NATRUE attended In Cosmetics Global 2023, the world’s leading event for personal ingredients, that returned to Barcelona (Spain) for the first time in eight years. From 28 to 30th March, more than 700 leading personal care ingredient suppliers showcased the latest ingredient suppliers, so the event was an exciting opportunity to discover which ingredients are now gracing the market.
In Cosmetics from within: three key areas of the fair
NATRUE visited the different areas of the fair. “Sustainability” is one of the key words mind for personal care and cosmetic ingredient suppliers, manufacturers and brand. Roziani Zulkifli, Exhibitions Director of in-cosmetics Global recognises this in an statement:
“More than ever, consumers are looking to make purchasing decisions that have a minimal environmental, social, and economic impact. Sustainability has gone from a “nice-to-have” trend to a global imperative. In the cosmetics and personal care industry, it is impacting every stage of the product development process from concept and ingredient sourcing to formulations as well as packaging, distribution, and a product’s end-of-life properties.”
For this reason, this year the fair included a new Sustainability Zone, a space that welcomed exhibitors who can support suppliers and manufacturers in becoming more sustainable, covering every step of the supply chain from the product planning, formulation, and ingredient sourcing to packaging, manufacturing and transportation.
Another essential area that NATRUE had the chance to visit, was the Formulation Lab. As in previous editions, the international show provided a space for formulators and R&D specialists to get hands-on with the latest formulation techniques.
Last but not least, NATRUE drop in on the Innovation Zone, an area designed to bring together the most creative ingredients suppliers, enabling visitors and professionals to easily identify new active and functional ingredients that will inspire future formulations. Some of the hottest ingredients featuring in this year’s Zone were NATRUE certified Raw Materials, like for example Mibelle Biochemistry’s CALMandrin™. It is anti-inflammatory, soothes reddened skin, and improves signs of skin ageing, piquing the interest of visitors as it targets three key trends: sustainability, CBD, and anti-ageing.
Three key learnings
NATRUE joined some of the conferences included in the education programme of the show. These seminars brough together leading industry experts to explore the more pertinent trends impacting cosmetics and personal care brands. One of they key conclusions NATRUE concluded is that more and more consumers are asking for more transparency.
According to Mintel, 75% of Spanish consumers agree that beauty brands should provide more scientific evidence or validate the claims they make -for example, “reducing wrinkles”. This fact shows how transparency remains an essential requirement for consumers. When consumers are shopping, they need verifiable and reliable tools to assist their informed decision-making. Independent certification to standardised requirements provides a basis to evaluate that verifiable characteristics of a product have been met and controlled by a third-party; so, it is not simply a self-declaration from the manufacturer. It is clear we have a more engaged consumer; the key remains in prove scientific credentials to build trust.
Another interesting fact NATRUE discovered during the fair is that when asking why consumers are so interested in ingredients, efficacy goes first, and sustainability and safety second. Following a Mintel study, in the UK, 32% of consumers research ingredients used in skincare products because they want to find out how effective a product is.
Last in order, NATRUE saw how packaging remains a topic agenda point for the industry in the efforts to reduce waste, environmental impact and increase sustainability.
NATRUE at the show
For three days, the NATRUE team held high-level meetings with stakeholders from around the world. We had the opportunity to speak with manufacturers of finished cosmetic products, consultants, distributors, and producers of natural and organic raw materials interested in the benefits of the NATRUE Certification.
It was great to see how more and more people show their interest in knowing more about the NATRUE Standard and to discover how the NATRUE label is a safe value for both brands and consumers. Thank you very much to all of you who stopped by our stand to meet us and chat for a while!
Save the date: In-cosmetics Global 2023, 16-18 April 2024 (Paris)