Cosmoprof 2009

Apart from the obvious worries regarding the effect of the global recession on Cosmoprof, considered to be the biggest show of its kind in Europe, there was also growing concern that Bologna is too small a city to hold a show of this scale – with some exhibitors expressing a preference that it be held in Milan, the Italian capital of fashion and beauty.

However, if 2009 was a challenge for Cosmoprof and its organiser SoGeCos, it certainly wasn’t apparent at the show. According to Unipro, the Italian C&T trade organisation which releases its figures for the past year at the show, over 1,800 visitors attended on the first day of the show to explore pavilions 19 and 20. This was the Cosmopack arena – the packaging event that opens one day ahead of the main event.

Addressing the concerns

Speaking at the annual Unipro press conference, attended by journalists from all over the world, Gian Andrea Positano, director of the Statistical Centre at Unipro, was relatively upbeat: “We must first of all take into account that we are reacting to a worldwide economic crisis. We can’t limit our evaluation of Cosmoprof 2009 just to numbers alone, but we must also take into account the vitality of this exhibition and the strong initiatives that Cosmoprof is launching this year such as events organised around new trends in order to refresh and enliven the show.

“Strictly talking numbers, exhibitor numbers have grown from 2,183 in 2008 to 2,248 this year, which is a very positive sign and something which should be applauded.”

Unipro’s president Fabio Franchina also remained both realistic and optimistic when presenting the Italian C&T figures for the past year: “The cosmetics industry does not manufacture make-up to cover the cracks, but instead provides solutions which cater to all consumers, investing in research, innovation and security to provide fast and effective solutions that everyone can afford in these troubled times.”

Unipro highlighted how the cosmetics industry in Italy has been investing a lot of its resources in research and development and that it is doing its best to involve the academic sector in the industry. This is especially true in Bologna, which is a renowned University city in Italy and where, because of the show, there is an obvious link between academia and beauty.

It was apparent when walking the floor that some big brands such as Pupa and L’Oréal were absent from the show. However, many young and energetic brands from all over the world made up for this loss, making Cosmoprof 2009 a successful and vibrant event, according to delegates and exhibitors alike. There were many key companies who made the trip to Bologna for this year’s show including GOSH Cosmetics, Eurocosmetics, Debby and Essence and all four were noticeable for their eye-catching and innovative stands which helped to attract much passing footfall.

Aveda, still relatively new to the Italian market, occupied a large area in the hair care pavilion and the Masterpieces area, now a Cosmoprof staple, was dedicated to selective Italian perfumery companies such as Terme di Saturnia, Rubino Cosmetics and Acqua di Genova while also making space to highlight the offerings of international companies such as Bahoma London and Robert Piguet from France.

Most of the companies taking part in Cosmoprof 2009 said that their main reason for exhibiting there was to promote their brand and to make new business contacts. Andrea Santangelo, marketing executive at Aveda Italia, said: “There are just 20 people in our Milan office right now. Aveda is very new to the Italian market and we are still working to raise brand awareness and Cosmoprof is the ideal place to do that.” So perhaps the reason huge Italian brands such as Collistar didn’t take part in the event simply boils down to the fact that they do not need the awareness the show brings and it is more relevant for others.

Francesca Di Leonardo from Italian company Bakel Technology believes that Cosmoprof is the perfect occasion for business meetings. She said: “We have certainly noticed that there was less general interest from members of the public but at the same time delegates were much more select this year. We have met buyers from very important stores and international distributors too.

“I would say that the economic crisis has had the effect of natural selection on Cosmoprof so that business this year has been much more focused and productive. We are definitely coming back to Bologna next year and we are considering taking part in the Cosmoprof shows in Hong Kong and Las Vegas.”

It was clear that Cosmoprof 2009 had pushed itself to the limits to represent the resilient attitude that is necessary during these difficult economic times. As Franchina commented: “It is necessary to react.” And it seems that is exactly what the trade show did this year.

Breaking the mould

The show itself was very ambitious this year, aiming to overhaul the entire concept of the trade show itself, even giving it a brand new name. The team behind Cosmoprof 2009 wanted the show to become more than just a showcase of wares, and this involved being proactive and introducing new workshops, areas and events. Hence the event was actually renamed NeoCosmoprof R-Evolution 2009 (NewCosmoprof) in reference to the logistical, conceptual and strategic changes that have been made this year.

