Cosmoprof North America (CPNA) continued to exemplify the energy and creativity that drives the beauty industry as part of its latest event. 2013 proved to be a record year for the show, both in terms of the largest number of attendees in the show’s history and the largest number of participating exhibitors. CPNA prides itself on uniting attendees and exhibitors, acting as the ultimate platform for networking, sharing new and upcoming products, and cultivating new business relationships.
CPNA—organized by North American Beauty Events, a joint venture between BolognaFiere Group, the Italy-based organizer of international trade shows such as Cosmoprof Worldwide Bologna, and the Professional Beauty Association, the North American trade association representing all sectors of the professional beauty industry—offered the chance for beauty industry members from every sector to meet, talk, stratgize, discuss, create and innovate. “BolognaFiere Group and the Professional Beauty Association remain committed to providing not only an amazing event for the industry to come together, but also an amazing experience for all who attend,” said Max Wexler, chair, Professional Beauty Association.
“Cosmoprof North America continues to expand and innovate while remaining North America’s most influential event for the professional beauty industry. Along with Cosmoprof Worldwide Bologna and Cosmoprof Asia, BolognaFiere Group provides a unified platform that continues to meet the needs of the global beauty industry,” said Duccio Campagnoli, president of BolognaFiere Group and SoGeCos.
The event, which was held at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas from July 14–16, 2013, featured a sold-out show floor with 892 exhibiting companies along with over 26,000 attendees, an 8% increase over the previous year. As in past years, CPNA attracted many new and innovative brands in addition to industry leaders such as Conair, CND, Essie/L’Oréal Professional, OPI, Orly, Rusk, Schwarzkopf, Zotos International and Sexy Hair.
CPNA continued to further solidify its position in the U.S. marketplace as a premiere international beauty destination and featured an array of importers, distributors, manufacturers and global beauty leaders all under one roof. This year’s event delivered a strong international presence with exhibitors from 38 countries, eight official Country Pavilions and a contingency of foreign buyers from six different countries.
International Presence Continues to Grow at CPNA
The International Buyer Program served as a liaison between international buyers and exhibiting companies. The delegation of qualified buyers from abroad attended the show and met one-on-one with exhibitors with matching profiles. The buyers from countries including Argentina, Brazil, Canada, India, Mexico and Panama came to CPNA with the mission of finding new beauty products that they can introduce into their respective markets. There were over 219 meetings with 179 exhibiting companies over the course of the three-day event.
In addition to the International Buyer Program, domestic companies were able to meet with a delegation of over 116 foreign buyers from eleven countries including Czech Republic, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Italy, Dominican Republic, Brazil, Mexico, Guatemala, Colombia, Thailand and Croatia, which resulted in 100 meetings with U.S. exhibitors.
This year, the total number of international exhibiting companies and countries represented was higher than ever. There were 314 international exhibitors representing a total of 38 countries (a 7% increase). There was a large increase of companies coming from countries such as Japan, Great Britain, and Spain. Aside from individual international exhibitors, there were eight Country Pavilions from Brazil, China, Columbia, Italy, Korea, Pakistan, Spain and Turkey.
Major Retailers Continue to Come to CPNA
Discover Beauty, another exclusive initiative of CPNA, assists emerging brands in finding the appropriate retail market, while highlighting new trends. These brands housed in this curated section enjoyed one-on-one meetings with prominent retailers such as C.O. Bigelow, Duane Reade, Henri Bendel, Ron Robinson Apothia, HSN, Amazon.com, Dermstore.co, and others who provided Discover Beauty brands with feedback and connections with key decision-making buyers. All 19 brands enrolled in this program were competing for the prestigious Discover Beauty Award. With voting done by specialty retailers and editors from top beauty sites, these brands were judged on creativity, innovation and market readiness. The 2013 Discover Beauty Award winner was Skin&Co Roma from Italy, which was announced at the Discover Beauty party at MIX inside THEhotel.
CPNA also brought back Spotlights for a second year as part of the Discover Beauty program. This exhibit space offered smaller companies that excel on creativity the opportunity to showcase their products at CPNA inside a clean high end environment. With 20 brands in the program, Spotlights was consistently busy throughout the show and featured small artisan labels that are a prime fit for high-end retail stores, boutiques, salons and spas.
New CPNA Exclusive Initiatives Introduced
This year, CPNA introduced two new programs to its already exemplary agenda. First, exhibiting brands had the opportunity to participate in the first-ever one-stop beauty shop, Beautique. This sampling bar allowed attendees to select deluxe-sized samples, including the latest in up-and-coming cosmetics, skin care, nails, hair and some classic beauty favorites. Once at the sampling bar, attendees could hand-pick seven deluxe samples from 20 featured exhibiting brands in exchange for a small charitable donation that will benefit City of Hope. HCT Packaging produced the exclusively customized box and is the official sponsor of Beautique. Brands included Amika, U R Curly, Bain De Terre, Balanced Guru, Chateau de Versailles, Coiffance, Daily Concepts, Dragonfly, Layla Cosmetics, One’n Only, OPI, Orly, Royal Apothic, Rusk, Sebastian, Skin&Co Roma, Wella and XFusion Keratin.
CPNA also hosted a live TV Open-See. Key merchants from QVC, HSN and The Shopping Channel along with their teams, hosted a live Open-See to meet with exhibiting companies. The live presentations were open to all pre-registered CPNA exhibitors. Beauty executives from these shopping networks looked for innovative and authentic product concepts, with the ability to connect with their millions of viewers.
Trends Discovered at CPNA
CPNA welcomed five talented students from Penrose Academy in Scottsdale, Arizona, as the official CPNA Trendscouts Program. They met with exhibitors to find new product launches and discover the latest trends. They reported their findings via Twitter, Instagram and Facebook posts. Attendees and exhibitors could check in via Foursquare and view show specials, as well as download the new CPNA smartphone App, which helped attendees find their favorite exhibitors and educational conferences. Guests could also scan the new CPNA QR code that featured exclusive show promotions and tips from CPNA show organizers.
Industry Leaders Share Expertise at CPNA
Every year, CPNA brings industry leaders to the forefront to share innovative ideas and experiences that will help the beauty industry better understand the dynamics and market trends, current and future. Special education seminars moderated by WWD, GCI magazine, Beauty Store Business and the top beauty industry associations were well received with more than 600 attendees in total. Business and industry leaders from multiple sectors of the industry participated in round-table discussions and panels to share their knowledge and insights.
CPNA Hosts PBA Beauty Week
In addition to all that CPNA offers, the event also hosts PBA Beauty Week from the Professional Beauty Association. PBA Beauty Week features the North American Hairstyling Awards (NAHA), Regional Salon Summit and Beacon. All three events featured a record number of attendees.
The NAHAs in particular, which are the professional hair care industry’s single most important awards event of the year, were hosted by renowned actor, author, entertainment journalist, producer and father Mario Lopez. He also received the Professional Beauty Association’s Beautiful Humanitarian Award for his work with the charities Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA), Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, Jameson’s Army and Padres Contra el Cancer. This year’s show was attended by a record number of more than 3,000 guests and was also seen worldwide via live online steaming broadcast by an additional 40,000. To see all the winners, visit probeauty.org/naha.
Cosmoprof North America 2014 will take place July 13–15, 2014, at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas. And for photos from CPNA 2013, visit on the event's website.
