art and architecture that lies within the confines of Europe’s oldest university city—just as first-time attendees of Cosmoprof may be unprepared for the massive array of beauty products that await inside the vast halls of the city’s sprawling fairgrounds.
  
And while Bologna’s shopping district does not house flagships of Italian brands such as Prada, Ferragamo or Missoni, there is no shortage of drogherias, profumerias, farmacias and herboristas, along with a quaint Sephora. Undoubtedly the people of the Emilia-Romagna region are interested in looking and smelling good—making Bologna the perfect venue for one of the world’s largest annual beauty events.

Record Crowds

More than 150,000 visitors filled the aisles during the five days of the show, April 10-14, to mark the 41st year that Cosmoprof has served the industry. A quarter of those attending were from abroad, making the case for the event’s new designation as Cosmoprof Worldwide Bologna. Once again, this year’s show was divided into four main areas: selective perfume and packaging, perfumery and cosmetics, beauty and hair. The In & Out—Perfumes & Pack & Co. salon, dedicated to selective perfumery and packaging, once again opened and closed a day earlier than the main show to foster a unity between the two groups, and drew an increased number of foreign visitors over last year.

Packaging Trends

While Cosmoprof’s halls feature everything from the latest accoutrements for spas and salons to demonstrations of nail art, hair tattoos, blow dryers and high-speed filling, capping and crimping machines, packaging innovations held their own. Several trends noted were customization, sampler packs and hygienic packaging.
  
The idea of small doses of customized products was cleverly developed at Toly/Geka Brush of Germany. The company’s Harmony Pack click pin packaging works like a child’s set of snap beads: You can gather your favorite lipgloss, mascara brush, eyeshadow, etc., and snap all the components together to form a necklace or “chain” of favorite products. The company’s Dual Pack system lets you put two favorite colors together with no ferrule. Customization is a snap!
  
Sampler packs, too, can be customized. No longer are these simply mini versions designed to test a product—now they’re creating retail sales of their own. Rexam introduced the Sof’Cell, a miniature “nomadic” fragrance sampler designed to clip onto a cellphone or purse for easy, on-the-go spritzing. The bottle, pump and cord can all be decorated. Rexam also premiered its XM99, a new100% plastic fragrance pump that’s user-friendly, cost-efficient and snaps on—and it’s available in a large variety of zippy colors.
  
General Pack of Rome also featured sachets and samplers as retail possibilities in their own right, with both sachets and stand-ups with caps. Good for grains, powders, oils or lotions, each product features a safety closure for easy opening and closing at any time. According to General Pack’s Domenica Fortuna, they are available in many types of foils and laminates, including soft touch, and in a multitude of sizes.

Caps and Closures

Hygienic packaging came in forms from seals to multiple closures. The Italian plant of Berry Plastics revealed its two-piece twist top with a tamper-proof seal. A red seal runs around the white twist cap, and is broken the first time it’s opened. Berry also revealed a new line of flip tops with high and low ovals, which are wider at the bottom. The bottle and cap are formed in just one molding process. The smaller flip top dispenses, while the bigger flip opens.
  

Berry Plastics promoted a two-piece twist top with a tamper-proof seal.

Caps were also newsworthy at Lumson, which introduced its new Indy Collezione, featuring glass and plastic in 30- and 50ml sizes, with a range of colorful accessories.
  
SGD’s Be Safe containers offer safety protection with a double safety closure in a dual-colored cap. The company’s new Ovaline line features a neck that can take a variety of caps. MFV International of Morristown, NJ, also offered colorful flip-top bottles and a “maquillage” pot complete with a small foam brush in a lower “drawer.”
  
Alcan’s Access Denied cap also provides extra protection. The company’s convenient Pinpoint Tube—and new Precitube—feature comfort, precision and ease of use.

Lumson introduced the Indy Collezione featuring glass and plastic in 30- and 50-ml sizes.

One-Stop Shopping

M&H Plastics of Great Britain revealed a line of antimicrobial products as well as a colorful assortment of environmentally friendly items made from post-consumer recycled plastic. Tim Riley of M&H says companies such as Naked Body, Lush and The Body Shop are driving recyclability to more and more private label products. With M&H’s focus on recycled materials for its bottles, caps and tubes, the company has created a “one-stop shop philosophy”—and “what we have seen is a diversification within the product range,” says Riley.
  

MFV International of Morristown, NJ offered colorful flip-top bottles.

One-stop shopping and full service was also the overriding dual theme at Dieter Bakic, where Bakic himself was on hand to show me around his stand and tell me about the corporate philosophy. Bakic believes strongly in “making complete lines” and one-stop shopping. As examples, he pointed to the award-winning steel-blue Nivea Beauté and Joico K-pack hair care lines.
  
“Instead of having separate buyers for caps, pumps, etc.,” said Bakic, “a cosmetics company should concentrate on the product and leave the packaging to [the expert].”
  

