Mother nature played a starring role at this year’s Beautyworld in Germany, which took place from 24-28 January at the Messe Frankfurt, hoping to bring wellness to all. Alexandra Shore reports
With a new layout and a showcase of the latest products, trends and innovation, Beautyworld 2007 had a steady stream of visitors. Concentrated in three main zones, the layout was designed to cut down on distance between the zones of the show and promote a greater feeling of unity.
In the Festhalle was a mix of fragrances, cosmetics, niche brands, wellness and spa; in the Forum a continuation of the wellness and natural cosmetics theme; and a further hall focused on body care and accessories. In addition, Accessories and Cosmetics of Asia was dedicated to Asian exhibitors, while Future Spa, masterminded by Swiss spa designer Joachim G Hallwachs, made its debut. This 300 sq m instalment at the back of the Festhalle was a showcase for the spa of the future and helped to consolidate the show’s themes of luxury and wellness.
Changing face
Overall, with Beautyworld 2007 comprising 9000 sq m of space and 387 exhibitors – 35 less than in 2006 – the show is definitely shrinking. The international presence, however, was strong with more than 30 countries present but the Big 5 showed seriously reduced numbers. After Germany, the largest proportion hailed from China.
Stepping into the assigned Beauty-world forums, the bustle of interest from visitors seemed to wane slightly. Bad weather in the south of Germany played an unfortunate role in the show’s reduced turnout with many unable to travel to the Messe. Undoubtedly exhibitors were ready and willing to show off their wares and meet potential clients but the closer proximity did not hide a certain lack of cohesion.
In the Festhalle the naturals theme was represented by companies such as L’Occitane and Korres Natural Products, both old hats at the show. Making its debut was homegrown naturals company Annemarie Börlind, a brand traditionally found in health food stores. Already present in 30 other countries worldwide, Börlind’s biggest export market is the US. Ursula Wagenhoff-Wilz, vice president of export, explained how the increasing interest in natural products, both globally and within Germany, has given the company a strong start.
While Börlind’s products contain organic ingredients, are not tested on animals and use paraben-free formulas, Wagenhoff-Wilz highlighted the lack of clarity with terms such as natural and stressed that many brands continue to trade on the term, relying on consumer confusion and lack of product knowledge. If the EU has been slow in dealing with such matters, she said that certification body BDIH (Bundesverband Deutscher Industrie und Handelsun-ternehmen), is doing a good job by trying to inform customers on their choices. “From the time of BSE and even before, people started caring about their health more but organic has been around for a long time. Germans understand wellness as taking time out for their body and well-being. This is not just a trend, it’s part of our culture and our country.”
Wagenhoff-Wilz pointed to the rise in ethical spending and the increasing interest in LOHAS, otherwise known as Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability, a lifestyle followed by many US celebrities. She explained that those signing up to LOHAS are interested in a sustainable yet ecologically friendly economy and a healthy, green lifestyle. Moreover, Börlind is currently involved in a fair trade project in West Africa.
Walking through the various stands, the crossover from food to cosmetics continued. Anolis Pharma, another newcomer to the exhibition, produces the line SK-Cara, a natural, though not organic, line for troubled skin which uses extracts from plants used traditionally in Oriental health care. The range centres around key ingredient baobab, an African tree which has gained notoriety from featuring in the French children’s book Le Petit Prince.
According to md Dr Peter Engels, the tree is already employed in many vitamin drinks and in baby food. Engels explained that Africa is now growing in popularity and interest is rising as more people travel to the continent. So is Africa waiting in the wings as the next untapped resource? The influences of the Orient have played a large part in C&T in Germany in recent years but appears to be fading, making room for another continent to fill its place. “We hope we’re in the front running for this trend,” he said.
While mass market distributor Village Cosmetics took inspiration from Italy with vegetable soaps containing olive oil, premium brand Chocotherapia by Galvagni Spa (Galvagni Schönheit) is set on something a little sweeter. Claiming to be the first to use a chocolate theme in body products, the luxury range incorporates cream, milk and pearl proteins and can be found in hotels, spas and independent perfumeries. Gerlinde Galvagni, md, explained that the use of the chocolate theme was not just a food-based inspiration. “Ideas come from what is going on around you, from movies and fashion. Chocolate is also thought to be that little bit erotic and is liked by men too. At first it was thought to be just a passing trend but it has remained popular.”
