Beautyworld - Putting on a smile

The annual Beautyworld trade show in Frankfurt, Germany, always offers an interesting view of the activities and personalities of the German cosmetics market and 2006 was no exception

Beautyworld 2006 presented its usual mix of visitors and exhibitors from every corner of the globe. A grand total of 421 exhibitors from 33 countries attended the show. Of this figure 157 exhibitors came from Germany, the rest from countries as diverse as China, Pakistan, the Netherlands, Hong Kong, France, Egypt, the UK, Taiwan and India. The number of visitors and buyers reached 10,400, 38% of which came from outside Germany.

A special focus at the show this year lay on niche brands. Messe Frankfurt, together with the German perfumery cooperative First in Beauty, introduced two new 200sqm product and display areas dedicated to niche brands and newcomers on the German and international cosmetics scene. The Forum of Excellence offered a showcase for premium niche labels likely to interest high-end perfumeries while the Talents of Beauty area was designed to allow smaller or more recently established cosmetics companies to present their products and concepts to a wider audience. Exhibitors in the Forum of Excellence area included Italian company Eurocosmesi which manufactures brands such as Byblos, Le Copains, Iceberg, Brooksfield and Tonino Lamborghini, the Daniele de Winter Beauty brand from Monaco, Aroma Company and Swiss luxury brand Transvital.

Talents of Beauty exhibitors included German cosmetics distributor Ulrich Krause and Bio Epiderm. Another participant, premium niche distributor Isis Parfums showcased its ranged of little known international fragrance and skin care lines which include the Parfums de Rosine range, the Italian labels Lorenzo de' Medici and Battistoni, the Masaki Matsushima fragrance line from Japan and Katarina Hakansson from Sweden.

Greek gods

A returning niche visitor to Beautyworld is Greek natural cosmetics company Korres, distributed in Germany by District Two which also boasts colour cosmetics label Lola Cosmetics and Dutch cosmetics brand Koh in its portfolio. Korres was first introduced to the German market at Beautyworld two years ago. In addition to showcasing its extensive product range of face, hair and body products, the company also presented its new colour cosmetics line, which will be available this autumn.

Another Greek exhibitor was Macrovita, a company manufacturing natural cosmetics and nutritional supplements. Macrovita's skin, hair and body care portfolio features products formulated with olive oil, aloe, propolis, royal jelly, avocado oil and white tea extracts and, not surprisingly, has a strong natural and holistic positioning.

Atea is a Croatian private label manufacturer specialising in natural cosmetics under its Elements Natura label. The product collection includes body lotions and creams formulated with yoghurt and cocoa butter, scented massage oils, different types of exfoliating products and a line of bath and shower gels.

Swiss private label manufacturer Mibelle was also at the show, exhibiting its three niche labels: Ozwald Boateng, Michel Comte and Swiss Perfection, while French company L'Occitane was a first time visitor. The brand chose to exhibit in a bid to move away from its image as a bath and body brand and instead emphasise the skin care aspect of its portfolio. Correspondingly it has just launched Mom & Baby Balm in Germany, a massage balm formulated with shea butter, grapeseed oil and calendula which forms L'Occitane's first venture into the baby products sector.

While L'Occitane currently has five standalone stores in Germany and is stocked in many perfumeries the company is also exploring new distribution areas and has recently moved into the pharmacy and beauty institute sales channels. However, snaring the German consumer can be a long-term project. A L'Occitane representative told SPC: “The German beauty consumer can be difficult; as a rule they are less impulsive buyers than consumers in the UK or US. German consumers like to take a sample home to try out a specific product or range but once they find a brand or product they like they are very brand loyal.”

However, Beautyworld was not just about niche labels. Established mainstream cosmetics companies like Sans Soucis, Artdeco, MBR Medical Beauty Research, Treffina, Parfum Distribution Hamburg, Cosaadi, and Accentra were also present.

Sans Soucis, a Fribad brand, presented a new range of anti-ageing lipsticks with SPF15 available in 12 colours. The company is currently repackaging its colour cosmetics range and there is also a new long-lasting nail polish range in the pipeline. Meanwhile, stablemate Biodroga showcased its recently launched Aquamarine Spa set.

