Brits are among the biggest beauty and personal care spenders in Western Europe, according to Euromonitor International, a statistic that makes London the perfect stage for In-Cosmetics Global, as it returns to The City for the first time in 15 years and faces challenges that would have been unthinkable back in 2001.


Last year was full of  political and economic changes in Britain, the European Union, the US and around the world. While Brexit presents its own unique challenges, the beauty industry is currently remaining positive with sales in the UK expected to hit the £4 billion mark for the first time ($4.9 billion at current exchange rates), while global cosmetics sales will reach $675 billion by 2020, according to raconteur.net.


The Asia-Pacific region continues to remain the biggest region for cosmetics with 36% of the total market share, followed by North America (24%) and Western Europe (20%), says raconteur.net. According to IBIS World, skin care, hair care and makeup are the most popular sectors, followed by fragrances, hygiene products and oral cosmetics.


However, the influx of advancing beauty technologies, changing consumer shopping habits, the rise of online influencers, shifting regulations and environmental ethical debates are all forcing manufacturers to evolve. As brands look to tempt consumers with the most innovative, on-trend products, In-Cosmetics Global will provide a fantastic of opportunity for research and development professionals to source and learn about new ingredients, formulations, and the latest consumer trends, according to organizers.


Taking place at London’s ExCeL, April 4-6, the event will feature 800 leading and niche suppliers showcasing thousands of products. Visitors will find two new topical features—the Sustainability Corner and Make-Up Bar—that will run alongside more than 100 hours of trends-led sessions, all of which are free-to-attend, according to Reed Exhibitions, which developed the In-Cosmetics concept more than 20 years ago.


“We will offer an industry-wide view of the cosmetic industry, focussing on the growth areas that offer huge opportunities,” said Cathy Laporte, exhibition director, In-Cosmetics Global. “At In-Cosmetics Global, the most influential global speakers will lead the conversation around the future of the beauty industry.”


New Show Features

In an exciting addition to the world’s premier ingredient event, R&D professionals and formulators will be invited to put new makeup formulations—including eye, skin, nail, and lip products—to the test. The Make-Up Bar has been designed for exhibitors to demonstrate their expertise, enabling visitors to identify innovative pigments and technologies that will deliver the next generation of trend-setting color cosmetics products.


Sustainability has come to the fore in the cosmetics and personal care industry recently and represents a pressing issue for manufacturers, R&D and regulatory professionals. As such, The Sustainability Corner, an open theater format, will help visitors explore the latest developments and initiatives in personal care sustainability. Participants will walk away with an understanding of what the cosmetics industry is currently doing to support the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and how the cosmetic industry can help the UN achieve its goals.


A Blazing Trail of Innovation

Product innovation remains a key driver of sales. With one in three prestige makeup buyers revealing they purchased a product in order to sample it, In-Cosmetics Global is primed to inspire a new generation of products as it expects to gather ingredient suppliers from more than 40 countries worldwide.


Ashland, BASF, Clariant, Croda, Dow Corning and Solvay are already among those confirmed to attend. Novel ingredients launched within six months of the show opening will also be presented in the Innovation Zone. As one of the most popular areas of the show, cosmetic professionals are invited to touch, smell and feel the products during a series of live demonstrations.


Due to high demand, this year’s show will see the return of the exclusive Formulation Lab. As a purpose-built laboratory, sessions are designed to provide R&D and lab professionals with rare hands-on experience from the industry’s leading experts into how to formulate the latest ingredients. According to organizers, the Formulation Lab continues to deliver invaluable and practical insights into formulation training that is normally difficult to access. Evonik, Lonza, Nikko, Dr. Straetmans and Symrise AG are among 14 suppliers already confirmed to take to the stage.


The Beauty Revolution

During the past five years, the cosmetic ingredient market has witnessed industry-wide changes in the way consumers shop for beauty. New brands are also exploring exciting new ways of entering the market. As such, new trends and challenges are appearing. These include the growing influence of digital beauty and wearables, Brexit, the sustainability debate and ethical developments, such as halal’s influence across fragrance raw materials and cosmetic ingredients alike.


All of these trends will be covered in detail during the education program at In-Cosmetics Global.


As wearable technology continues to thrive, consumers are now able to gain in-depth insight into the inner workings of their own body. Mintel research shows that 18% of Chinese consumers own a wearable device, up from 13% in 2014. To put in perspective, nearly half (48%) of UK sun care users would also be interested in an app that can be used to track changes in their skin or moles. All this wearable technology means that brands must evolve their offerings to remain relevant.


Anastasia Georgievskaya is co-founder and research scientist at Youth Laboratories, a company developing tools to study aging and discover effective anti-aging interventions using advances in artificial intelligence (AI). She will be exploring AI in depth during her session on using artificial intelligence to enable consumers to look younger.


Speakers, including representatives from Sustainway, Henkel, Neal’s Yard Remedies and leading scientists such as Professor Franz Wortmann, University of Manchester and Prof. Ilya Raskin, Nutrasorb LLC, Rutgers University, are also among the industry authorities who will take to the stage to discuss trends such as sustainability, the natural skin care market and the science behind modern hair care. The education program will provide finished product manufacturers and R&D professionals, looking to create new product innovations, with exclusive insights from sourcing the latest innovative ingredients, through to formulating the final product.


Interactive Platform

The 2017 edition of In-Cosmetics Global will see the return of the Sensory Bar, a unique feature where formulators will be given the opportunity to touch, feel and try products that offer unusual textures and sensations. Formulations to explore will include transforming and hybrid textures, heating and cooling jellies, butters and powders. Evocative and symbolic fragrances and lipsticks with surprising tastes, will also get featured.


As a global platform, the show set-up will enable visitors to easily source new suppliers from specific geographical regions around the world. With country pavilions for Brazil, France, India, North America, South Korea and Spain already established, attendees will be offered an unrivalled opportunity to network with industry peers worldwide.  


Industry Awards

Cosmetic manufacturers are also invited to attend the highly anticipated In-Cosmetics Global awards ceremony on April 5. These awards recognize suppliers developing the most innovative functional and active ingredients. As part of the ceremony, The Green Ingredient Awards, run in association with Organic Monitor, will return to honor a raw material or ingredient that has made a significant or social difference in sustainability for the cosmetic industry.


The Sensory Awards, which celebrate the most innovative developments in sensory and texture, will also return, while a Makeup Award will also be presented for the first time. Expert judges will review all entries and present the most innovative suppliers with their prizes at the show.


“We are very proud to be bringing In-Cosmetics Global to London in 2017. It is a dynamic, vibrant and well-connected city which is accessible from around the world and we wanted to capitalize on this for our international audience,” noted Laporte. “It is 15 years since we were last in the UK and so much has changed since then—there is a huge local visitor group which we will be tapping into, delivering new, exciting and inspiring visitors throughout the event.”


Laporte said the In-Cosmetics team is also very excited about the trend-led content at this year’s show. In addition to a focus on new areas such as artificial intelligence, wearables and digital beauty, the event will continue ongoing industry discussion on topics such as anti-pollution, sustainability and halal.


“In-Cosmetics Global is all about bringing together the personal care ingredients industry, enabling individuals to make the right connections, expand their knowledge and discover the latest innovations,” Laporte concluded. “By encouraging visitors to participate in testing brand new products, creating their own formulations in a purpose-built lab and attending an unprecedented range of free educational sessions, we hope to give the industry the tools they need to inspire the next generation of cosmetic products worldwide.”


To register or learn more, visit: www.in-cosmetics.com