In a further attempt to accommodate the growing number of participants, the actual floor space available to the exhibitors was expanded from 88,118sqm last year to 91,000sqm this year with the creation of two entirely new pavilions, 14 and 15 which hosted the Cosmoprof Spa Symposium.

The spa sector covered a 23,000sqm space in order to open up the potential for the further development of this sector. The Cosmoprof Spa Symposium was a forum where delegates could gain a better concept of the spa world and proved a big hit with visitors.

Cosmoff Lab was another new space this year, dedicated to new trends, which hosted meetings and workshops focused on five main themes. These were: the dream as a form of mysticism, the theatre involving transformation, India with its sensuality and bright colours, fruit and vegetables, and technology, particularly the internet.

The main event

The main part of Cosmoprof was organised into four areas – Masterpieces, Black Label, Golden Label and Perfumery & Cosmetics.

Loris Rubino, exhibiting in the Masterpieces area with his brand Rubino Cosmetics said: “It’s important to have an area like this where luxury perfumery is given particular attention. Our perfumes have handmade packaging and we have a limited edition perfume that we sell for t64,000. One of our face creams actually contains real rubies and is sold for t700 per tub. I must admit though I am less satisfied than I was last year about how this area has been organised as we have been put beside far more commercial brands which do not associate with our prestige. However the show has been good up to now, both in terms of the potential for future clients and the acquisition of new customers here at the show.” Interestingly Cosmoprof is planning to make the Masterpieces section a travelling exhibition in the future, one which would make an appearance throughout Europe. The Black Label area comprises niche perfumes and cosmetics while Golden Label played hosted to prestige perfumes in a celebration of national and international selective perfumery.

One topic of speculation at the show was why the Italian fragrance awards – Premio Internazionale – usually held at Cosmoprof and orgranised by the Accademia del Profumo, was this year moving to Milan. Positano clarified that this new location did not indicate that Cosmoprof itself will be moving to Milan. “We have transferred the fragrance awards to Milan because the big names of the perfumery industry don’t necessarily need to exhibit at Cosmoprof. “This year Chanel used Cosmoprof to launch its new advertising campaign and that proved extremely effective. But I would say the fragrance industry must try to reach a wider audience outside of the professional circles and that’s why we have moved the Premio Internazionale to Milan.”

Staying competitive

Another new addition to this year’s show was the Cosmoprof Preview pamphlet which allowed visitors to see what companies were using the show to launch. Discounted prices were even offered here on certain products in an attempt to encourage sales and keep competitive in this difficult and challenging economic climate.

Italian company L’Erbolario, a natural cosmetics company which was founded in 1978, used Cosmoprof to launch its new Patchouly line. L’Erbolario also added two additions to its summer range called Rinfresca Sole and Shampo Sole New Formula. Antonio Argentieri, export executive for L’Erbolario, said: “We come to Cosmoprof every year to improve our foreign business contacts, promoting the fact that we are an Italian company born and bred. The show has been very positive for us this year, with over 30 contracts signed with new business associates. They have mainly come from eastern Europe and America while we have noticed a slowdown in the interest from the Middle East where we experienced a boom last year. This year we have had a slightly higher number of contacts but what is most important is that they prove fruitful and that they are relevant and useful for our company.”

Another brand among the Italian contingent was Naturando, a company with over 25 year’s experience in manufacturing and distributing natural products for pharmacies and herbalists. The company launched its new skin treatment at the show – Hanida Ginseng Body Care – which completes its already popular Ginseng Care line.

Among the international exhibitors who were offering new products at a special discounted price especially for Cosmoprof were Australian Milk and Co. Its new Milk Skin care for Men range was created and developed by the Australian swimming champion Michael Klim while Milk Baby is the company’s organic skin care range especially formulated for babies.

It seems Cosmoprof was, for many exhibitors, the perfect platform to launch their new products.

In the colour cosmetics area, Intercosmetics, an Italian group that manufactures hair care and cosmetics products sold in perfumeries, launched five new colours for its summer nail care range – Ale bi Milano.

