Asia-Pacific cosmetic manufacturers flock to Bangkok as show attracts record high of 8,782 unique visitors and 18% more international attendees

The 9th edition of Asia Pacific’s leading exhibition and conference for personal care ingredients closed its doors last Thursday (10 November) following three days of ingredient launches, intense educational sessions, hands-on demonstrations and invaluable networking.

This year’s event had the R&D cosmetic manufacturing community at its heart. The new ‘Spotlight On’ feature focused on the hottest cosmetic trends, such as anti-pollution and halal, while the essential, centrally-located Innovation Zone showcased 41 brand new ingredients.

Additionally, to inject novel marketing ideas and help R&D visitors spot exciting future opportunities, 14 out of the 15 experts presenting marketing trend sessions were new – giving fresh perspectives on existing and emerging trends.

Last but not least, with the majority of visitors staying at the show for at least two days, navigation signage (highlighting new exhibitors), comfort and educational areas were enhanced throughout the exhibition halls.

International visitor delight
Alice Lefebvre, R&D Development Chemist at L’Oréal Japan, commented: “I came across a hugely diverse range of suppliers that were completely new, and a wide array of ingredients not yet on my radar. I believe I have actually found solutions for my current R&D project – what a fantastic show!”

John Robinson Uy, Product Developer at Intelligent Skin Care, Inc. in the Philippines, concurred: “in-cosmetics Asia is very significant for our industry. I am coming away with a lot of great information, including the skincare marketing trends outlook to 2020. This is a truly fabulous event!”

8,782 unique visitors gathered in Thailand for the event that took place at the Bangkok International & Trade Business Centre (BITEC) – the highest number in the show’s history and up from 7,486 in 2015. Among the attendees were senior scientists and R&D representatives from the likes of Amore Pacific, Amway, Beiersdorf, Coty, Procter & Gamble, Rohto Pharmaceutical and Unilever.

Over the three days, 2,951 visitors travelled from 77 countries, including Malaysia, South Korea, China, the Philippines, India, Indonesia and Japan. The event was focussed on doing business and creating new partners and networks.

To that end, The Gold Business Programme saw a large group of senior R&D professionals – from companies such as L’Oréal, Johnson and Johnson and Shiseido – hosted by in-cosmetics Asia. During the event, they attended 253 pre-arranged meetings with suppliers of interest.

Exhibitor satisfaction at the forefront
Industry professionals had come to see the 385 personal care ingredient suppliers on show. The best represented nations were South Korea (62 exhibitors) and China (57), followed by Thailand (44), France (33) and Japan (31).

66 new exhibitors were present this year, showcasing their latest innovations and technologies alongside industry leaders Ashland, Croda, Evonik, Lonza, Momentive, Solvay and Wacker. Importantly for the large cosmetic manufactures, who traditionally like to investigate niche suppliers, an assortment of smaller businesses were also present.

On the first day of the show, Exhibitor Stephen Lowenstein, Chairman of J.H. Lowenstein (USA), said: “This show is important for us – not only do we meet up with existing contacts, but also see many new customers. Interestingly enough, every meeting we had today was with international visitors from China, Japan, South Korea and Malaysia.”

Exhibitor Ivy Hou, Marketing Manager, Asia Pacific at Evonik Personal Care (Germany), enthused: “The event attracted a large international crowd and gave us an excellent interactive platform. It was also clear that visitors enjoyed the show and its new initiatives.”

Asian company scoops gold at Best Ingredient Awards
Innovation remained in the spotlight on the second day of the show during the show’s Awards, which was attended by an expectant crowd keen to find out who had won this year’s in-cosmetics Asia Best Ingredient Awards.

SEPPIC ASIA’s EMOGREEN scooped the top prize in the functional ingredients category. This revolutionary range of bio-based emollients are from a traceable vegetable origin and provide a unique refreshing sensation. Judges said that the fully biodegradable product was “innovative and really needed by the market”. Runners-up were AkzoNobel with ElfaMoist AC and Evonik with TEGO® Solve 55.

In the active ingredient category, Japan-based AH&NS was awarded first place for AQUATIDE, featuring innovative epigenetic stress management properties. The judges commended the product, remarking that it was a “contemporary active suitable for tackling the modern symptoms of urban and psychological stress to the skin”. AH&NS also happened to be the first ever Asian company to win gold at the in-cosmetics Asia Awards. This year’s runners-up were Lucas Meyer Cosmetics with Defenscalp™ and Rahn with LIFTONIN®-XPERT.

Marketing Trends and Regulations
The always popular educational programme at in-cosmetics Asia comprised a series of Marketing Trends and Regulations sessions, with expert advice on launching products in the French market and halal cosmetics certification. Other topics covered included the potential of anti-pollution and what’s driving the trend now and in the future, as well as skin protection, digital marketing strategies for beauty brands, global ingredient trends, Chinese cosmetic regulations and a fascinating presentation titled “Speaking to the new silver: Seniors today vs tomorrow”.

Creating winning formulations
One of the most exciting and popular areas of the show was the Formulation Lab, which saw seven leading ingredients suppliers – Cosphatec, Nikko Chemicals, Lipoid Kosmetik, Ashland, Croda, Merck, The Institute of Personal Care Science – give R&D professionals hands-on experience in formulating and working with thickeners, exfoliants and emulsifiers, to name but a few.

Technical presentations on innovative ingredients
The show’s Innovation Seminars were once again hugely popular. Presented by exhibitors, these sessions focused on new ingredients and formulations ranging from anti-microbial agents to anti-pollution, bio-fermentation, blue light and UV protection, colour treatment in haircare, emollients, preservatives, rheology modifiers, silicones and sunscreen applications.

Sarah Gibson, Exhibition Director, concluded: “in-cosmetics Asia 2016 was a resounding success. The far reaching origins of the visitors, from Japan to the UAE and Russia to Australia, reaffirms in-cosmetics Asia as a truly Asia Pacific event.

“Countless participants expressed their utter satisfaction with our new initiatives and felt we really understood what matters to the R&D community. A good example of this was the Formulation Lab where exhibitors showed R&D delegates how to formulate with their ingredients under the expert guidance of our technical advisor. This fostered a unique learning experience and genuine camaraderie. It’s all about the power of mass, face-to-face, knowledge-sharing and networking that only a trade exhibition like ours can generate.”

in-cosmetics Asia will return from 31 October to 2 November 2017 at the BITEC in Bangkok. For more information please visit www.in-cosmeticsasia.com.

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