Back in April, as this issue was being readied for the printer, I attended In-Cosmetics in Amsterdam, Netherlands, to check out the newest ingredients for the products you’ll be announcing in the months and years to come. Ingredient launches are typically made without all the red carpet fanfare enjoyed by many finished products, but are every bit as important to the companies making the introductions. As you might imagine, natural and organic ingredients were discussed at every turn, but they weren’t the entire story.
Ingredients and technologies follow consumer trends, just as finished products do, delivering new functions and claims to you, the product marketer. The Innovation Zone at In-Cosmetics, organized in association with Mintel, featured some interesting ingredients and beauty products fitting four key trends: customization, beauty food, authenticity—natural, organic, etc.—and faux genomics or “products that push frontiers of scientific research into DNA and cell biology.” Food products from teas to snacks offered skin benefits, and ingredients once reserved for food found their way into beauty products.
Collagen, the animal connective tissue protein, was featured in several products on display—including Gyugyutto Shimkomu Collagen Water, a confectionary product from Asahi Food & Healthcare of Japan, and Mi in Gumi, a candy-like product from Orion of South Korea. A low-calorie café au lait mix from Nestlé of Japan also contained collagen and fit into the growing group of beverage products marketed with beauty benefits. Others, featuring antioxidants and additional ingredients, included Inside Out Beauty Sip from Inside Out Beauty Ltd. of the U.K.; Cornelia Drinking Tea from Cornelia Essentials, U.S.; Vichy Celestine antiaging water from Compagnie Fermière de Vichy, France; and a cosmetic yogurt drink, Danone Essensis, from The Danone Group of Paris. A chocolate bar and an instant noodle product were also displayed. Blurring the line between food and beauty care, such products may be regarded as your latest competition or your next line extension.
Beyond the Innovation Zone, I enjoyed my many meetings with the world-class, innovative ingredient companies exhibiting at the show. The new materials and technologies they exhibited will soon make their way into your products, and will inform GCI magazine’s continuing coverage of the global beauty industry for some time to come. A little fanfare for these new ingredients and the companies that make them is well deserved. News of the ingredients launching at In-Cosmetics and other trade shows will be featured in GCI magazine’s Main Ingredients department, in feature articles and on our Web site, www.GCImagazine.com.
For the Almanac
This issue features our annual “State of the Industry”—beginning on Page 38—a look at global beauty markets by the numbers, provided by our data partner, Euromonitor International. They tell us this year that, “the worsening economic climate in many developed countries, particularly the U.S., and signs of a slowdown in penetration in emerging markets, proved a drag on growth. These trends were partially offset by strong growth in emerging markets, continuing premiumization and product innovation across all sectors.” In pondering the subject of innovation, senior editor Jeff Falk gives credit for new ideas where plenty of credit is due. His article, “Fanning the Flames of Innovation,” begins on Page 52. Also in this issue is a special section devoted to the subject of contract manufacturing.
While at the In-Cosmetics show, I met a number of interesting authorities eager to share what they know with the readers of GCI magazine. Watch for their distinctive voices to appear in our pages soon, lending their expertise to your future success. Enjoy the issue.
