Inaugural Cosmetics Business Live attracts 1,600 attendees

By Julia Wray | Published: 17-May-2021

The personal care and beauty community turned up for 30 hours of content across five days

A total of 1,600 beauty and personal care professionals attended the first ever Cosmetics Business Live last week, receiving a total of 30 hours of information and advice from industry experts.

The event, which took place 10-14 May, also enabled attendees to interact with 50 digital exhibitors, including official 2021 event partner eBay, and this year’s sponsors, Catalent Beauty, Dash Hudson and Labskin.

The event was split into four topics – ingredients, regulatory, packaging and retail – with the first day dedicated to networking using the Swapcard platform. Each topic was split into two sessions: a pay-to-attend conference; and a session comprising partner presentations.

Ingredient trends unpacked

The first full conference day on 11 May zeroed in on the world of ingredients, with conference topics including upcycled ingredients; transparency and consumer education; formulating organic; the adoption of skin care ingredients and claims by hair brands; ‘gold standard’ ingredients for skin care; phytocannabinoids for use in beauty; and ensuring ingredients supply in times of emergency.

Presenting companies in this stream included UpCircle, The Inkey List and Pai Skincare among a host of other experts in the field.

A panel discussion on ‘clean beauty’, meanwhile, highlighted the need for a more stringent definition to curb cases of ‘cleanwashing’ and for improved industry dialogue to avoid branding the wider beauty market as ‘unclean’.

The team at Aprinnova learned so much at the @cb_beautynews #CosmeticsBusinessLive — the future of cosmetics is looking bright!
— Aprinnova (@aprinnova) May 15, 2021

In the partner stream for ingredients, attendees heard from leading suppliers including Mibelle Biochemistry, Univar Solutions, Jland Biotech, Premium Organic, Clariant, Siltech, Aprinnova and GVB Biopharma.

Keeping it legal

The second day addressed cosmetic claims, with Dr Theresa Callaghan beginning by imploring the industry to use good science in its marketing. Other topics included hyper-certification, SPF compliance, influencer advertising and avoiding counterfeiting, while updates on EU, US and China legislation was provided.

Inaugural Cosmetics Business Live attracts 1,600 attendees

Our panel for this stream provided information on everything REACH and EU chemicals legislation related, and comprised speakers from the likes of ECHA, the CTPA and PETA.

The regulatory entry pass stream, meanwhile, included insight from experts at EcoMundo, Ayton Global Research, Ithos Global, Veeva, Labskin and MyMicrobiome.

All packaged up

The packaging conference shed light on the circular economy, with speakers from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, Bulldog Skincare, Beauty Kitchen and Terracycle all weighing in on the issue.

The packaging panel discussion took this one step further, asking ‘Should we all get naked’, in a packaging context, of course. Here, a lively discussion saw panelists try to strike a balance between sustainability, the ‘big reveal’ and avoiding packaging damage.

As well as eco issues, essential topics in this stream included post-Covid hygiene considerations, protecting your personal style, standing out on Amazon and on social media, and avoiding ‘ableism’ in packaging design from P&G.

From the supplier and services side, attendees were introduced to packaging trends and options from UPM Raflatac, Epic Print, Faca Packaging, Catalent Beauty and Esko.

The path to purchase

The fourth and final day of presentations included contributions from The Organic Pharmacy, Pinterest and The Estée Lauder Companies and focused in on retail.

Speeches in this stream encompassed selling wellness; travel retail; championing diversity and inclusion; the rise of indie brands; how AI is facilitating personalised shopping; and making the most out of your Amazon strategy.

Marketing and the rise of social was additionally addressed in presentations on mastering the art of beauty PR, working with influencers and using positivity to inspire purchase.

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A panel debate explored the fundamentals of stocking brands, with speakers including event partner eBay's Helen Riley providing their tips on choosing and successfully pitching to retailers.

And, in the partner stream for retail, attendees were afforded insight from MedSkin Solutions, Deciem, KeepMe Lifestyle and Boadicea the Victorious, Worldpay from FIS, eBay and Dash Hudson.

If you’d like to find out more about Cosmetics Business Live and how you can get involved as an exhibitor or sponsor in 2022, please contact trystanh@hpcimedia.com or call +44(0) 207 193 6690.