Cosmoprof NA Continues to Rack Up Points

New and innovative marketing features highlighted this year’s experience for both exhibitors and attendees at Cosmoprof North America (CPNA), which ran July 14-16 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas. A number of packaging suppliers told Beauty Packaging that the event known for encompassing the entire beauty industry continues to be one of their “must do” shows.

This year’s edition featured a sold-out show floor with 892 exhibiting companies along with more than 26,000 attendees, an 8% increase over the previous year. A strong international presence was noticeable with exhibitors from 38 countries, eight official Country Pavilions and a contingency of foreign buyers. As in past years, CPNA attracted many new and innovative brands in addition to industry leaders such as Conair, CND, Essie/L’Oréal Professional, OPI Nail, Orly, Rusk, Schwarzkopf, Zotos International and many more.

Opportunities for Beauty Brands

Daniela Ciocan, director of marketing for Sogecos Americas (Cosmoprof’s organizers), gave Beauty Packaging a tour of some of this year’s special areas on the convention center floor, explaining how they had been designed to give exhibitors at the show “additional exposure.”

The longest-running—CPNA’s Discover Beauty program—returned for its seventh year of matching leading retailers with emerging beauty brands. Ciocan explained that this is a “highly curated” feature of the show in which companies from all over the world must be approved to participate, ensuring “an exclusive array of unique, cutting-edge brands sure to be the ‘next big thing.’ ”

Daniela Ciocan, director of marketing, Sogecos Americas.

CPNA show organizers arrange pre-scheduled face-to-face sales meetings between these select brands and important retailers in a private area on the show floor. The booth area is open to all attendees throughout the three-day event. This year, 19 brands were showcased, with 14 buyers—from stores including Bendel’s, C.O. Bigelow and Duane Reade’s Look Beautique—engaged in by-appointment-only discussions.

Each year, a Discover Beauty winner is announced based on packaging, concept and “product readiness.” The 2013 recipient was Skin&Co Roma, an Italian skin and body care brand, which features

The 2013 Discover Beauty winner was Skin&Co Roma, an Italian skin and body care brand, which features truffle oil in its products. Gabriel Balestra (R) is the grandson of the founder, Giuseppina Balestra.

truffle oil in its products. The brand, which already produced truffle oils and truffle-enhanced foods such as popcorn (which made Oprah’s favorites list), expanded into skin care after scientific studies found that the specific variety of truffles native to the family farm in Umbria “contains more antioxidants than Vitamin C.” Gabriel Balestra, the head of global operations for the company, explained that his grandmother had known instinctively about the fungal species’ effects on skin when, back in the ’60s, she had supplied film stars including Grace Kelly and Gregory Peck with the handmade formulations she sold in the family’s local emporium. The brand launches in Bendel’s this Fall.

Twenty select Spotlight brands were positioned in the center of the well-traveled Discover Beauty area through which buyers had to walk to get to their meetings.

One intriguing brand we spotted was Balanced Guru, which featured holistic, organic essential oil blends for mind, body and skin, packaged in a color-coded, environmentally responsible way.

A popular addition to this year’s show floor drew visitors and exhibitors to what Ciocan called “the first-ever TV shopping open-see.” This allowed brands participating at Cosmoprof to “audition” for influential buyers from

A “TV shopping open-see” allowed brands participating at Cosmoprof NA to “audition” for influential buyers from home shopping channels.

home shopping channels such as QVC, HSN and The Shopping Channel (based in Canada). Claudia Lucas, director of merchandising for beauty at QVC and Wendy Pos-Cerveira, director health & beauty at The Shopping Channel, hosted the event, looking for the next hot beauty product.

Nearby, visitors found another newly added attraction that showcased exhibitors, as CPNA introduced Beautique, a new sampling concept that was unveiled at the show.The extensive wall display of trial-sized packages also benefited a good cause. Visitors could select seven samples from among 20 participating brands, then place them in a beautiful gift box donated by HCT Packaging. All proceeds collected from an optional $10 donation benefited City of Hope, a leading research, treatment and education center for cancer,

Beautique—a popular new sampling concept—was unveiled at the show.

diabetes and other life-threatening diseases.

Ciocan told Beauty Packaging that in addition to the well-attended “sampling shop” being a charitable effort, “all participants are exhibitors, and it gives them another point of exposure.” They also receive contact info for all those who selected their samples. Ciocan said she expected numbers of participants in the heavily trafficked area to reach about 5,000.

Packaging Punch

In the midst of a plethora of hair, nail and spa booths, cosmetic and personal care packaging may not account for the largest section on Cosmoprof NA’s show floor, but excellent traffic, West Coast customers and well-qualified attendees, in general, made for satisfied suppliers.

Dominick Montano, general manager and vice president of sales and marketing for sampling provider, Aphena, told Beauty Packaging: “This is the show at which I always get orders.”

