This year the event built on its reputation with a number of new additions, included the very popular Beauty Pitch, a strengthened conference program and a number of new areas on the show floor to highlight new trends, emerging beauty categories and innovations.
The three day event took place at the Mandalay Bay convention center in Las Vegas, from July 12 – 14 and covered a floor space of more than a quarter of a million square feet, and is being billed by the organizer as the “most important networking opportunity in the United States for all sectors of the global beauty industry”.
The figures
This year saw the attendance close to the 30,000 mark, with a record-breaking attendance of 1,017 exhibitors from 39 countries.
The international flavor was enhanced by nine country pavilions – including Brazil, China, Australia and South Korea, which helped boost the total number of international exhibitors to 356 companies.
Likewise, the show floor was also about making connections, thanks to the B2B Connection Hub, which the organizer says helped to forge over 750 one-on-one meetings between company executives during the course of the three-day show.
Video interviews
The event also saw the Cosmetics Design editorial team involved on the video side, with a total of 16 interviews filmed during the show.
Those interviews included some of the biggest names in the industry, with insights and observations being shared on camera by OPI-founder George Schaeffer, as well as leading executives at companies such as O.R.G Skincare, Dr Russo Skincare, My Cocoon and Air Aroma.
The videos will be made available on both the Cosmetics Design and Cosmoprof North America websites during the course of the next couple of weeks.
Cosmoprof and PBA
This year’s event saw a strengthening of ties between Italy-based show organizer Cosmoprof and Professional Beauty Association (PBA).
The PBA held its Beauty Week in conjunction with the Cosmoprof North America event, in an effort to heighten networking opportunities for its members, as well as increasing its involvement in the expo.
The biggest highlight of the co-operation this year was the inaugural Beauty Pitch, which featured renowned entrepreneurs Mark Cuban and Jean Paul DeJoria, who judged a Shark Tank-style event that saw five pre-selected companies pitching for a top prize in front of an audience of 1,500 guests.
The winner of Beauty Pitch was California-based naturals player 100% Pure, with the company founders walking off with a $10,000 prize money and a year’s mentorship with Cuban.
New initiatives
On top of Beauty Pitch, the organizer also introduced three new concepts to the show floor, which included Discover Scent, IBFE – Focus on the Beauty Supply Chain, and the Tones of Beauty area for ethnic beauty products.
Several existing concepts were also further developed this year, including the popular Boutique area, which featured a record number of samples donated by beauty companies.
Show attendees and exhibitors were able to curate their own beauty box, donated by HCT packaging, which in turn helped raise over $16,000 in donations to the City of Hope charity.