The transparency of technology... for increasingly safer beauty

Raw materials for cosmetics and tracking technologies enrich the proposals of Cosmopack 2023, which is renewed with the aim of developing the offer of a supply chain of excellence. We talk about this with Antonia Benvegnù, Cosmopack Manager.

Luciana Guidotti

Facilitating the meeting together of the major brands of finished products and an industrial supply chain that deals with the formulation, production and packaging of a cosmetic: this is the winning concept - exported throughout the world - which has characterised Cosmopack for many seasons.

Created and developed as a natural complement to Cosmoprof Worldwide Bologna, Cosmopack confirms its unique status with respect to other formats across the international trade fair panorama, guaranteeing the attraction of the event as a whole.

Before arriving at the much-awaited 2023 edition, taking place in Bologna from 16 to 18 March, we have asked Antonia Benvegnù, Cosmopack manager at international level, to outline to us the main features of a carefully-planned evolution.

Cosmopack has always reflected a complex and cutting-edge sector which “produces” boundless beauty. What new developments can we expect? 

As usual, visitors will find in the fair suppliers of primary packaging, third party manufacturers of cosmetic products, companies specialised in the offer of a full service, and suppliers of technological solutions for the productive phase, of packaging and business logistics … All gathered together in pavilions 15, 18, 19 and 20. This year, however, we have decided to optimise also the representation of the first link in the production chain, that of the raw material for cosmetics.

The Cosmopack show already featured examples of excellence in the fields of essential oils, plant extracts and essences for perfumery; this year, we are giving more visibility to suppliers of raw materials and ingredients, including the functional active ingredients used in both make-up and skincare. Pointing the spotlight on this segment has, moreover, has given us the opportunity to also develop the “Factory project”, in view of the correlated technological and marketing implications. It is no coincidence, therefore, that, from a logistical point of view, producers of raw materials will be accommodated in an immediately recognisable area adjacent to the Factory in pavilion 20.

Cosmopack’s jewel in the crown for eight editions now, the Factory has always been a centre of attraction for visitors to the show…

And it will continue to be so, albeit with a different nuance. The focus of past editions was, in fact, on the final product, when what we put on show was a complete production line to then arrive at the output of an always different cosmetic, underlined by creative research. This year we are changing: the product in itself is no longer the protagonist of the Factory, but the tracking process, an element that we consider to be an example of high technology and which, we hope, will involve the entire supply chain from many points of view, just like the theme of the raw material, from which the cosmetic derives.

A Factory that will speak of transparency and safety, therefore.

Exactly. The objective for 2023 is that of demonstrating that ”applying” more quality during the production process of a cosmetic thanks to an accurate control of the raw material and of the finished product can and must become a consolidated practice for the beauty industry. We are absolutely convinced that the availability of increasingly precise vision and control systems, as well as access to digitalisation technologies open up new opportunities for growth, in the wake of an already well-established trend in the food and pharmaceutical sectors: use of track & trace offers effective guarantees regarding the protection of the product and for combatting counterfeiting, the latter being an aspect which, unfortunately, continues to be a threat to the cosmetics market.

But beyond the more strictly commercial aspects, let’s try to imagine the added value of tracking communicated to consumers; to have access, perhaps through a QR code reproduced on the packaging, to all the information relating to the source of raw materials, as well as to the production process and packaging of a cosmetic, is very reassuring. In other words, the technology available makes it possible to establish an interactive relationship with the market, involving consumers in a new and more satisfying experience: a benefit for those able to exploit this opportunity.

How will you to implement the track & trace project?

First of all, we are counting on the collaboration of three partners - companies of excellence exhibiting at Cosmopack - which will provide their expertise in various fields: B Corp N&B Natural is better (Salento producer of aloe and cosmetic formulator which will provide the raw material for a cosmetic developed specially for Cosmopack, Ed.); the packaging, with the “Made in Italy” plus, will be provided by Induplast, while Antares Vision will support us from a technological point of view with the tracking systems. And then, this year, we have involved Sara Ricciardi, a well-known figure in design and fashion, to whom we have given the task of “dressing” the project; this is not a simple task given that, besides the technological concepts, she will have to give visibility also to ideas of quality and safety, which we take very seriously.