With 773 suppliers displaying their latest ingredients – 11% of those suppliers exhibiting for the first time – and 100-plus hours of educational sessions in Amsterdam last month, in-cosmetics Global retained its position as the premium event for inspiration, education and networking in the world’s personal care industry.

The 2018 edition of the event attracted 9,392 unique visitors, 7% more than last year’s show in London, with international attendance increasing by 19% to account for 88% of all visitors. Major cosmetic manufacturers, such as Unilever, Estée Lauder, Coty, L’Oréal, Procter & Gamble and Johnson & Johnson, as well as the indie sector, gathered to identify new ingredients and learn about the trends set to shape their future NPD.

The daily re-admittance figures underlined the industry’s commitment to the show. Over the three days, in-cosmetics Global recorded a significant growth in total attendance with 18,207 visitors, up from 16,319 in London – a 12% increase.

Dominic Hodge, Strategic Operations Buyer at Coty, commented: “I’ve had a really successful visit and made sure to come for all three days of the show as it’s a great opportunity to see all our suppliers in one place. The educational sessions were also really beneficial and I will definitely attend the show in Paris next year.”

Future gazing at in-cosmetics

The in-cosmetics Global Marketing Trends programme is renowned across the world and this year saw speakers from Euromonitor International, PeclersParis and Mintel provide cosmetic manufacturers with invaluable insights into current consumer preferences.

With the world’s population getting older, Kseniia Galenytska, a senior analyst for beauty and fashion at Euromonitor International, revealed that brands should be focusing on developing products that prevent ageing, rather than treating the consequences.

She said: “Products that protect from sun damage and/or pollution, fight free radicals, minimise pores, provide anti-oxidants and prevent wrinkles or fine lines are becoming increasingly popular across all ages. It’s because consumers are adopting preventative regimes that counter general lifestyle aggressors.”

Additionally, Mariel Brown, director of futures at Seymourpowell, presented the company’s latest research into the global beauty market. She highlighted how brands can take advantage of consumers’ penchant for personalisation and DIY cosmetics, by creating products that complement unique styles.

Formulating success

Aside from revealing the latest trends, in-cosmetics Global enabled R&D teams to source ingredients and expand their knowledge. This year featured three Technical Seminars theatres, which hosted dozens of sessions from leading suppliers who revealed the science and research behind their ingredients. Each session drew a packed theatre, with seminars focusing on the skin microbiome among the most popular. Other noteworthy sessions included:

• Sensient Cosmetic Technologies’ session that introduced a new technology to protect colour and scent in fine fragrances.
• Lipotrue’s presentation on decoding wrinkles that highlighted how to utilise marine-derived active ingredients from near Greenland.
• Givaudan who presented their product BisaboLife™, a highly natural and sustainable biotech produced by their innovative fermentation process.

Meanwhile, the two Formulation Labs hosted numerous live demonstrations by exhibitors and training sessions by the Institute of Personal Care Science. The purpose-built laboratories showed those responsible for developing new beauty products techniques that could aid the NPD process. A record number of professionals signed up to learn from the teams behind the world’s most innovative ingredients. These included:

• Kobo, which educated delegates about creating intense colour liquid lipstick with novel texture and an optimised process design. Due to concentrated pigmentary dispersions, the supplier enables manufacturers to formulate liquid lipsticks with intense colours.
• Ashland, which demonstrated its micellar cleanse and moisturising shampoo. The product was developed without parabens or silicones, which made it particularly on trend as consumers become increasingly concerned regarding the additives present in their products.

Priyanka Chauhan, Formulation Chemist at Dermal Laboratories, said: “I attended three Formulation Lab sessions and learned a lot as they opened my eyes to a different way of formulating. in-cosmetics Global is a must-attend event for us as there’s nothing else like it on this scale.”

A brand new programme for R&D professionals, run by technical consultant Rouah Al-Wakeel, took delegates on a series of Future of Anti-Ageing and Biotechnology Actives tours. Beginning at the show’s Innovation Zone, the Future of Anti-Ageing tour visited Lucas Meyer Cosmetics, Novacap, Inabata and Clariant to discover their latest innovations designed to prevent the ageing process. The Biotechnology Actives tour stopped by Kalichem, Mibelle Biotechnology, Givaudan, Codif and the show’s Innovation Zone to explore how suppliers are harnessing living systems and organisms to create highly effective active ingredients.

Getting products ready for market

Compliance professionals were invited to in-cosmetics Global’s first regulatory pre-show conference, run by CONUSBAT Regulatory Services.

The half-day programme was designed to help manufacturers navigate the ever-changing regulatory landscape of the global beauty industry and get their products to shelf more quickly. The industry’s leading consultants came together to give delegates a thorough analysis of current regulations from the world’s largest markets.

Among those speaking at the conference was Dr. Annelie Struessmann, Technical Regulatory Director at CONUSBAT Regulatory Services, who discussed key regulatory modules in the EU’s cosmetics framework. She was joined by Dr. Gerald Renner, Technical Regulatory Affairs Director at Cosmetics Europe, who compared EU compliance modules with transitioning cosmetic regulations across China, Taiwan, India, Israel, Russia and Australia.

Commenting on the quality of the sessions, Jonathan Reynolds, Senior Regulatory Manager at Charlotte Tilbury, commented: “The conference enlightened me to a few caveats in regulation I didn’t know – especially in the USA. Overall it was a great refresh and provided a different perspective – one that will positively impact my work.”

