World’s third largest consumer of cosmetic products, Brazil has a population that pay a great attention to its personal appearance. Over the past 10 years, sales of cosmetics rose by 10 % per year to R$38 billion (about US$17 billion or EUR12 billion euros) in 2013.

In such a context, there is no wonder that trade shows dedicated to this sector also show great dynamism. The FCE Cosmetique show, held in conjunction with the 27th Brazilian Congress of Cosmetology on 12-14 May 2014 in Sao Paulo, hosted 500 exhibiting companies and brands, mainly ingredients and packaging suppliers, formulators and contract manufacturers, and machinery manufacturers and consulting firms. According to the organizers, the show welcomed more than 17,600 professional visitors over the three days, mostly from Brazil, but also from other Latin American countries.

Among the many suppliers which came to showcase their innovations to Brazilian and South American cosmetics companies, Brasquim, a Brazilian importer and distributor of cosmetic ingredients, highlighted Baycusan C 1008, a multifunctional polymer developed by Bayer for hair care. Similarly, Focus Química presented the Snow Algae Powder, a skin care active sourced from an ice algae, recently launched Mibelle Biochemistry. French company Silab presented Volunage, a peony based active for firming the skin.

As for packaging suppliers and formulators, this edition was marked by a sharp increase in the participation of international companies. In the makeup category for instance, we noted the presence of Fareva Chromavis, Intercos, Faber Castell, Weckerle, ICC, Strand Cosmetics Europe, etc. While the Brazilian subsidiaries of major international packaging suppliers - such as Albea, Arcade, Iléos, Pochet, SGD - have been participating in the show for several years, several operators that do not yet have their own local production units have joined this year. Furthermore, the exhibition was also visited by several European suppliers well decided to enter in the market, some of them having already launched industrial investment projects.

The FCE Cosmetique should therefore continue to grow in the next year, together with the market and the entry of new suppliers in the Brazilian market. However, as far as ingredients are concerned, it could suffer from the competition of in-cosmetics brasil, which will hold its first edition next September.