Testimony to the times: Cosmopack 2017

Notes and considerations on Cosmopack, which on 16-19 March gathered in Bologna the entire cosmetics supply chain, from raw materials to formulation, from machinery to packaging, to the creativity of The Wall, the Perfume Factory and Industry 4.0. The event’s director Rossano Bozzi speaks.

All rhetoric aside, Cosmopack 2017 has proven a busy and fruitful few days for all, including exhibitors and visitors. By this we mean first and foremost a reigning positive sentiment among operators, who were satisfied not only with the event in and of itself, but also with the general economic climate, with short-term investment prospects and with available technologies.
In fact, the specialist show organized by Bolognafiere Cosmoprof, which is increasingly oriented toward technology (and increasingly succeeding in this orientation), relied on the presence of exemplars of excellence, with Italian industry proving its ability to play a very high profile role. For example, the on-site offer of the Perfume Factory, at which a complete perfume production line was set up to honor the fiftieth anniversary of the parent event (Cosmoprof). The demo resulted from a partnership of sector leaders (ICR, Bormioli Luigi, Candiani, Aptar, Ima Group, Coven Egidio, Pusterla 1880, Industrial Box, Certiquality), coordinated by the fair organizers.
As a (justifiably) satisfied Rossano Bozzi explains: «Cosmopack has once again proven itself to be a unique event in on the world scene of international sector fairs, offering a perfect synthesis of what is happening and will happen in the world of cosmetic manufacturing: formulas using innovative ingredients; machinery and technologies that are increasingly strategic to smart manufacturing; contract manufacturing; a complete range of full service solutions and packaging on display for the benefit of visitors arriving in Bologna from across the globe. The event saw the presence of global beauty brands in search of new solutions for their business: we’re talking about top management, acquisitions and technical directors, development teams, brand managers, packaging designers, R&D and marketing representatives. That’s because, for the four days of this fair, Bologna is transformed into a knowhow trading floor from which emerge the guidelines and trends of the beauty industry’s cutting edge».

Crossroads of exchange, without forgetting Industry 4.0
Cosmopack also means the encounter of different cultures and market approaches. So what have been the most important new developments for the sector this edition? «Growing attention to multiethnic products, including certified halal and kosher ones. A panoply of organic, green and vegan products, catering to greater public sensitivity to environmental and social sustainability, which has emerged as a must for beauty operators. In terms of production technologies, we have observed that operators in this sector are now positioning themselves as solution providers, able to satisfy the product personalization needs expressed by the brands».
Also relevant in this regard is “The Wall Award”, an international contest whose 2017 theme is “Let’s get emotional... urban poetry, at which «winning products and packaging solutions are chosen based on their ability to make concrete the emotion aroused by a packaging, the texture of a product or its fragrance, thereby orienting the buyer’s decision-making process».
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What has emerged then is an advanced and responsive industry, one that has not missed the opportunity to consider issues regarding digital manufacturing and the corresponding demands of data management. The state of Industry 4.0 in Italy was discussed at a surprisingly crowded Sunday meeting hosted at the Cosmo Talks space. Coordinated by Il Sole 24 Ore journalist Luca De Biase, speakers included Massimiliano Oddi (Accenture), Daniele Vacchi (IMA Group), Luca Tomesani (University of Bologna) and Thomas Berloffa (Iconodrome). Each of them in one way or another urged the audience to look to “4.0” as a new cultural dimension in which the existing technologies governing factory automation have reached a point of advanced maturity, enabling us to digitize production processes. But beyond awareness of the advantages in terms of productivity deriving from this new status, it remains a priority that we find an original “Italian way”, one that takes into account the specific character of Italian business and manufacturing, without allowing the competencies gained by the industrial clusters that have formed over the years to go to waste.