The next edition of Cosmoprof, which will take place in Bologna early next year, stands once more as “The” big European event in the Beauty sector, both in terms of number of exhibitors and visitors. This year, organizers have undertaken to reshape the event. Overview with Enrico Zannini, General Manager, BolognaFiere Cosmoprof, and Rossano Bozzi, Cosmopack Director.

Jean-Yves Bourgeois: The forthcoming edition of Cosmoprof, which will take place in Bologna in March 2019, looks once more to be “The” big European event in the Beauty sector both in terms of numbers of exhibitors and visitors. Do you already have an idea as to the number of exhibitors expected for this edition, and of the total exhibition area, and can you detail the main animations programmed?

Enrico Zannini: For the 2019 edition, we will certainly have a bigger exhibition area, thanks to the reshaping of pavilions 28, 29 and 30, which provide an exhibition area of 33,000 square meters. Globally speaking, Cosmoprof Worldwide Bologna 2019 will record significant growth.

Jean-Yves Bourgeois: You have undertaken to reorganize the event around three major pillars: Perfumery-Cosmetics, the Professional sector and the Suppliers area (Cosmopack). And the opening of three new halls, (halls 28, 29 and 30) will be one of the highlights of this new edition. Can you tell us more about how exhibitors will benefit from these changes?

Enrico Zannini: The different opening days according to the specific areas of interest, which we already adopted last year, will be further emphasized in 2019 by a sectorization of the pavilions to further facilitate visitors’ attendance. From Thursday, March 14 to Sunday March 17, 2019, Cosmopack and Cosmo | Perfumery & Cosmetics will open to encourage meetings between producers and specialists in the supply chain on the one side, and finished product companies, buyers and retailers for the Perfumery and Cosmetics sectors, Green & Organic and for Cosmoprime, the area dedicated to high-end perfumery, on the other. From Friday, March 15 to Monday March 18, doors will open for the professional channels of Cosmo | Hair & Nail & Beauty Salon, with the presence of owners of hair and beauty salons, hairstylists, hairdressers, nail technicians and distributors specialized in these segments. Within each sector, international pavilions will be present, bringing small and medium beauty companies from all over the world to Bologna. The customization of the event allows us to fulfill in a more specific manner the business requests of cosmetic industry professionals. In 2018, this strategy already brought important results, with an increase in the presence of buyers, retailers and international distributors from Thursday, the first day of the event.

Jean-Yves Bourgeois: These modifications clearly concern the Cosmopack area. Can you please explain what the key points of this reorganization will be, knowing that the aim obviously seems to be to bring together, on a single platform, the manufacturing solutions showcased?

Rossano Bozzi: At Cosmopack we wanted to give specific visibility and identity to the technological solutions for industrial production. For the next edition, a portion of Hall 19 will host a new project specifically aimed at emphasizing this goal. SMART, that’s to say Solutions, Manufacturing, Automation, Research and Technologies, is the name identifying this area, underlining how strategic smart manufacturing solutions are in the beauty industry. Cosmopack will grow further and not only in the technology segment. We are working on the growth of the OEM, ODM and Packaging segments that will find a new location in Hall 20, with an exhibition offer particularly suited to creative collections, tailor made and flexible solutions, suiting particularly the needs of Indie brands, as well as others.

Jean-Yves Bourgeois: What will be the theme of the animation “The Factory,” knowing that in previous years, you had chosen to focus on the makeup sector?

Rossano Bozzi: This year the focus of the Factory is PURE, an innovative hair treatment. The Cosmopack Factory, an initiative that we have consolidated as a special project in recent years and that we have started to “export” to other exhibitions on the Cosmoprof Worldwide platform, aims at reproducing the most innovative and available production solutions, with an increasing attention to the customer experience. New for 2019, within the Cosmopack SMART area in Hall 19, is the attention to sustainability: PURE FACTORY & SUSTAINABLE EXPERIENCE is the first example of sustainable production, with appropriate certification audits that define selection criteria for natural and organic ingredients. In general, the certification for sustainability will cover the entire chain and will follow the principles of sustainability not only at an environmental level, but also according to economic and social values. The development of PURE will start from the use of regenerated polymer from the recovery of plastic bottles, to create a unique design for PET bottles.

Jean-Yves Bourgeois: Will environmental issues be addressed at the next Cosmoprof and if so, under what form?

Enrico Zannini: Sustainability and a circular economy will be the main theme of all the initiatives of Cosmoprof Worldwide Bologna 2019. In addition to the Factory, which this year focuses on sustainable production, a strong focus on sustainable cosmetics characterizes the special areas within Cosmoprime, in Hall 14. The Extraordinary Gallery, a place dedicated to niche perfumery, will host a selection of companies specializing in green & organic beauty, with the Extraordinary Green Gallery. Green Prime is dedicated to exhibitors in the prestige and masstige channels. Round tables, seminars and talks will focus on new technologies adopted by cosmetic companies to meet the increasingly concrete need to reduce emissions of pollutants and the environmental impact of production processes. The seminars will be organized in collaboration with trend agencies, opinion leaders and international experts.

Jean-Yves Bourgeois: Despite new competing B2B events appearing everywhere, Cosmoprof Bologna does more than resist .... How do you explain this longevity and near indestructibility?

Enrico Zannini: Cosmoprof is and remains the only event bringing together the entire beauty industry in one big event, from the production chain to the finished product. This allows us to meet the business needs of all professionals: from companies interested in developing their production on behalf of third parties, to R&D and marketing managers looking for the latest technologies; from international buyers to distributors, looking for the most impactful products for their reference market. In addition, Cosmoprof is an international network, with events organized in the key markets of the beauty sector: Our companies and our visitors know they have an ally in the development of their business globally. In over 50 years of history, the Cosmoprof platform has accompanied the growth of the cosmetic industry on a global level and many brands that today we know as leading global companies took their first steps in one of the events of our platform. Our network keeps growing thanks to new acquisitions and agreements that allow us to better face the needs of a constantly evolving market.