Dieter Bakic

Dieter Bakic offers a wide array of mix-and-match shapes and sizes in metal, glass and plastic, with different themes and different closures. “We are not a packaging producer,” said Bakic, “we cover everything. We are three-dimensional designers, with designers and technicians that work hand in hand to do the tooling and get the package produced in all markets.”
  
Some of the company’s latest innovations: a decorative relief of lace on plastic bottles, decorating flip tops and creating see-through bottles so a different image is seen front and back.

All in Good Taste

Another theme I couldn’t help noticing in this Italian capital of gastronomic excellence was the many food-related cosmetic products. For example, what would a day in Bologna be without a scoop of smooth, creamy gelato? And in fact, the gelato at Cosmopof had no calories! Instead, it is the name of a new Milan-based brand of Italian hair care and styling products, made by Ramaplast, Italy. The brand’s personal approach to packaging features hand-generated logos and colorful graphics commissioned from young designers in art schools in Italy.
  

Agustin Dávila launched rubber flacons.

If you craved vitamins more than fat, several stands offered garden-variety items. Most notable was the expansive, orange Yes to Carrots stand, complete with booth personnel making fresh carrot juice. Manufactured in Israel primarily of Dead Sea salts and carrots produced by Israeli organic farmers, Jennifer Bayon, U.S. marketing manager (also know as “carrot diplomat”), says “the hair, face and body products have been exclusive to Walgreen’s for the past year in the US, and have grown international distribution to 16 countries in the past 18 months.” Remarkably, Bayon says Yes to Carrots began in September 2006 in 16 Israeli beauty shops and is now sold in 12,000 retail outlets worldwide.
  
At Greenland, a company that produces an extensive line of products from lip balms to body lotions for Rite Aid and Target—and which is actually located in The Netherlands (go figure!)—brilliant-colored fruits such as bergamot, pomegranate and avocado decorated the PET packages, which had just won the 2008 Finat label award.
  
Beyond fruits and vegetables, a true gourmet yield was provided by Red Caviar and Black Caviar, just-launched fragrances from Axis, complete with roe-like beads floating in the bottles.

Packaging with a Twist

There were many packages that put a twist on traditional. A new, sensual, citrusy French essence for men and women, out of Barcelona, Spain, Agustín Dávila is being touted as “the fragrance revolution.” Its streamlined, minimalist flacons are unbreakable charcoal and violet silicon rubber with aluminum parts. Created by namesake Dávila, an industrial designer specializing in lamps who wanted to expand the sensory perception of fragrance to three senses—smell, sight and touch—the project was in design for two years, and based on a lamp design in the form of a showerhead spray. Hub is a second newly launched Dávila scent, housed in Zen-like black and white rubber bottles.
  
To celebrate the 150th anniversary of lipstick, (according to a spokesperson at Weckerle Cosmetics, Germany), the company unveiled several lipstick innovations. New silicon “used” shapes, based on vintage images, depart from the traditional bullet look, and are meant to appeal to distinct personalities. Another style uses a lipstick powder core inside a wax formula, to create shapes such as flowers and apples.
  
At Acospack, a division of Jung Min Co., Korea, David Lee showed me the company’s new airtight compact. Push and twist to lock, push and twist to open. The two-compartment assembly, with the puff on top and the cosmetic underneath, prevents dryness and contamination.
  
Square-shaped tubes were the focus at Plasticum, The Netherlands. Perfect for creams, gels or shampoos, a valve with a silicone membrane is built into the tube, instead of into the closure—thus preventing leakage. Various decorating options, such as embossing, are available.

Something for Everyone

From perfume to packaging, cosmetics to hair, Cosmoprof Worldwide Bologna provided inspiration for all who attended. Just like the ancient city itself, the show seemed to reveal an unexpected delight around every corner. Even the pizza and espresso served in the show’s cafeteria were molto bene—and the orange juice was fresh-squeezed!

At Alcan’s Packaging Beauty, the new Pinpoint tube was one of the items drawing interest.

Beauty Packaging’s National Sales Manager Bill Corsini met up with special guest Paris Hilton at ICMAD’s 19th annual reception at Bologna’s Royal Hotel Carlton.

Rexam’s XM99 completely neutral, all-plastic, snap-on fragrance pump comes in seven vibrant colors.

The Harmony Pack click pin packaging from Toly/Geka Brush of Germany works like a child’s set of snap beads.

Weckerle’s powder core lipsticks put focus on the center—with designs such as an apple or flower.

A bright orange booth and fresh carrot juice left no doubt as to the key ingredient in products at this stand.

MFV International, based in Morristown, NJ, showed off its colorful flip-top bottles.

Annick Goutal’s Petite Cherie fragrance, in Cosmoprof’s Masterpieces area, is dedicated to her daughter.

Ramon Molvizar struck gold with a series of fragrances that emit tiny fragments of the 22K precious mineral when sprayed. The sculpted wood box is an integral part of the Sun product.

Berry Plastic’s tamper-proof two-part twist cap has a seal that breaks the first time it’s opened.

Muehlens’ 4711 fragrance easily be confused with a classy liquor bottle.

Ching Fon displayed a variety of colorful compacts and cases.