Rather than a ‘fair’, we prefer to talk about a “showcase” of trends, innovation and research, which are the cornerstones of the event, » explains Dino Tavazzi, CEO of SoGeCos Spa, the subsidiary of Bologna Fiere organising the event. “We are investing a great deal in order to have an increasingly qualified audience of visitors in Bologna,” he adds. For instance, road shows have been organized with the aim to promote the event abroad, specifically in Brazil, Chile, Colombia, United Arab Emirates, Japan, Peru and Singapore.

Over 300 invited buyers

For this edition, the organisers have working on setting up several international buyer delegations, in order to ensure an influx of buyers from India, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, Malaysia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, the USA, Canada, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, Iraq, Russia, South Africa and all of Europe. Thus, a total of 300 buyers have been invited to the event to attend pre-arranged meetings with more than 540 international exhibitors, with a total of over 1,700 planned meetings. The programme embraces all the sectors represented at the event.

Heavy investments on Cosmopack

The organisers are also continuing their huge investments in Cosmopack, the event’s section dedicated to the suppliers of the cosmetic industry. After having completely revamped the exhibition area dedicated to this section last year, they decided to move again its opening date. Cosmopack will therefore open on April 2nd, two days before the rest of the event, “to help international visitors make the most of their visit and allow exhibitors to enjoy increased visibility.

Major events and installations are also on the agenda for 2014. Following the success of “The Lipstick Factory”, the special initiative which brought together the whole lipstick production chain at the last edition, 2014 will see the creation of a new installation: “The Powder Factory”. Visitors will be invited to a journey into the development and production of makeup powders, from manufacturing through to packaging. And the powder compacts produced during the event will be “carbon-neutral”, claim the organizers.

Cosmopack will also offer riche programme of conferences in the Trend Forum area, including presentations on colour trends by Beautystream (April 3rd, 12.30 pm), on the future of retail, by Centdegrés (April 3rd, 02.00 pm), on Brand Image, by Dieter Bakic (April 3rd, 04.30 pm), Beauty In Brazil, by Nelly Rodi (April 4th, 2.30 p.m.), or What’s Next In Asia, by Information & Inspiration (April 5th, 12.00 a.m.).