Discussing with ECM why the company exhibits at Cosmoprof, Stefano Dionisi, administrative executive, said: “We keep on coming back to Cosmoprof because our clients are used to seeing us here. It’s a very direct and human way of doing business and it certainly is an investment for us. However, we are aware that other companies prefer to use their budget for traditional advertising instead, which is completely understandable during times of recession. Luckily our group hasn’t been damaged hugely by the economic crisis so we have been lucky.”

Danish company GOSH Cosmetics launched several new products at Cosmoprof 2009, including its Giant Sunpowder, Light & Shine Lip Gloss and the Soft & Shine SPF15 Lip Balm. Rikke Mogensen, export area manager for GOSH, said: “This is a very busy year for us at Cosmoprof because price-wise Gosh has the perfect offerings for appealing to the consumer who is trying to get better value for money, so we are trying to capitalise on that.”

Meanwhile, Mojo is a German cosmetics company that launched last year at Cosmoprof exclusively onto the German market. Due to the success the company experienced last year it headed back to Cosmoprof this year to launch its wares onto the international market. Maral Kanani, export manager, said: “We have had a lot of international visitors stop by our stand comprising a great variety of nationalities which shows what a varied show this is and always has been. Personally I have noticed a lot of Koreans interested in our brand but there have also been a lot of other unexpected customers such as many Portuguese delegates.

“Because we are currently doing very well in Germany, where we have an exclusive deal with Douglas, we have decided to expand globally and Cosmoprof is the ideal platform on which to do this.”

But it wasn’t all such good feedback. Italian company Extraordinary Fragrance, licenser of luxury perfume brands such as Romeo Gigli and Rocco Barocco, was also launching new products at Cosmoprof. Managing director, Pietro Nappi, was less than satisfied with the actual exhibition this year. “We have come to Cosmoprof for several years and I have definitely noticed that this event is down on previous years. Lots of important names are not exhibiting and it’s clear that the major absentees had reasons for not coming to Cosmoprof this year. The organisation was disappointing too and the organisers should have made more effort to get the big brands to participate in this year’s event. Because the big companies are not here, this in turn attracts less people and this reflects on the number and calibre of visitors attending the show. We’ll think twice before coming back next year.”

However, despite certain gripes along the way, Cosmoprof 2009 was deemed a stable and well organised success and one which dealt well with the many challenges it faced.

At a time when both the Italian and global economy are suffering the effects of the worst financial crisis for years, Cosmoprof Bologna confirmed the vitality of the C&T sector, holding its head up high and marching on leaving the appetite of both exhibitors and attendees whetted until next year.

Keeping spirits high

João Carlos Basilio Da Silva, president of Abhipec, said: “I think this has been the best year yet at Cosmoprof because only the good companies have made the effort to show up.” He called these companies the adventurers – exhibitors that are not afraid of the recession and will therefore reap the rewards. “This year it’s all about the quality of the people who are here”, he added, saying that: “Deciding not to come to Cosmoprof this year would not have made any sense to any of the Brazilian companies. At the start of this year we had low expectations for the C&T sector in Brazil since the global economic slowdown was worrying us greatly but I have to say that the initial results for the first three months have been outstanding. Cosmoprof is proof that the cosmetics industry has not been disheartened by the crisis and is still going strong. Keeping morale high is fundamental at times like this.”
Elsewhere at the exhibition other exhibitors also highlighted the positive aspects of Cosmoprof 2009. The Korean Trade Investment Promotion Agency has been taking part in Cosmoprof in the Korean pavilion since 2004 and several small and medium sized manufacturers participate. Company managing director, Tomas Junghoon Lee, said of the show this year: “Despite the recession, Cosmoprof is still a very big and important show. We have noticed the same numbers of visitors as in previous years so we feel the show is going well so far and is worth coming to. After all, we are all living through a global economic crisis and the cosmetics industry in Korea, as everywhere else, has been affected. Some companies are having problems in financing their research and development and are having to move their production to cheaper locations.”
However, back in the German pavilion, Silvia Steinmüller, brand manager for Essence, held a different opinion. “Recession has a double effect. The cosmetics industry can take advantage of it, because consumers may not be able to buy the more expensive C&T items but they will still be able to afford lipstick and the more affordable beauty products. But the economic crisis also has negative effects as we can see here at Cosmoprof – I feel it’s fairly quiet and empty this year. Some companies could not afford to come this year because they must save their money and put it back into the company itself and exhibiting at trade shows can get very expensive.”