Beautyworld - Green is the new black

It was once again mother nature’s turn to take centre stage at Beautyworld 2009 held at Germany’s Frankfurt Messe from 31 January-2 February. Katie Rodgers was there to see why the Germans’ appetite for natural C&T is as strong as ever

The Frankfurt Messe played host to not one but four shows recently, holding Beautyworld, Paperworld, Christmasworld and Hair & Beauty all at the same time, taking up a significant area in the enormous exhibition space in the centre of the city.

Beautyworld set out its stall in force, with two huge areas dedicated to showcasing not just German but also international beauty wares. These ranged from cosmetics to beauty tools and accessories but the predominant theme throughout was that of natural and organic products, with the entire Festehalle area dedicated to showcasing new innovations in this sector.

Love of nature

The Germans, whose companies were particularly dominant in this area, are famous for their love of the natural lifestyle. They eat healthily, they recycle and they are prolific users of natural C&T products. So it was no surprise that this element should feature strongly at the show which turned out to be very German-oriented. In fact, 177 of the 323 exhibitors were German, compared to 125 in 2008.

Indeed, some of the best known natural brands in the world are of German origin – Dr Hauschka and Annemarie Börlind to name just two. And both of these had huge stands at Beautyworld. The founder of the latter, Annemarie Lindner, was actually the recipient of this year’s Beautyworld Cup 2009 which recognised her work as a pioneer of the natural beauty industry, both domestically and on a worldwide stage.

The show this year was split into two main areas: The Festehalle, showcasing natural wares, and the Trend Forum, showcasing beauty accessories, nail and spa products. And despite throbbing with visitors from all over the world and an attempt by the organisers to make the show look busier than ever, it is true to say that Beautyworld is shrinking.

Year by year exhibitor numbers get slightly smaller (323 this year compared to 2008’s 334) and Messe Frankfurt has countered this by moving Beautyworld into fewer halls (last year there were four), in a bid to create “greater intimacy and to lessen the distance that people have to walk”. But while this is a welcome move for some, certain exhibitors felt that this was further proof that the show is perhaps not what it once was.

Exhibitor numbers have been dropping gradually each year as many companies decide to throw all their resources into exhibiting at shows like Cosmoprof Bologna, which they feel has a more international feel to it.

Boris Filipa, owner of Croatian brand Aromatica, manufacturer of aromatic candles and bath products, said he felt the show, the first he had attended in the country, was too German-focused. “Beautyworld is billed as an international beauty show but the majority of the exhibitors and visitors are German. There is nothing wrong with that if you are only trying to appeal to German distributors and retailers but we are trying to cast our nets further afield.”

He also felt that the show running over a weekend was not the ideal time for business people, many of whom prefer to visit exhibitions within the working week. He also complained that there was not enough footfall. “I am surprised that there are comparatively few people wandering around the show especially as today is a Sunday and no shops in Germany are open for trading. This might make one think that they may be drawn to the Messe instead but I don’t think that has been the case. I have been disappointed really and I’m not sure that I would return next year,” he added.

Pros and cons

But not all exhibitors shared this feeling of disappointment. Dutch body care company Greenland, based in Wateringen in Holland, was exhibiting at Beautyworld for the sixteenth year running. Han Naus, sales director for the company said she was extremely happy with the stand and its positioning, which had made a big difference to passing traffic.

“We are very lucky to have such a prominent and large stand,” said Naus. “It makes a big difference to the amount of people who come and approach us. The German market for natural products is huge so it is well worth coming to the show for us but I would say the show is getting smaller generally. Cosmoprof is a more international show – Beautyworld used to be like that but it is less so now.”

The bigger players in the field also had plenty to say for themselves. Regina Kern, marketing director of Swiss brand Juvena, says that they were using the event to showcase their newly packaged and formulated products, which will be on shelf worldwide from 1 April. The new line-up will include SkinNova StemCell Technologie and will be the core of the 36 new products launched. The products will be split into three categories – Prevent & Optimise, Rejuvenate & Correct and Regenerate & Restore – and the hero product is the premium priced Mastercream that will retail throughout Europe at t190 a pot.

Being a Swiss company, Juvena has always enjoyed strong links with the German retail sector and the country is a key market for it. Commented Kern: “This is a very important show for us and that is why we always invest very heavily in having a notable presence here. We are looking for extended representation in Germany so this is perfect for us. However there is another show coming up shortly called Trend and Fashion Days in Düsseldorf so Beautyworld may have some competition if this show proves to be a success.”

She also felt that Frankfurt is an extremely expensive city and that many people feel Düsseldorf is better for location and cost. And cost is the prevailing factor for most companies at the moment, both big and small.

Being seen

Many companies which ECM spoke to felt that although the show was shrinking, definitely in size and possibly in importance, it was still very important to show a presence to the German retailers and distributors who make it their business to patrol the halls each year.

Representatives from premium German retailers such as Douglas, Karstadt and Breuninger attend every year and exhibitors are out to impress them in many ways. Eye catching stands, interactive displays and people roaming the halls giving out testers are just some of the ways of catching the attention of passers by.

German brand Dr Hauschka was exhibiting at Beautyworld for the first timeand was offering visitors makeovers at its stand in an attempt to lure passing traffic and secure orders. Being one of the stalwarts of the German naturals industry, it came as a surprise to some that it had never exhibited before. Marion Gibson, Dr Hauschka’s area manager in Germany, explained why the Germans have such a vorocious appetite for natural beauty.

“Germany has a greener history than many other European countries and that is why a lot of people recognise that the naturals theme is the dominant one at Beautyworld. We slot right into that niche and will come again now we have seen that it is attracting exactly the delegate that we are looking for,” she said.

“In Germany we have a well established history of successful health food stores where many of today’s natural C&T lines made their debut some years ago,” explained Gibson. “The pharmacy sector is also a key sales channel for brands in Germany and there are some pharmacy representatives here that have shown a real interest in us this year. And it is not just the German consumers whose appetite is whetted for this market, everyone else is getting on board now – but the Germans were the pioneers.”

One company exhibiting in the Forum arena was Memo Paris – a French company specialising in candles influenced by the great cities of the world. The ceo of Different Latitudes, Luc Le Geon, which handles the sales and distribution for the brand worldwide, had his eyes peeled for a German retailer.

“We are already in Galleries Lafayette in Berlin and the Alterhaus in Hamburg, both very high-end retailers, but now we are looking for smaller, niche perfumeries,” Le Geon told ECM when it stopped by the Memo stand.

“We have had a lot of interest for Memo. The Germans love their luxuries and the credit crunch has not affected this – if anything they seem keener than ever. You only have to look around to see the amount of people here and the calibre of exhibitors to prove this.”