In Cosmetics lifts lid on latest industry trends

Market analysts Euromonitor kicked off a full quota of educational seminars taking place over three days, with a talk by expert Briony Davies, who outlined key trends and consumer dynamics that CosmeticsDesign Europe touched upon earlier this week. Indeed the presentation was a well timed introduction to the prestigious international event and highlighted to attendees the reasons behind the thought process of many new product developments seen on the show floor. Expanding on extensive research, Davies cited China as one of the key demographic regions for manufacturers to tap into, brought about by the country's rapid urbanisation and predicted growth in the middle class sector -- allowing for further disposable income. Davies said that, looking to the future, global market trends would still be affected by the continued rise of the naturals and organic market, but were also like to be influenced by the need for a more unifying international certificaiton for personal care manufacturers wanting to launch their products on a global basis. Current certification is contradictory and confusing, with many differences between the regulations in place in Japan, the US and Europe, for example. As a consequence many manufacturers will continue to lobby for internationally recognised certification. Positive news came from the developing cosmeceutical and nutraceutical markets, with big cosmetic players now delving further into segmentation and creating lines such as the Olay Vitamins range. The Sabinsa Group confirmed this news by announcing a distribution agreement with Degussa Goldschmidt Personal Care to allow it deeper market penetration for its cosmeceutical range, set to benefit from Degussa's extensive client base. The partnershop is aimed at developing products that set for launch in the second half of 2007. This was one of the many examples of businesses bridging the gap between the nutrition and cosmetics markets, which has seen the harnessing of such elements as as Omega 3 oils in personal care products - an ingredient that has until recently been more commonly found in nutritional food supplements and bakery goods. Likewise, Oleochemicals showcased its range of marine and vegetable oils that are high in Omega 3, marketing the range as targeting 'health appeal' that is now desired by most beauty consumers. Following on with the crossover fad of nutrition and cosmetics, Davies further emphasised her belief in the increasingly apparent link between the food and beauty sectors, suggesting that the two industries will continue to work more closely together in the future. On the ingreidents side, companies such as Silab and Eastman Chemicals are raising the bar with impressive stands to attract attention to their latest ingredient and chemical developments. Indeed, ingredient giant ISP (International Speciality Products) has used the show as a platform to continue to generate further industry awareness for its recent merger with leading ingredient developer Vincience, based in France. A further show report will be published on CosmeticsDesign-Europe this Friday, 20 April, detailing further highlights from the show.