Cosmoprof Worldwide Bologna closed its 2013 edition with record-breaking figures: 193,842 visitors (14% increase) including 48,823 from abroad (22% increase). Nearly 2,400 exhibitors including 1,500 from abroad, 24 national collectives with new entries from Japan, India, Indonesia, Pakistan and Colombia.
Italy (with 666 exhibitors), China (with 272 exhibitors) and France (161 exhibitors) topped the list of leading countries. Other countries with significant figures included the U.S. (143 exhibitors), Germany (125 exhibitors) and Spain (113 exhibitors). India, participating for the first time, had 21 exhibitors, Pakistan had 15 and Japan had 12. Additionally, a delegation of Chinese buyers (invited by BolognaFiere China in partnership with the China Commerce Association for General Merchandise, based in Beijing) held over 200 meetings. These figures are testament to the global mission of Cosmoprof Worldwide Bologna.
Perfumery and fragrance displayed a trend toward strong, spicy and sweet fragrances, with 40 exhibitors from the Middle East, while the 20,000 square meters dedicated to professional beauty (spas, equipment, body treatments, etc.), with 300 exhibitors, attracted the attention of operators and the press to a sector experiencing exponential growth. Green products were particularly in fashion, with an entire pavilion dedicated to the sector and 198 exhibitors focusing on eco/sustainability. Around 1,000 companies dealing with skin care (perfumes, toiletries, makeup and accessories) also took part. Another significant sector was companies that produce professional furniture for beauty centers, spas and salons. This growing sector attracts designers and famous architects, who are hired to create functional spaces that are aesthetically appealing at the same time.
Within Cosmoprof Worldwide Bologna, there was a new location for Cosmopack, a kind of “show within the show,” an exhibition area dedicated to packaging, machinery and contract production. This formula proved to be very popular and drew visitors’ attention to a production supply chain where the “Made in Italy” brand has been playing a leading role.
Cosmoprof Worldwide Bologna 2013 also hosted 745 journalists, including 174 from abroad, who were greeted for the first time by a digital system with eight mega-screens broadcasting events of special interest (as well as live streaming on the https://www.cosmoprof.com/" target="_blank">cosmoprof.com website). The 46th edition included overall 35 hours of television, 20 live streaming sessions and 80 interviews with major players in the international market, while national and international television channels documented the various aspects of the fair. There was also a massive amount of communication on social media: visitors to Cosmoprof uploaded 6,000 photos onto Instagram in just three days. There were 44,731 followers on Facebook, 2,000 more than on March 7th, and 981 followers on Twitter, an increase of 600 since the beginning of the event thanks in part to the real-time broadcasting of visitors’ tweets on screens at the fair. There were also over 1,000 viewings of videos uploaded onto YouTube during the exhibition. The Cosmoprof site had 71,808 individual visitors throughout the event, with the highest numbers coming from Italy, Germany, the U.S. and France (an increase of 17%).
“We have risen to the challenge that we set ourselves,” said Duccio Campagnoli, president of BolognaFiere and SoGeCos, the company that organizes Cosmoprof. “The new Cosmoprof is increasingly international and professional, with the participation of buyers and delegations from abroad to whom we have offered the highest levels of quality and specialization. Cosmoprof has brought together the community of professionals, artists and creative people from the beauty world. We are among the leaders worldwide in this sector, providing a full range of business proposals and information. I would like to thank all the exhibitors, who worked so hard to fill our pavilions with quality and excellence, as well as all the visitors to this edition: together we have experienced a truly exceptional Cosmoprof. As from tomorrow, our work continues with the organization of Cosmoprof Las Vegas in July and Cosmoprof Hong Kong in November. Thank you to all the operators who made this amazing achievement possible and thank you also to the city of Bologna, which hosted us with its usual exquisite hospitality, as witnessed by the resounding success of the Beauty in Vogue Night organized in partnership with Vogue.”
“This edition of Cosmoprof has revealed the competitiveness and professionalism of Italy’s contribution to the sector, despite fears for a domestic market influenced by the crisis, although purchasing cosmetics has remained a constant in the everyday habits of the Italian people,“ declared Fabio Rossello, president of Unipro. “Even the general organization of the event was guided by a sense of pragmatism that combined effectively with the quality and the profitable B2B opportunities that increasingly confirm Cosmoprof as an international platform for encounters between industry and the market.”
Cosmoprof Worldwide Bologna will once again be held at the Fair District in Bologna, Italy next year, taking place April 11–14, 2014.