Colour cosmetics manufacturer Artdeco introduced its Artdeco fashion colours collection Touch of Paradise, which features fresh, fruity colours in coral, turquoise, light green, reds and purples. Special products within the range include a waterproof kohl pencil and an eyeliner with elastic fibres. New launches in the Beyu brand include a creamy shimmer powder.

Markwins International was also represented with a large stand. The company specialises in colour cosmetics gift sets and launches two new collections per year. Colour Workshop is Markwins' mass market brand, while the Pop collection is a funkier label for kids and teens featuring playful beauty cases in jeans fabric and Barbie pink-inspired plastic purses. The Colour Institute is a more stylish, selective brand. In Germany Markwins is distributed in department stores such as Kaufhof and Karstadt outlets but also in Douglas perfumeries, drug stores and discounters.

Beauty & Care, German distributor for Aquolina and C&T license holder for cartoon characters ranging from My Little Pony and Barbie to Hello Kitty, is a regular visitor to the show. This year the company presented a range of Sponge Bob bath care products, the Barbie Pegasus line and a Superman & Cars product range.

La Nature Hartmann Cosmetic, on the other hand, is a natural bath and body care manufacturer who also sells a large range of home fragrances, accessories and spa-inspired gifts. The portfolio includes a line of soaps made with shea butter that is available in a wide range of scents, crystal bath salts, bath powders and an olive oil range of products. La Nature's latest launch is a range of Asian-inspired stone shaped soaps.

And for the eighth consecutive time the Beautyworld Cup was awarded to a mid-size player in the German perfumery sector. This year's trophy went to Frank Schnitzler, owner of two independent luxury perfumeries.

Looking up

Perhaps the best way to describe the general mood amongst the beauty trade and industry players at the show would be cautiously optimistic. According to Messe Frankfurt's annual Beautyworld visitor poll, 85% of traders surveyed assessed the current market situation as good to satisfactory. In the industry 76% agree, an increase of 7% on last year. And the 2005 German perfumery sales figures presented at the Beautyworld press conference of the Bundesverband Parfümerien (the German Perfumery Association) underlined this positive trend.

Turnover in Germany reached €2.48bn in 2005, up 0.3% which marks the first increase for three years. Women's fragrance, with a 30% share of the market - the largest category in the C&T industry, fell slightly by 0.8% due to price activities. Facial skin care (22.1%) grew 1.2% and men's lines (16%) increased 0.9%. In this category men's fragrance accounted for more than half of the turnover. Pre- and aftershave products were less popular than in previous years but skin care shot up a hefty 4.6%. Colour cosmetics (12.9%), on the other hand, dropped 1.6%. In this segment the middle price bracket fell steeply; it appears that German consumers bought either cheap or very expensive makeup products in 2005. Body care (6.2%) grew 2.4% while accessories and similar products increased 1.4%.

Elaborating on these results Werner Hariegel, md of the Bundesverband Parfümerien, and president Reinhard Wolf explained that there had been a consolidation of perfumeries in 2005, particularly amongst family owned stores. When asked whether the proposed entry of AS Watson in the German perfumery market could pose a potential problem for independent and smaller perfumery stores in Germany, it appeared that this was not seen as a major influence. The German cosmetics market was dominated by German retailers, Hariegel said, and the speciality trade was firmly in German hands. In addition, there was no major perfumery chain that AS Watson could take over and expect an immediate profit. Therefore it looks unlikely the German market will see a major new competitor in 2006.

To finish on a high note, the encouraging results from 2005 could be seen as a positive indication for the year ahead, Hariegel and Wolf said. Although consumer behaviour is still subdued the general mood seems to have lifted slightly. Despite uncertainties and concerns about the future German consumers appear to have rediscovered how much fun it is to spend money.

Beautyworld 2007 will take place 24-28 January 2005 in a revamped and much increased space. The show will be moved into three adjoining halls, increasing synergies between the different product categories and the portfolio of the event will be extended to include the five new product segments wellness & spa, cosmeceuticals, cosmetics treatments, private label production and service/concepts.