Sleeping beauty awakens
Like being awakened by the unexpected sound of a shrieking alarm clock, a jolt of adrenaline restarted the beauty industry in Bologna. After a long, two-year slumber due to the global pandemic, the beauty industry sprang into action, hitting the trade show floor at CosmoProf Bologna with a renewed sense of passion and enthusiasm. It was total euphoria, as both vendors and attendees were overwhelmed by being together in person. Over the five days, each exhibit hall was filled with people hugging, laughing, reconnecting, and discovering how the beauty industry changed.
As we’ve come to expect, the CosmoProf organizers were on-point, well-prepared, and excellent hosts, all while keeping everyone safe. The Buyer’s Lounge was a central meeting point that was buzzing with activity throughout the show as buyers, vendors, and media from around the world gathered for coffee exchanged information, and rested their feet before tackling another hall.
While trekking through the 34 pavilions, it was clear that the beauty industry had been transformed during the past two years. Here are some of the observations and highlights:
🌿Sustainability is the new innovation - While there were undoubtedly new products being launched, the sustainability movement was the hottest topic of conversation across all product categories. The vast majority of brands showcased their commitment to some type of sustainability initiative.
Here are a couple of examples:
In eye-catching colorful paper packaging, Attitude is vegan, cruelty-free, and ECOLOGO. “For each product sold online or in a participating store: ATTITUDE commits to planting a tree in collaboration with two major non-profit organizations specialized in reforestation.”
Another unique execution comes from SilverCare, an Italian oral care company that features a replaceable bristle head toothbrush with silver to reduce bacteria.
🌈Color explosion - Eye-popping, nearly neon colors of chartreuse green, electric orange, magenta pink, and lemon yellow upstaged the natural shades of craft paper beige and sage green typical to those promoting a natural product story. Italian-based Paul Rivera styling and finishing products and Add-Plex Addmino-18 showcase this bright color packaging trend.
🌱Farming to formulate -The 15-acre carbon-neutral Davines Village, located in Parma, Italy, is a masterpiece of sustainability and home to the Davines Group global headquarters, labs, garden, a bistro, and more. The Scientific Garden serves as an “open-air lab for constant innovation. With over 6,000 plants, our botanical garden is a source of scientific research for our team of scientists. It has inspired the creation of the Scientific Garden Extract™ for Sacred Nature, our Ecocert-certified organic line, and ingredient Achillea millefolium (a flowering plant) for our best seller Sublime Skin Intensive Serum.”
