Jamie Matusow, Editor04.26.13
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Cosmopack, the ‘packaging show within the show,’ led off the five-day Cosmoprof Worldwide Bologna beauty fair. |
The layout of Cosmopack’s show floor took a little getting used to, with all the packaging repositioned on one sprawling upper level, but visitors and exhibitors alike were enthusiastic about the return of a day dedicated to packaging. Cosmopack, the “show within the show” started things off on March 7 and ran through March 10, allowing those especially interested in componentry and machinery a full day of packaging tunnel vision. This also allowed Cosmopack’s exhibitors to benefit from the presence of exhibitors from other sectors at the event—potential clients for packaging and contract manufacturing firms.
More than 300 exhibitors from almost 30 countries participated in this year’s Cosmopack. They represented the entire supply chain of the cosmetics industry—from raw materials to technologically advanced machinery, from the latest packaging innovations to formulas and textures produced by contract manufacturers.
The all-inclusive Cosmoprof unveiled its numerous beauty pavilions on March 8th and didn’t shutter them until the 11th, allowing the masses of attendees to happily wander among a vast array of finished products grouped by category and country.
According to the show’s organizers, Cosmoprof Worldwide Bologna closed its 2013 edition with record-breaking figures: 193,842 visitors (a 14% increase) including 48,823 from abroad (a 22% increase).
More than 2,390 exhibitors participated, led by Italy (666 exhibitors), China (272) and France (161), and followed by the U.S. (143), Germany (125) and Spain (113). India, participating for the first time, had 21 exhibitors, Pakistan had 15 and Japan had 12.
Daniela Ciocan, director of marketing, Sogecos Americas (SoGeCos is the company that organizes Cosmoprof), was very pleased with the show. Afterwards, she told Beauty Packaging: “Cosmoprof Worldwide Bologna continues to retain its leader position as the largest and most dynamic beauty B2B trade show attracting business professionals from all corners of the world to scout for new business opportunities and meet with current suppliers or vendors. Its sheer magnitude and history is a testament to the need for such an event to bring the world of beauty together for one moment in time. The many new dynamic facets at the show celebrated the entrepreneurship spirit of our industry—evident in the Extraordinary Gallery and Spot On Beauty—as well as helped integrate the beauty industry’s charity spirit to help out surrounding areas affected by the earthquake through the special event Beauty Night Out carried out through a special partnership between Cosmoprof, the town of Bologna and Vogue Italia magazine.”
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Users of Baralan’s Twist-it cap for nail polish bottles can regulate the length of the bristles to suit the application. |
Walking through the massive pavilions at Cosmoprof and Cosmopack is always an adventure. From velvet press-on nail strips to eyelash extension machines, a one-piece molded nail polish brush to a giant Dead Sea plunge tank complete with a bather, the event provides discoveries at every turn—and something for everyone.
Beauty Packaging’s publisher Jay Gorga and I started our multi-day exploration when we spent an exciting Thursday navigating the many pavilions that comprised Cosmopack. Fortunately Jay had his internal GPS in top working order as he steered us through the crowds.
Nail Care Nirvana
Nail polish has been one of the hottest beauty sectors for a while now, and from the first glimpse of the show floor, it was obvious that the trend had not abated. And in fact, we saw quite a few new innovative packaging designs—as well as seemingly tens of thousands of new formulations in every color and texture, bottle and cap shape and size imaginable.
Arrowpak/Baralan’s booth position in the rearranged packaging space had already drawn a crowd by the time of the show’s opening at 9:30am, particularly the many nail polish brand enthusiasts looking for new and innovative custom and stock bottling options. Arrowpak’s Jim Slowey told Beauty Packaging that they appreciated Cosmopack’s return to the day before Cosmoprof, as “we get a day for ourselves.”
One of Baralan’s innovations was Twist-it, a cap with an applicator for nail polish equipped with a patented system to regulate the length of the bristles. With a simple rotation, the ring at the top allows the user to modify the length of the bristles from short to long. Long bristles allow for a wider application, to cover the whole nail at once, while the shorter bristles are good for a slimmer radius or for perfect finishing touches. The cap fits on all of Baralan’s standard bottles, and the main part of the cap and the ring can be molded in various colors.
At Bisioprogetti, another nail polish brush caught our eye. This one was a single-piece injection molded brush that’s recyclable and made from a low-cost PP material. With applications in cosmetics, medical and pharmaceutical fields, the brush is molded in an ISO7 clean room, and the filaments can be manufactured and placed in various geometries other than the traditional round or linear configurations. What’s more, a patented system prevents the common problem of the cap separating from the brush.
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Anisa International’s Ombre collection features a variety of color gradation handles. |
Brushes were also in abundance when it came to cosmetics.
