With all 10 of the world’s leading personal care ingredient manufacturers showcasing their latest innovations, it was no surprise that in-cosmetics Asia 2019 attracted the largest, most diverse audience in its 12-year history.
Returning to Bangkok from 5-7 November, 11,914 (+5% year-on-year) unique personal care professionals from across the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region came together seeking out inspirational new ingredients that would help them create a new wave of innovative on-trend beauty products.
Demonstrating the event’s continued importance to the entire APAC beauty industry, 36% of visitors to this year’s in-cosmetics Asia travelled from 93 countries, to discuss business face-to-face with ingredients suppliers, get involved in the educational programme and be a part of this exciting community.
Summing up this year’s show, Vynnaise Hekin, R&D at GT Cosmetics in the Philippines, revealed: “I really enjoyed getting to meet all the exhibitors and discovering new ingredients. I also attended a Formulation Lab session and an R&D Tour of the event – there is so much to do at the show and three days is just not enough time.”
Where creators meet suppliers
It was the first time that in-cosmetics Asia featured all the world’s leading personal care ingredient suppliers including BASF, Clariant, Croda Personal Care and Dow. And following that achievement, the event also boasted the largest number of exhibitors in its history, with 530 businesses able to build relationships with the region’s leading cosmetic creators.
But it was not just the leading international suppliers that were in the spotlight, the event saw 60 new exhibitors present their latest products, such as Pacific Oleochemicals, Forestwise and Shanghai Smart Chemicals.
Sitting at the heart of the event and helping R&D teams locate the most exciting innovations, this year’s Innovation Zone featured more than 80 new active and functional ingredients that have been launched in the last eight months. And with products like Clariant’s Epseama, Codif’s EPS SEAPUR, Gattefosse’s Gatuline® In-Tense MB and Seppic Asia’s HYDRALIXIR™ on display, the area was a hive of activity throughout the event.
A number of those featuring in the area were also shortlisted for the Innovation Zone Best Ingredient Awards, where prizes were given to the most exciting active and functional products on 6 November. Scooping the top awards were SpecChem for its SpecPure® BTS Saponins functional and CLR Berlin’s incredibly active, AnnonaSense CLR™.
Pato Arlegui, CEO of Golden Age Research & Development in Australia, commented: “The Innovation Zone was beautiful – I loved it! It had all the actives we need. We also went to see the winners of the Innovation Zone Best Ingredient Award and now want to incorporate their ingredient in our formulations. How would I rate the show? 15 out of 10!”
Providing a platform for halal
in-cosmetics Asia’s highly acclaimed education programme is renowned for providing beauty professionals with a wealth of knowledge about the latest consumer trends. Therefore, it was no surprise that the hot discussion of halal cosmetics was brought to in-cosmetics Asia with a special Halal Cosmetics Zone focused on the latest insight from this growing area of the beauty market. Complementing a wide-ranging programme in the Marketing Trends theatre, a series of Technical Seminars and invaluable Formulation Lab sessions, the first-ever Halal Cosmetics Zone focused on the latest insights from this growing area of the beauty market.
Featuring exclusive, free-to-attend presentations from industry leaders – such as Maya Paul, R&D Manager at Kumar Organic Products Limited, and Mohd Iskandar Illyas Tan, Deputy Director of Halal Technology Consortium at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) – visitors could learn more about a sector which is expected to register a CAGR of 13.12%[1] over the next five years.
With Muslims now accounting for approximately 25% of the global population, one of the most eagerly awaited sessions was hosted by Muti Arintawati from LPPOM MUI, a halal cosmetics certification body in Indonesia. She delved into how halal beauty is continuing to build mainstream momentum in Indonesia and further afield and explained how companies are catering to demand for halal cosmetics by exploring the halal requirements for beauty products.
Additionally, the Halal Cosmetics Zone included an interactive area where visitors could get hands-on with the newest halal-certified products, including Lonza’s H2OBioEV Renew Serum. One attendee visiting the area was Jason Chuah, a Product Development Manager at Tohtonku in Malaysia. He said: “I attended one of the halal cosmetics seminars at the show. The speaker shared insights and explained how we can incorporate this into our products. This was invaluable.”
The future trends in Asia
As always, the free-to-attend Marketing Trends & Regulations theatre gave cosmetic creators an opportunity to understand the future requirements of consumers from across the APAC region. This year, far-reaching topics including future skincare trends, the Indian market, beauty ethics, sustainability and clean beauty, captivated the audience.
