Newly emerging colorful perennials and budding trees in the medieval, now sprawling modern metropolis, of Bologna, Italy, marked the arrival of Spring, and served as a precursor to the growing ‘green movement’ blooming inside pavilions 15, 15A, 18 and 20, as the 52nd edition of the B2B behemoth Cosmoprof Bologna took place March 14-19. Cosmopack ran March 14-17. At the close of the five action-packed days, show organizers reported a record number of attendees and exhibitors.

“Cosmoprof Worldwide Bologna 2019 has achieved an important goal, with over 265,000 cosmetic beauty professionals, and an increase in visitors from abroad by 10%,” said Gianpiero Calzolari, president of BolognaFiere. “These data, together with the record of exhibitors—3,033 companies from over 70 countries—makes us proud of the results, and they give us the energy to face new projects.”

Booths at Cosmopack seemed even more elaborate and eye-catching than in previous years. A number of stands included loft areas for private meetings away from show floor buzz. The standout of the show perhaps was obvious in Hall 15, where HCT Group had surpassed its previous years’ achievements with an even larger booth space (and an expanded Italian-style bistro) that resembled a city—a city of white brick buildings, graffitied with vibrant printed images of products the international supplier has completed along with newly available solutions from sustainable packaging to luxe brushes. Live graffiti artists engaged in painting blank surfaces. Tim Thorpe, president and CEO, HCT Group, told Beauty Packaging: “We go big in all we do! The “city” that we have created here at Bologna is representative of our creativity and growth as a company.”

Regi also attracted attention with what looked like fountains of color cascading from the booth walls. The B.Kolor booth looked more like an Italian historical monument—or perhaps, Rome’s famous Spanish Steps.

Every year, the Cosmopack Factory showcases the entire production process of a limited-edition beauty product. For this seventh edition, it was NO.CO.— NO COMPROMISE, a scalp oil made with “the most environmentally friendly industrial solutions and techniques, without compromise.” The design of the bottle was developed by the international agency centdegrés, and thanks to its innovative formula and the use of ingredients of natural origin, NO.CO. is a water-safe product; to remove it, only a third of the amount of water usually used during the rinsing phase is needed.

Cosmopack Show Floor Finds

In its vast space on the show floor, HCT Group featured everything from a “live, stock catalog area” filled with showcases, to special formulations and their latest addition to their Unreal Series, the new S-Collection. The company is committed to replicating “each and every animal hair” so that they can cater to all customers and price points. Many of HCT’s visitors at Cosmoprof were interested in their full-service solutions.

Denis Maurin, executive vice president, sales and innovation, HCT Group, showed Beauty Packaging a full line of options for eco-friendly packaging for makeup, including a wide range of compacts. HCT Group takes special care to educate brands on the materials used in the packages, he said. The recyclable Vero compact, with a nice feel and a luxe look, is made of 100% PET material, and uses a two-piece snap hinge and a removable pan. Another recyclable PET compact has a removable PP frame; the mirror can also be removed and used as an accessory. PCR, paper palettes and refillables were also on display. A 100% PET patent-pending recyclable lipstick stood out, as did one made with 100% PCR material. Bio-vegetable inks can be used for decoration.

Green Glass and Plastic

There was a whole showcase devoted to “green” glass at Zignago-Vetro, with a collection of jars and bottles. The Licata jar, which is now in production, is made of 90% recycled glass (75% PCR). Marta Vanzetto, marketing, explained that the manufacturer utilizes the Bologna event to show clients their latest stock developments for color, skincare, nail and fragrance. New standards for fragrance, for instance, included the updated Chagall bottle, which has a rounded base rather than a straight one; and Basille bottles, which were refreshed with a premium ribbing element.

In addition to their vast portfolio of glass and plastic for makeup to skincare to fragrance packaging, Baralan had put an emphasis on biodegradable material. Now in validation process, not yet in production, Roland Baranes, CEO, told Beauty Packaging: “It has great potential.”  The versatile material can be used for three different products: a stick package, a cap and an overpump. What’s more, Baralan can use existing molds to produce the parts, as well as biodegradable colors for customization.

Post-consumer recycled plastics held a prominent spot at Derik Industrial, and included one-piece patented compacts with no pin and no mirror, making them 100% recyclable. The line includes lipstick and mascara packs.

Brivaplast’s My Second Life green line uses PCR and PIR plastic waste for lip, brow and mascara packages. There’s even an indicator on the side of the tube that shows the percentages, so brands can share the story with their consumers. The supplier’s new Morphing line is neither square or round, contributing a new shape to shelf—or accenting others. Bi-injected double wipers are available.

Color Cosmetics

With industry reports showing that color continues to capture consumers, Cosmoprof suppliers offered lots of options for brands to consider.

At Lumson, Emanuele Mazzei, CEO, Lumson USA, told Beauty Packaging, “There’s a trend toward Color Cosmetics. Color is important to our customer base.” In response to demand, Lumson has extended an assortment of lipsticks made in Italy with different finishes and 3D deco. The colors can be layered and the 3D can be combined with hot stamping for relief and tactile effects for a high-quality luxe look. The deco can be applied on round or square surfaces. Lumson is also “making progress in sustainability,” said Mazzei, adding, “Lumson is actively looking at friendlier materials that can perform as well as adding to the “green” assortment across various Lumson categories.”

Spring-Summer 2020 trends were in the air at HCP Packaging, where Cheryl Morgan, creative marketing manager, gave Beauty Packaging a tour to point out some of their most recent collections.