John Pyrzenski, sales director, HCT Group, said, “Vegas is always a great show for us—a must-do.” He said not only is it an ideal venue for seeing their West Coast customers, but it also attracts many others who enjoy spending the weekend in the Nevada hotspot.

Baralan USA’s vice president of marketing and sales, Jim Slowey, said, “It’s important to do this show in support of our West Coast operation in Carson, California.”

And as David Hou from Cospack, put it: “We’re taking our show West Coast!”

On the Show Floor

Eric Allen, director of corporate marketing, Aphena

Aphena had its usual wide array of sampling options on display including its new fragrance sample blister, in which the fragrance is infused in an unspillable wax base.

HCT Group drew a crowd, due to its large exhibit of cosmetic and personal care packaging from compacts to airless pumps. The company was also highlighting its point of sale capabilities. Erwan Depays, head of the division, said the large display for nail polish they were exhibiting had rolled out in all Ulta stores. The addition of POS, said Depays, “was driven by its existing customer base as a value-added service, but has grown into a full-service operation.” The displays are designed and engineered in house, then produced by select factories in the U.S., Spain and China.

McKernan Packaging had just published a new wholesale catalog, and was showing its extensive array of stock components, including bottles and jars, as well as an expansion of aerosol cans.

HCT Group highlighted its point of sale capabilities.

Elliptical tubes were drawing interest at CTL Packaging, known for its high-end injection molded plastic tubes, which feature in-mold labeling. CTL has just launched airless pumps on its elliptical and oval tubes.

In a device similar to a coupon-dispensing machine, Ticket Scent fragrance samples rolled off a POS unit at Adhespack, a sampling supplier from Brazil. Scent Color labels can be produced with images in different colors and shapes and can even simulate the opening of a fragrance package to release the scent enclosed.

Among its many innovative sampling options, Identipak was spotlighting its tandem pouch. Available in up to seven pouches, the multipacks are ideal for introducing 7-day treatments for sampling or retail purposes. Standup pouches and stick packs in large and short-run quantities are also available.

Metallic-look tubes stood out at San Ying Packaging, which claims that

At CTL (L-R): Anna Soden, director sales & marketing, Manuel Diez, CEO, Maria Diez

their metallized PET tube is the shiniest one available. The company also provides caps to fit its four different tube lines, and offers pouches and sampling options as well.

Packaging Growth At Cosmoprof NA

Cosmoprof NA’s Ciocan told Beauty Packaging that based on her experiences and meetings at this year’s event, there are many opportunities for packaging suppliers at the show.

“I see many entrepreneurial brands,” said Ciocan. “Packaging companies should be more aware of smaller quantity needs.” In addition, she said, “There are so many companies in California; smaller brands can come for a day or two, meet with suppliers and fly home.”

Throughout the show, we heard about small brands repeatedly—after all, today’s small brand can become tomorrow’s blockbuster bestsellers.

Seen and Noted

No report on Cosmoprof would be complete without noting a couple of finished products that caught our eye—as it’s a whirl for innovative ideas from soak-off gel nail polishes amidst a swelling sea of nail brands to bee venom skin care blends to trendy temporary tattoos to a “convenient” DIY product for removal of men’s back hair.

With depilatory use on the rise, the Brazilian Back product features a cape to which hair removal cream is applied. The user then wraps the cape tightly to his back to dissolve hair to the follicle. Rub and rinse off. No aesthetician needed.

The Wet Brush looks like an ordinary professional hairbrush, but due to its special bristles, promises to untangle wet hair right out of the shower. In its many varieties, it also claims to be ideal for dry hair, too, as well as hair of any texture.

2014 Dates

Next year’s Cosmoprof NA is scheduled for July 13–15 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas.

In the meantime, Cosmoprof Worldwide Bologna will be held April 4-7; Cosmopack will open the event with two dedicated days on April 2-3; the entire Cosmoprof will extend from April 2-7.

CPNA 2013 Wins Trade Show Innovation Award With its continuous focus on the next big thing in beauty, Cosmoprof North America (CPNA) scored an overall high in the 2013 Trade Show Executive (TSE) Reader’s Choice Innovation Awards. CPNA earned top honors in the show organizer category, being voted the Most Innovative Organization in the Trade Show Industry. According to voters, “CPNA implemented a business plan that was heavy on technology and forward-looking educational content for beauty industry management to take their business to the next level.” Show management was cited, in particular, for its introduction of its new, customized sampling concept on the show floor—Beautique—and the first “TV Shopping Open-See” with home shopping channels such as QVC, HSN and The Shopping Channel Canada hosting live auditions. Nearly 1,900 TSE readers cast online ballots for the newest technologies and ideas that they felt would make the organizing and management of trade shows a little easier, or possibly usher in a breakthrough that would ripple throughout the industry.