Between the second annual in-cosmetics North America tradeshow and the CEW’s inaugural Connected Consumer half-day conference, there was plenty of new beauty tech on display to discover and explore last week. The three companies included here were showing some very intriguing digital tools.
Canfield Beauty
Canfield Scientific, a global skin imaging systems, services, and products company, launched a new venture late last month. And Canfield Beauty was on hand at the CEW’s Connected Consumer conference last Thursday in New York City.
Founded in 1988, Canfield Scientific is well-regarded in the skin imaging sector, particularly as it pertains to research, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, biotech, and the like. With that background, the company has entered the cosmetics and personal care imaging space with tech tools that are exponentially better than low-quality analysis of selfies, as Jim Larkey, senior director of project management and marketing of Canfield Beauty, tells Cosmetics Design.
The company’s new NEXA system is suitable for retailers and brands, he says. “We listened to beauty companies looking to attract business to their retail store locations and developed a solution that would reinvent the in-store consultation,” Diana Ordonez, product management director for Canfield Beauty says in a media release about the new tool. “Offering anytime, anywhere omnichannel imaging solutions, the NEXA platform is the first of its kind.”
A few select brands are already using NEXA. Larkey lists Pierre Fabre, Coty’s philosophy brand, and Unilever’s Murad as pilot customers. Catherine Barber, philosophy's vice president of global education and events, tells the press, “The NEXA allows for instant yet meaningful consultations in our wellbeing workshop stores and at counter. philosophy has been working with Canfield for more than seven years now, and the launch of NEXA has enabled us to connect with our customers in yet another new way. We're also able to reconnect with our clients when their results and routine are emailed to them directly, extending the brand conversation beyond the consultation.”
dciArtform
The retail and shopper marketing services company dciArtform was also exhibiting beauty tech at the CEW Connected Consumer conference.
dciArtform creates in-store digital installations and interactive features to attract consumer's attention, help them navigate the product on display, and provide information on an as-needed basis. For instance, the company created what it calls an iBar for Coty’s Rimmel brand. And, according to the tech company’s site, Coty has installed over 10,000 iBars to date across 15 countries; and there are plans to roll out the display solution in stores in another 15 countries.
Lascom Solutions
Lascom’s beauty technology is for product manufacturers. The company already serves numerous beauty brands in Europe and has food industry clients in the States; but last week’s in-cosmetics North America tradeshow was where the company chose to launch its US beauty business.
Lascom’s PLM Editor software is a product lifecycle management tool for industries that are “formulated and regulated,” like food and beauty. And according to materials the company shared at in-cosmetics, “it helps businesses create and manage projects throughout their lifecycles, from idea generation to market launch.”
At the show, Lascom’s director of sales for the region, Chris Wallace, and executive director, Jean-Christophe Calmejane, were meeting with potential clients and demoing their company’s software. Lascom updates its software (the current iteration of which first came to market in 2010) at least every two years, as Calmejane tells Cosmetics Design. The next updates will include a chat function for digital marketers—a tools that’s currently being tested by key Lascom customers—as well as other collective intelligence features, the team says.
The modular software is configured to help cosmetics and personal care manufactures manage data and processes including, but not limited to, packaging development, formulation, R&D, procurement, quality audits, and compliance matters.