With makeup sales on the rise, especially in the prestige market, packaging suppliers were keeping ahead of stride with a wide variety of options, from specialized brushes for everything from foundation and mascara, to applicators with on/off systems.
Holograms, ombre gradations and crackle effects were recurring decorative trends on componentry throughout the show, but stood out in an especially beautiful way at Anisa International.
Hee Jeong Son, Anisa International’s senior VP of business development showed us a variety of brushes with features from the shapes of the bristles to the appeal of the handles.
For instance, Son introduced us to the Glider collection, which she said ensures that consumers get the most out of their makeup. The patent-pending brush head is designed with a unique blend of fibers, and curved to fit the face’s natural contours for a more precise and lasting application, penetrating deep into the skin, creating definition and contour. The collection includes face, eye, lip and liner brushes.
Fashion runways and street culture are back to highlighting denim, and the ombre look is right on trend. Anisa International’s Ombre collection brings the attractive gradation look to brush handles with a new, opaque handle that is available in a variety of colors. The manufacturer’s Crackle collection combines textural patterns with a solid-colored base, and mimics the shatter effect currently popular in nail art, fashion and home décor. Handles with a holographic look are possible thanks to an extruded core.
FS Korea offered a number of interesting options. My favorite was a pod-like component. This Artist Angle Brush featured a small pot of eyeliner and a brush in a small compact that unfolded to reveal the miniature tool.
Cosmogen’s general manager, Denis Richard-Orliange, told Beauty Packaging that his company’s focus on brushes and other applicators (in professional, masstige and mass brush ranges) has led them to establish a partnership with the Flavia Palmeira makeup school in Paris in order to develop and evaluate new innovations in areas including brush fibers and handle decorations. He said Cosmogen is looking to expand more in the U.S. and that the France-based company is also in the midst of opening an office in Brazil where they have already been doing business for the past four years.
In their new position at Cosmopack, Pilar Gonzalez-Gomez, vice president marketing, Geka Group, told Beauty Packaging, “It is very nice being in the new hall.”
She said they had had a lot of good, high quality contacts. For this year’s event, they were
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The secret of Geka’s divineLASHES mascara lies in discontinuous disks. |
One of the must-haves is of course, mascara, which led to the development of divineLASHES. The unusual disk brush creates long, full, beautifully shaped lashes in a stroke. Its secret lies in discontinuous disks, which can hold an extra-large portion of formula that can be applied lash by lash.
Joycos exhibited a cool retractable makeup brush—a brush within a brush; twist the handle and a smaller brush emerges from the larger one, twist back for the full, large brush head.
Compacts—from Airless to Refillable
Joycos also highlighted a number of airless designs, including an airless compact for liquid foundation. Just press on the disc and the foundation is dispensed through a small hole. It is even refillable. Soon U. Kim, president of Joycos, told Beauty Packaging that they are seeing more demand for refillable containers.
FS Korea offered several compact options ideal for on-the-go convenience. A liquid foundation in an airless compact keeps the formulation clean and neat, while a round powder compact rotates to an open position to reveal a flow-through brush.
From high end to masstige to mass, Toly Products offered something for every market segment. Dorien Bianco, head of Toly’s marketing group, stressed their capabilities as a one-stop shopping destination, a growing trend in the cosmetics industry. A wide display of compacts was on display, including cardboard, cardboard with plastic bases and terra domed compacts. There were plastic compacts that looked like porcelain and fine, engraved metallic compacts. Bianco also demonstrated a sliding compact, which she said is another big trend. Toly’s Crème Luxe foundation compact features a refillable pouch and a mirror.
Skin Care- Tubes, Pumps and Droppers
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HCT and Pum-Tech have created an innovative “finger-free” cooling stock component that combines HCT’s patented Cooling Tip Technology with Pum-Tech’s Spot Series vertical airless pump, resulting in a component that’s ideal for complex skin care formulations. |
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Albéa’s acquisition of Rexam provides tube and pump solutions that deliver advance formula protection. |
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Cosmogen’s ergonomically shaped ZAMAC applicator tips are designed to be used on Cosmogen’s Tense tubes and mini Squeeze’n Tense tubes. |
Cosmogen continues to expand its Squeeze’n range and showed its new Squeeze’n Clean, which features a silicon pad and an on-off system for cleansers or any type of skin care. Also of note at Cosmogen’s booth was its new Tense Tube, made of ZAMAC and PE. Squeeze the tube and the PE side applies the formulation while the ZAMAC side smooths and cools as it massages product into delicate skin areas. Two versions of the double applicator are available—one with the ZAMAC side, and another with a PP spatula, which is less costly.