‘Palm Beach’ is a summery trend for 2020, giving stock packaging a fun and energetic feel with bright colors and digital printing. A number of packs throughout their ‘Dolce Disco’ trend contained glitter decoration, which Morgan said “is still a big trend.” Morgan also pointed out HCP’s ‘Solitaire’ collection that showed a trend for a “luxury white finish” shown on the Fusion Magnetic Palette. A large variety of decorative top-plates make new compact launches such as the Radii Midi Palette quick and easy to customize—demonstrated on HCP’s ‘Bleu’ promotion.

Also on display at HCP was the project they’d produced with B.Kolor. B.Kolor received the Cosmopack Make-Up Formula Award for their ‘Pure Velvet Veil Hybrid Skin Perfector,’ which is housed in HCP’s ‘Radical’ Pressed Powder Compact. According to Mario De Luigi, vice president, B.Kolor, when referring to the choice of pack: “The simplicity of the ‘Radical’ Pressed Powder compact is the reason why it has been selected, because it represents the soul of the formulation itself.”

Quadpack was looking at packaging themes going toward 2022, and Sarah Eaves, marketing manager, said they were focused on “challenging the norm.” Trends depicted included Oracle (beauty inside and out); 3Rs (reduce, re-use, recycle); All About Me (personalization); and Phygital (connecting packaging with iPhone).  A pack that unlocks with a code, similar to a piece of luggage, was an interesting possibility. Technotraf, Quadpack’s wood division, displayed a wide assortment of compacts, caps, lipsticks and fragrance packages.

Double-duty components continue to trend, and Nest Filler’s patented Dial Dual Lip drew lots of attention. Two products are housed in one container, and the dosage is controlled by a dial on the side. If you release too much of either, you can retract it. What’s more, it’s an airtight system after capping.

Glitter sparkled in several ways at Allta Packaging. A large palette with oil-based floating glitter immediately captured attention, while lots of pure glitter paper made an ideal wrap.

Chemicos Creations showcased fun and different click pens for color. One set used neon colors, deemed popular with Millennials.

A Trend Toward 3D

As described above with the deco technique used at Lumson, a trend toward 3D printing, for various purposes, was noticeable at Cosmopack.

At Geka, attendees could customize a mini mascara in an instant by adding their name on it. Stefanie Gunz, marketing manager, Geka, told Beauty Packaging they will soon launch an online product configurator using augmented reality so customers can design products and see them in 3D. She said not only can customers “discover their range,” but “it also shortens development time because you know more about what they want at the start of a project.” The German-based supplier will open a filling line in the U.S. in July, in Chicago, where they also have a packaging manufacturing facility. Geka’s special show introduction, “Kiss the Nature Trend Collection” for 2020 showcased green packaging and production trends, much of the deco created using laser technology. It includes an eyebrow brush made of the bio-based and 100% renewable greenLINE fiber.

A focus on 3D printing was evident at Schwan, where Dagmar Chlosta, chief market officer, showed Beauty Packaging the many ways brands can use these techniques “to express their personality and connect with consumers through solutions for individual product shapes and designs.” Chlosta also said that Schwan has pledged “to become the most sustainable, innovative, color cosmetic packaging supplier.” By producing less waste than other production methods, the 3D-printing further fits into the sustainable approach of the company, she explained. Schwan also presented refillable pencils in innovative casings as well as a wide portfolio of wooden cosmetic pencils.

Brushes and Applicators

Pennelli Faro showcased Ecosophy, a line of vegan and animal-free brushes. Sara Zanafredi, CEO, also showed Beauty Packaging the company’s latest line, a revolutionary model and idea, following on last year’s Fless, described as the “first flexible brush” prototype. The newest model in the range is finger-sized; it fits on the tip of your finger—making it, according to Zanafredi, “the first wearable applicator.” Two small size prototypes were revealed, both with teardrop shapes and synthetic hair. The small sizes enable a different gesture, similar to application with a fingertip, and are especially effective for use undereye and in corners. They are also “very green,” says Zanafredi, as they’ve eliminated all unnecessary parts. Fless won the Cosmopack award in the Makeup Packaging Technology category.

Faber-Castell Cosmetics recently introduced their own clean cosmetics seal. At Cosmopack, they presented the next level: The textures of the pure² beauty-range are formulated without identified controversial ingredients, plus vegan and natural on a cleaner and greener level. The pure and pure² beauty collection consists of 12 different color cosmetic pencils with high performance and rich pigments. Each product is carefully developed and stamped with the pure or pure² beauty-seal. The line includes a Mechanical Slim Pencil, Wooden Slim Pencil, Wooden Jumbo Pencil, Mechanical Jumbo Pencil, Mechanical Slim Pencil, Brow Styler and Eye Styler.

From fine writing instruments to foams and porous materials that absorb formulas, Porex covers all. Nubiform applicators can be used in applicators from squeeze tubes to click pens. “Cosmetics consumers increasingly want products that are easy-to-use, quick and clean,” said Rusty Martin, global marketing director, Porex. “Nubiform is an innovation that allows optimal flow-through of cosmetics formulations, and it gives consumers superior precision and control when applying makeup and contouring.” Porex recently launched high-efficiency reservoirs with two levels of capillarity, and a new serum delivery applicator.

Machinery Solutions

Italian supplier Nastritex offers technological materials for cosmetic machinery. At Cosmopack, they presented Techmix 2-in-1 technology, their “material of the year,” a multiple layer ribbon achieved by coupling two articles. The ribbon, basic to pressed cosmetic powder, allows for beautiful designs and patterns on wet, baked and powder color cosmetics. 

Coven Egidio demonstrated their unique line of fragrance filling and crimping machinery. The multi-generational Italian company recently used their expertise to create an innovative interactive display for the Fragrance section of Dubai’s Al Shindagha Museum.

See You Next Year

In 2020, Cosmopack Bologna will be held March 12-15; Cosmoprof, March 13-16. In the meantime, we’ll see you in Las Vegas for Cosmoprof NA, July 28-30.