Declining visitorship

The absence of any form of queue on the opening day at the entrance of the Cosmoprof tradeshow (Bologna, Italy) was the most surprising event at Cosmoprof this year. A phenomenon the organisers explain by the online sale of 31,000 tickets, a 63% increase compared to the previous year, representing a third of the total number of tickets sold.

Nevertheless, the organisers have announced a 7.5% decrease of the number of visitors compared to the previous year. Eventually, about 140,000 visitors were recorded, including 33,000 non-Italian visitors, the latter falling by a dramatic -14.9% compared to 2008.

Regarding the 2,248 exhibitors, including 60% (1,323) non-Italian companies, they enjoyed a huge 91,000 square metres of exhibition surface.

Cosmopack in quest of consistency

From the suppliers’ side, the halls 19 and 20 (Cosmopack) were missing several industry leaders such as Rexam, Coster, Seidel, Schwan-Stabilo or Cosmolab, among others…

Nevertheless, those who chose to participate in the show have been positively surprised by the number of contacts on their stand. “Many contacts from Italy, but only very few from the USA, not surprising anyway! Relatively few French, in particular from the most prestigious brands”. Despite the fact that the organisers had invited a delegation of French buyers to attend the show, including a dinner with a selection of exhibitors.

This year again, Cosmopack seemed lacking consistency and having difficulties to offer halls fully dedicated to perfumery and cosmetic packaging. Hall 19, in particular, proposed a mix of machinery suppliers, packaging manufacturers, and Asian suppliers of low quality items. Such a lack of consistency does not help to highlight the most innovative offer.

However, several exhibitors were displaying interesting new products. MeadWestvaco, for instance, unveiled series of new airless bottles (Aria Airless, Prelude Airless, Pearl Mini Airless) offering various decorative options, which are entirely made in the group’s European plants and are available all over Europe. Dieter Bakic Enterprises presented Aqua Lux, a new range of acrylic jars, and several novelties in the double-walled Kronos range, and Pan the company’s first airless bottle.

Prestige and niche: the missing ones

As far as perfumes and cosmetics are concerned, the absence of many prestigious and niche brands was notable this year.

Niche and art perfumery brands, which are highlighted in the Masterpieces section, where much less numerous this year. The first edition of the Esxence tradeshow, which was held simultaneously in Milan, certainly contributed to this situation. Adding to this dismal display, the decoration of the Masterpieces section, in the hall 30 was particularly poor.

From a general point of view, one may question the choice of halls 29 and 30 to host the selective section of he show. In the absence of any appropriate decoration, these two old buildings are a poor shell for high-end products. The organisers have apparently spotted the problem and subsequently announced that the way prestige and high-end cosmetic makers are hosted at Cosmoprof will be entirely reviewed.

A year and a show that were poor in breakthrough innovations,” according to Nathalie Dessirier, a trends and lifestyle consultant, co-founder of Cap Beauty.

Spas and salons under the spotlight

Eventually, the heart of Cosmoprof was beating in the most recent halls 14, 15, 16 and 18, hosting spa and salon brands and equipments.