A twist and fill dropper from FS Korea that is ideal for skin care, is available for high and low viscosity formulations and is offered with different dropper and bottle options. A squeezable sample dose pack, available in clear or solid PE or PETG provides multiple uses because it can be recapped.
A PP dispenser for gel and liquid products at Bisioprogetti resembles a syringe and is reminiscent of a cartridge pen. The inside container, which holds the liquid, is protected by a breakable closing cap. By pressing on it, the user perforates the cap and the liquid is released onto a filtering mass or sponge. A protective cap is provided.
At Lablabo, airless pouch dispensers prevailed. Clair Berthouze explained how the easy-fill, high-efficiency airless dispensers use airless pouches. The pouches can be used in a variety of bottle shapes as the pouches conform to the shape of the bottles.
Joycos was offering airless pump containers that are refillable.
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The Unity cap design from DieterBakic brings a new dimension in opening and closing bottles. |
Promens displayed four new ranges of bottles in PET: Basic, Boston, O’Cyl and Ovalis collections. These PET bottles are suitable for both mass-market and premium cosmetics ranges, and when combined with metallized dispensers, serve as ideal premium packaging for skin care brands. All bottles are molded with standard screw necks and can be assembled with standard dispensers, sprays or screw closures. The four ranges are available from 75- to 500ml.
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Bottles from Promens’ PET Basic collection. |
Eye-Catching Secondary Packaging
Utility Printpack featured innovations in folding cartons and decorating techniques. One standout was a carton emblazoned with a delicate floral metallic detail, achieved with a metallic plate.
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An attractive Mondrian-style booth at Cosmopack |
Device Craze
Electronic devices had grown in number at this year’s Cosmoprof, and exhibitors were showing everything from depilatories to eyelash extenders, cleansers, massagers and misters. (Who knew even the wax used for hair removal is now available in a range of vibrant colors?)
Elcos always offers attractive, streamlined cosmetic and skin care componentry, but at Cosmopack, the Korea-based company was also all about electronic beauty devices, including sonic peelers and depilatories. One of the reasons behind the booming popularity of these devices—especially in Asia—is as an aid in skin penetration. An Elcos representative told Beauty Packaging: “People are buying expensive skin care products, but are not making sure that the formulations penetrate the skin.” She added, “Customers in the U.S. are starting to look for it [electronic devices].”
Joycos offered a battery-operated microbrush for facial cleansing. Its vibrating action helps to deep clean pores. Another electronic device was meant to smoothly and evenly apply foundation.
Machinery Mania
Citus Kalix took center stage in a special area on the show floor dedicated to lipstick. It was fascinating to watch the machinery as it filled and produced thousands of lipsticks in custom black Cosmoprof cases, with the name of the show debossed in the bullet. At the company’s primary location at Cosmopack, Christophe Hery, Citus Kalix product manager, explained that their specialty lipstick filling machines can achieve an endless variety of logos in lipstick bullets, right in the mold, from the iconic Lancôme flower, to patterns and brand names. He said that the company currently has 20 lipstick filling machines in the U.S.
Forward Thinking Formulations
Lady Burd Cosmetics revealed a number of color collections, but their skin care offering also drew lots of attention. Keri-Lyn D’Antonio, director of the company’s international sales, showed us their new BB Foundation—a 5-in-1 cream that’s available in three shades—which they were introducing to private label brands.
At Cosmetic Solutions, they’d used some interesting customer feedback to expand their offerings. When the turnkey, private label skin care manufacturer heard that users of their highly effective breast and buttock enhancer creams had coincidentally realized excellent results with hands becoming firmer due to residue from application, Warren Becker told Beauty Packaging the company introduced a moisturizing, hand plumping solution that adds a youthful look to older, more fragile skin on that area.
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Albéa’s Marjorie Vincenti (L) and Christine Gichuki |
Anisa Int’l’s (L) Rishma Walia and Hee Jeong Son |
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Baralan/Arrowpak (L-R): Nikolas Baranes, Roland Baranes, Jim Slowey |
Bisioprogetti: Marco Camnasio |
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Coesia: Christophe Hery |
Cosmogen: Denis Richard-Orliange and Mylene Meunier |
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Canada’s The Shopping Channel Health & Beauty Team (L-R): Kris Thomas, Wendy Pos-Cerveira, Piera Cornelio |
HCT Group (L-R): Tim Thorpe, Jenny Hsu, Anthony DeMarco |
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Neopac: Monika Ruegg (L), Lidia Kozic |
The Lady Burd team |
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Pin Mao: Ginny Huang and Daniel Chen |
Beauty Packaging’s publisher Jay Gorga with Daniela Ciocan, SoGeCos, Cosmoprof’s organizer |
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AtToly (L-R): Christopher Yum (Deluxe Packaging), Dorian Bianco, Sherri Ruffini |