Kicking off proceedings was Denise Lee, a Regional Client Consultant at Euromonitor International. Focusing on the latest skincare trends and with consumers seeking new ways to protect their skin and look better, she explored the driving forces behind increasing demand for dermocosmetics.
A presentation from The Nielsen Company (Thailand) Limited focussed on the future consumer trends in personal care across Southeast Asia. Attendees were given an insightful, deep dive into the local drivers for different markets and presented with the key commonalities and differences between countries. Additionally, Hwa Jun Lee, Senior Beauty and Personal Care Analyst from Mintel, explored what conscientious beauty means to consumers and advised beauty brands to comply with a new age set of rules to meet the ethical demands from today’s consumers.
Perfecting the formula for success
Providing cosmetic chemists with an opportunity to learn about new ingredients and experiment with them first-hand, the in-cosmetics Asia Formulation Lab hosted 11 exclusive sessions over three days.
In a purpose-built laboratory on the show floor of the exhibition, the region’s R&D professionals sat together to create new formulations with exhibitors under the guidance of in-cosmetics Asia technical advisor Lorna Radford. Hosted by top ingredient providers, they gave attendees a thorough understanding of the benefits each ingredient brings and how it can add something unique to a beauty product.
Among the companies taking part was Ashland Singapore, which demonstrated how to create an urban renewal silicone-free melting cleansing balm, infused with Patchouli oil, that leaves the skin feeling nourished and hydrated. And Cargill Beauty taught chemists how to formulate high oil content products without feeling greasiness or tackiness, using StarDesign™ Power – a powerful and nature-derived O/W emulsifier for high oil content cosmetic products.
Siti Jamilah, Director of Technology Division at BlossomLab International, was one of 314 delegates to register for the Formulation Lab sessions. She commented: “I love attending the Formulation Lab at in-cosmetics Asia. I first visited three years ago – I started from zero and have learnt so much there that I am currently formulating for 200 brand owners in Malaysia and now have 80,000 Instagram followers. This show is the ultimate experience.”
Touring the show floor
This year’s event also gave visitors an opportunity to sign up for three unique R&D Tours that covered the industry’s most pertinent subjects – Urban Lifestyle: Defend and Protect (sponsored by Mibelle Biochemistry); Skin Health and Microbiota: Enhance & Repair (sponsored by CODIF); and Timeless Beauty: Rejuvenate and Maintain.
Guided by cosmetic chemist Rouah Al-Wakeel, the R&D Tours gave participants an opportunity to quickly identify some of the most exciting and innovative ingredients on display at in-cosmetics Asia. The carefully curated tours visited relevant exhibitors, where R&D professionals met new contacts and were given exclusive presentations or demonstrations.
Putting the spotlight on key topics
On the show floor, in-cosmetics Asia again put the spotlight on three key areas – suncare, clean beauty and transforming formulations. Visitors were able to improve their knowledge about these exciting trends and identify new ingredients that can enhance their beauty creations.
In order to highlight the best innovations and formulations in these three areas, Spotlight On Formulation Awards were presented to Gattefossé for its Emulium® Illustro (Suncare), Croda for its Hydrating Green Caviar Jelly Orbs (Transforming Formulations), and Cargill for its Fiber Design Sensation (Clean Beauty). The judges remarked on how each of these ingredients provided beauty brands with an opportunity to capitalise on the growing trends.
Sarah Gibson, Exhibition Director at in-cosmetics Asia, said: “The Spotlight On area is a hugely important part of the event. It gives R&D teams a chance to look into three trends that are becoming increasingly important across Asia. Complementing the products showcased were the presentations in the Marketing Trends theatre where each Spotlight On topic was further explored by renowned speakers. It enabled cosmetics creators to leave with so much inspiration for their new products.”
in-cosmetics Asia 2020
in-cosmetics Asia will return to Bangkok from 3-5 November 2020, once again providing the beauty industry with the most cost-effective business and networking opportunities in the region.
Sarah Gibson added: “This event has grown in importance each year. Testament to this is the fact that such a high percentage of our audience travel from outside of Thailand. We’re proud that in-cosmetics Asia has become synonymous with innovation in the Asia-Pacific and a hub for the community to meet and discuss the future of the region’s booming beauty market. For anyone looking to creative novel personal care products, this is a must-visit event.”
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[1] HALAL COSMETIC PRODUCTS MARKET – GROWTH, TRENDS AND FORECASTS (2019 – 2024), MORDOR INTELLIGENCE