Galvagni Spa also has it covered for those lacking a sweet tooth. Edel Stein Reich is another premium range with products incorporating ground rubies and proves that the use of opulent ingredients, such as gold and caviar, in facial skin care is on the rise. Exhibitor Skin Jet showed off its Cell Gold Power Creme and Declaré displayed Caviar Perfection.
Sweet indulgence
The upsurge in luxury items was certainly a major theme of the conference held by the Bundesverband Parfümerien. President Reinhard D Wolf and md Werner Hariegel demonstrated how this translates to the perfumery retail sector.
At the end of 2006 turnover of Germany’s perfumeries and department stores came to t2.57bn – an increase of 3.8% – meaning that after four years of steady decline, the channel’s woes may have come to an end. Wolf explained that the World Cup, held in Germany in the summer, had negative consequences on the perfumery trade in the larger city centres with fans too caught up in football fever to spend money. A trend for saving money for January sales seems to be emerging and the government’s increase in VAT did not help sales with consumers choosing to cash in their vouchers rather than spending their own money.
Breaking down the product categories within the perfumery channel, women’s fragrances put on 4.1% through greater demand for designer and speciality scents. Wolf explained that aggressive price wars had led to a very unhealthy situation where volume sales were severely unbalanced against value sales in the past, but due to an increase in consumer spending and a greater perception of value for money, the sector has managed to pull the market back.
In the other categories, facial skin care increased 3.9% thanks to consumers upscaling to more luxury items. The body care sector, including sun care, was positively affected by the hot summer and rose by 4.2%. The men’s market, however, showed that there is still room for improvement with a slight growth in turnover of 1.2%.
Wolf went on to explain that preliminary figures for 2007 indicate that the increase in VAT has had little negative impact on business, though he also pinpointed some areas of future concern. The extension of shopping hours has meant an increase in costs for retailers. Only those stores in prime locations in the larger city centres will benefit from this. In order for the perfumery sector to pull off a repeat performance in 2007, Wolf stressed that the channel would need to maintain its individuality and continue to improve on staff training, thus offering a high level of customer service.
Hariegel explained further that the rising popularity in luxury should not be seen as a trend, rather a constant on the market, and added a warning to the perfumery retail sector. “Luxury is not entirely defined by price. There needs to be a limit. The future does not lie in raising prices but unfortunately, due to increases in the cost of production and ingredients, prices could remain unstable.”
At a presentation held by Fribad Cosmetics, Lars Börgel, responsible for beauty purchasing at Karstadt, explained that the perfumery section in-store is now one of the biggest profit categories. With this in mind the store layout is set to change, bringing the toiletry and
perfumery section to the front of the store and therefore mimicking the design of a traditional department store. Buyers from other major retailers Kaufhof and Douglas also attended the show.
Future world
While Fribad Cosmetics celebrated its presence, there were mixed feelings as to the success of the show from other exhibitors. In the Asia division some felt that a five day show was too long, stressing that time at the show was time spent away from the office. Others felt that they were too cut off from the rest of the fair and that their presence had not been advertised well enough. The noticeable divide did little to promote synergy and appeared to undervalue the influence and role that the Asian market now has and is forecast for the future.
Nevertheless, Eva Olbrich, director of Beautyworld, explained that the event was still an important meeting place for those in the beauty industry, offering a platform to present their companies and products.
While the spa and wellness trend has plenty of scope to develop and companies seem eager to take advantage of intense global interest, competitors are catching on in their droves. Many companies are being drawn away from Frankfurt and are now choosing to attend Cosmoprof in Bologna later in the year to showcase their expertise elsewhere.
The prevailing opinion seems to be that Beautyworld needs to work on wooing exhibitors. “Beautyworld is changing rapidly. The big brands aren’t here any more and international trade is moving to Cosmoprof. Everything is heading to Italy as it is seen as more stylish,” said one exhibitor. Olbrich states that the show will do everything it can to ensure that next year’s Beautyworld is a success and pulls in sufficient weight from the C&T industry. Working closely with exhibitors is a must in order to make this happen, she said, along with promoting the more innovative aspects of the show. Focusing on substance with the right measure of style should help achieve these aims.