The creative juices of some of the finest cosmetic chemists and marketers in North America were well and truly flowing at last year’s in-cosmetics North America Formulation Challenge.
After three years of receiving a mystery box of ingredients, the fourth edition took a twist, with the teams from Shiseido, Colgate-Palmolive, Johnson & Johnson, and Swiss American CDMO each being presented with a different doll. The teams were then challenged to create a marketable beauty product, specific to their doll’s specific target market in just 90 minutes.
In their quest to formulate the winning serum, the teams selected personal care ingredients for their formulas from exhibitors of the show including ChemSpec, Safic Alcan Group, Mibelle Biochemistry, Ethox Chemicals, SEPPIC, Lipotec™ Active Ingredients, Lubrizol Life Science and Lincoln Manufacturing.
The challenge set by the show’s new technical advisor Mark Chandler, saw:
- Shiseido fiercely defend their title as they formulated Smoothly Serum, a product targeted at teenage girls prone to breakouts
- Colgate-Palmolive go on the offensive to win back the title with Skin Serenity aimed at young female professionals
- Johnson & Johnson come out confidently with Salty Serum a product targeted at fashion-forward men who want to be insta ready
- Swiss American CDMO fly the flag for contract manufacturers with their Wise Beyond The Year’s serum aimed at Baby Boomer
After an intense battle, which went to the wire, Swiss American – the sole contract manufacturer in the contest – was crowned Formulation Challenge champion of 2019. Judges Sarah Jindal and Mark Chandler remarked that its Wise Beyond The Years serum for the face, neck and hands was perfect for its mature male target audience and scored highly in both the formulation excellence and marketing story. Runner-up was Shiseido.
Watch our teams go head-to-head as they present their products and advertising campaigns to our judges from Mintel and Act Solutions Corp.