Special Edition
CosmeticsDesign.com USA’s Top 5 stories of 2011
The year started with consumer goods company Procter & Gamble (P&G) announcing its plans to lead the beauty and grooming category by 2015 in both the male and female markets.
The company held an analysts meeting giving details on its future growth strategies, including plans for its Beauty and Grooming business category, with market dominance resting on making the brands available to more consumers in more markets and increasing their geographical reach.
Dealing with public concern
Fellow market giant L’Oreal made the headlines towards the end of the year after a woman in the UK fell into a coma after using one of its hair dye products.
“L’Oreal was extremely concerned to hear about this serious situation,” the company said in a statement. “We do not know the details of the case so it would be inappropriate for us to comment further, however we will do everything we can to assist this lady’s family and medical team with information they might need to establish what happened.”
CosmeticsDesign.com USA also got in touch with Baby care product manufacturer Johnson & Johnson after it came under pressure from the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics over the use of harmful ingredients in its baby shampoo in the US, Canada and China.
Along with health and parents’ groups, the coalition requested that J&J reformulate the flagship product to remove a chemical that releases formaldehyde, with J&J responding by stating they had ramped up efforts to rectify the situation.
New products and innovations
Over on the packaging front, Luxe Pack New York was the second edition of the luxury packaging show in 2011 and delivered the latest innovations from the luxury market.
Our team was on hand to report all the latest findings from the two day event, and put together this photo gallery, showcasing some of the show’s highlights.
And no Top 5 would be complete without a mention for industry talking point, formaldehyde. Completing the list was Zerran International, a hair care manufacturer, which claimed to have produced the world’s first vegan semi-permanent hair smoothing system.
Following the media attention on formaldehyde issues, the company produced its latest product claiming it is formulated without keratin or other animal products and does not contain substances that produce formaldehyde gas upon heating with a flat iron.
Came so close…
Other big-hitters that dropped just short was the Nivea advert that was criticized for being racially inappropriate following public outcry, a study which found that nanotechnology could provide significant advances in hair coloring according to two US scientists, and Solazyme’s decision to ink a deal with QVC and Sephora over the launch of its alguronic acid anti-aging ingredient.
International Stem Cell’s (ISCO) new stem cell skin care line caught the eye in 2011, as it exceeded sales expectations, and the top ten is complete with the story of the FDA warning eyelash enhancer makers on their formulation and marketing claims.
