Programme

The premier session highlighted some of the major sustainability issues associated with the Asian cosmetics industry in terms of ethical sourcing and biodiversity. Although the region is becoming a rich source of cosmetic ingredients, the sustainable sourcing of raw materials is often questioned.

What can cosmetic and ingredient firms do to halt the decline in biodiversity of Asian ecosystems? What are best-practices in ethical sourcing of cosmetic ingredients? How can such programmes have a positive social impact on growers? What solutions do fair trade practices provide? Are sustainability roundtables the way forward? Such questions were addressed in this session.

Green ingredients are gaining currency as cosmetic brands use these materials to reduce the environmental footprint of their products, whilst raw material suppliers turn to renewable feedstock in the search for innovation. This session honed in on novel green ingredients, highlighting major advances in materials and processing techniques. The possibilities provided by marine ingredients were explored, whilst another paper looked at the use of traditional Asian ingredients in cosmetic formulations. The session concluded with a panel discussion on why green ingredients have complex environmental footprints.

One of the major commercial challenges cosmetic brands face is sales channels, especially retailing: how to select suitable outlets? How to position products in such retailers? What marketing to undertake to raise awareness and maximise sales? This session tackles such marketing and distribution challenges in the Asian cosmetics industry.

The session begun with an opening keynote on marketing communications for green brands. An overview was given of the global market for natural & organic cosmetics, highlighting developments in the Asian market. Other papers covered retailer's perspectives for green cosmetics, opening in travel retail, the spa channel, and building distribution in the Indian market.

Session Four: Regulations & Standards

The cosmetics industry is seeing a rise in regulations and standards. Although the European cosmetics market is the largest in the world, it is now also the most regulated; exporters have to jump through many 'legislative hoops' to enter the lucrative European market. Regulations are also increasing in the Asian market, with growing disparity between major country markets.

Standards are also becoming a barrier to market entry, as retailers request products meet industry standards. This session gave an update on the legislative environment and most important green standards for cosmetic products. To conclude, featured speakers questioned the role of regulations and standards: should they not be facilitating - rather then hindering - global trade of cosmetic products?

Wednesday 13th November: Day Three

Workshop I: Formulating Natural & Organic Cosmetics

Although the range of green ingredients has expanded considerably in recent years, many technical obstacles remain when formulating natural & organic cosmetic products. This technical workshop discussed the major formulation issues associated with such products, providing guidance on how to develop formulations without contentious synthetic materials.

Details were given on the synthetic ingredients that natural and organic cosmetics typically avoid. Green alternatives to these ingredients were described, along with a discussion of the related formulation issues. The most popular natural and organic cosmetic standards worldwide were highlighted, as well as their related ingredient and formulation issues. Practical advice was given to Asian operators looking at taking the certification route.

Workshop II: The Power of Social Media & Digital Marketing

Although there is extensive hype about social media and digital marketing, few cosmetic brands have been successful in maximising the potential of these new marketing tools. This new workshop provided training on the successful deployment of social media like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. by cosmetic brands. With the use of positive case studies, the opportunities provided by digital marketing were also be featured.

The workshop is designed for cosmetic brands and ingredient firms looking to maximise the opportunities offered by social media and digital marketing.