During the show itself, the half-day workshop programme helped cosmetic chemists and NPD professionals better understand a host of pertinent industry issues. Delivered by academics and R&D experts from Germany, Italy, France and the USA, delegates learnt about the latest research in suncare protection, the microbiome and natural formulations, as well as how to develop cosmetic claims.

Cosmetic testing is hugely important to the success of a product and the new Boost Your Test area of the show put three different methods in the spotlight. R&D teams discovered essential information about human testing, in-vitro testing and high-tech devices, as experts discussed how they can support NPD in anti-pollution, microbiome and anti-ageing products.

Formulation Challenge

For the first time, in-cosmetics Global hosted a Formulation Challenge, where six manufacturers – Naturalps, Johnson & Johnson, Sabon/Yves Rocher, Delarange, Flores and Herrco Cosmetics – battled to create an innovative new beauty product in just 90 minutes, using a box of mystery ingredients.

Belinda Carli, Official Technical Advisor to the in-cosmetics Group, noted how each concept created during the challenge was on trend. Runner-up Delarange took a holistic approach to its instant-effects products – InstaCream and InstaSerum – which was targeted at a millennial audience. But it was Swiss-based Naturalps who claimed victory with its natural, moisturising eye cream that received top marks for its anti-pollution properties and claim to fight against wrinkles.

Ludovic Simon, CEO and Co-Founder of Naturalps, said: “We really wanted to compete with other labs, just to see where we were and if our formulation strength was at the same level of the competition. We are extremely proud of winning!”

Innovation at every corner

in-cosmetics’ first smart event, which enabled visitors to collate exhibitor literature digitally with a single tap of their smart badge, delivered innovation in abundance, with an exhibition that once again housed the world’s leading personal care industry suppliers. Floorspace at the 2018 event increased by 4% to 16,634sqm – the most in the show’s history – providing even more opportunities for cosmetic manufacturers to source new ingredients.

William Tonkin, Senior Procurement Manager at L’Oréal commented: “This was my first in-cosmetics show and I really enjoyed it. It was a great opportunity to meet new suppliers as they are all there – I had plenty of meetings! I also spent a lot of time looking around the show trying to find the best ingredients.”

There was a great deal to see including:

• Progeline by Lucas Meyer Cosmetics – an ingredient that reduces signs of ageing, sagging, wrinkles and improves the jawline.
• Shineblend MAX from Innospec – a shine enhancing additive for skin and hair.
• Naturex’s newly-launched hydrating agent Hydranellys™ – an active derived from Selaginella, known in China as the ‘resurrection plant’ for its ability to survive extreme drought conditions.

Yohan Rolland, Global Category Manager – Personal Care at Naturex commented: “It was an excellent show, we met all our main customers and saw a huge amount of interest in our new ingredient for skin hydration products. We also held a well-attended Technical Seminar which drove people to our stand and generated several new contacts.”

Demonstrating the newness on display this year, the show’s Innovation Zone was home to 130 of the most exciting launches from the last six months – another record for the event. Alongside the area, Mintel revealed some of the most ingenious finished products from around the world that deliver in texture, format, application technique, ingredients, formulation or packaging.

Numerous areas around the show were created to help manufacturers identify unique new ingredients that can inspire NPD. One of the most popular features was the Sustainability Corner that focused on environmental and social issues. Suppliers showcased products and talked about how to reduce plastic waste, limit air pollution and develop ethically-sourced products, including eco-friendly alternatives to environment-harming products like microbeads.

Visitors could also find the latest suppliers offering pigments and technology to create outstanding colour cosmetics in the Make-Up Bar. Echoing the trend for sustainable products, Ronald Britton showcased its Cosmetic Bioglitter Pure – a fantastic, plastic-free and naturally biodegradeable glitter.

Additionally, the Sensory Bar revealed a host of new ways to create unusual textures and sensations – including hybrid textures, heating and cooling products, jellies, butters and powders. Visitors were impressed by products that changed form upon touching the skin, such as the Harmony of 10 range by Nikko Chemicals – a transparent oil-gel that transforms to water on the skin, drenching the user with silky moisture. Another product that excited the industry was the Very Berry Jelly Mask from Elementis Specialities, which transformed from liquid to jelly upon skin contact.

The innovation at in-cosmetics was summed up by the Best Ingredient Awards, where the foremost new product launches were celebrated by the cosmetics industry. Gold in Best Active Ingredient category went to Mibelle Biochemistry for its MossCellTec No.1, while Evonik Nutrition & Care GmbH won Gold in the Best Functional Ingredient category for its RHEANCE Glycolipids. Lessonia, Elementis and Ronald Britton also scooped the top awards in the Green Ingredient, Sensory and Make-Up categories.

Roziani Zulkifli, Exhibition Manager of in-cosmetics Global, commented:
“This year’s event was hugely successful and the feedback from our first smart event was fantastic. in-cosmetics Global has once again brought together the most successful and innovative ingredient suppliers, with the world’s foremost experts, to provide the tools that will inspire cosmetic manufacturers in their labs. And we’re proud to keep bringing fresh ideas to the event that deliver huge value to visitors and exhibitors alike, such as the R&D Tours and Boost Your Test areas.”

in-cosmetics Global 2019 will return from 2-4 April 2019 at Paris Expo, Porte de Versailles.