BOLOGNA, Italy — The buoyant vibe running through Cosmoprof Worldwide Bologna’s halls offered a bubble-wrapped experience where the beauty market slowdown, trade wars and global geopolitical tensions seemed distant and not to concern exhibitors too much.
The four-day beauty trade show that closed on March 23 mirrored companies’ cautious yet optimistic outlook for the year, as the event reported a record-breaking attendance, up 4.5 percent to 255,000 visitors from 150 countries compared to last year.
Thanks to a tweaked layout, the event expanded to include more product categories in line with the ever-evolving market, with a 5.8 percent growth in exhibition space compared to last year that contributed to accommodate 3,128 exhibitors from 65 countries.
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While brands looked to new distribution deals and overall opportunities to secure their space in the beauty industry which, according to a Euromonitor International analysis shared by the fair’s organizers, will reach a value of 612 billion euros on a global scale in 2025, formulation and packaging suppliers looked to explore gaps in terms of innovation they could still fill in such a saturated market.
If the sustainable theme is a given by now, new hot topics rose to the fore. These included how to reinvent makeup archetypes for modern times and experiment with new gestures in delivery systems to help brands further engage with a consumer who is knowledgeable, price cautious and, ultimately, less loyal.
Along with products, solutions could be found also in manufacturers’ business models. To be competitive today, diversification, flexibility and speed are seen as pivotal elements for suppliers.
The Business Outlook
Innovation was one key driver that enabled cosmetic manufacturing powerhouse Intercos Group to exceed the 1 billion euro threshold in sales in 2024, up 7.8 percent compared to the previous year.
But it wasn’t the only factor. The firm’s widespread presence and network of 16 production plants located in all major markets — including Italy, Poland, China, South Korea, India, Brazil and the U.S. — gave Intercos a competitive advantage as brands sought more flexible supply chains, and is set to become even more crucial this year in the context of protectionist policies.
Intercos’ diversification in terms of customers, market segments served and product categories also propelled growth, even in key regions where markets were contracting, such as China.
“Despite the exceptional event of the cyber attack in the first quarter [last year], which had repercussions on operating activities for a number of months and the significant slowdown of the beauty segment in China, in the U.S. and the weakened growth in Europe, Intercos reported double-digit growth for every quarter subsequent to the cyber attack,” said Renato Semerari, chief executive officer of Intercos Group, mentioning that in the fourth quarter of 2024 revenues beat expectations and grew 14.5 percent to 289.8 million euros versus the same period in 2023.
In the first two months of 2025, the group’s order intake reached a new record, standing at 144 million euros, which led Semerari to project a growth in total sales between 5 and 7 percent for 2025, beating the general market’s pace he expects to increase 4 percent globally this year.
Hence, Intercos’ commitment to further invest in its offering and facilities, especially in Asia. Following the expansion of its plant in Poland and a dedicated fragrance plant that opened in Italy in 2023, in the second half of 2024 it expanded its plant in South Korea and opened one of four Chinese factories.
Gotha Cosmetics’ CEO Paolo Valsecchi is also reaping the benefits of the investment the Italian makeup manufacturer made in China in 2022, when it acquired the formulation and filling company iColor Group.
“The real challenge for everyone is to become global. Today in this sector, the only real global player is Intercos,” said Valsecchi. “The regional aspect is essential, and China represents an important element of speed,” he added, mentioning that Gotha’s sales are still mainly split between Europe and the U.S. — each accounting for between 40 and 45 percent of the business — but Asia is growing rapidly.
Valsecchi predicts that overall “Europe will produce for European brands, Asia for Asian ones and the U.S. for American ones. That’s not because of tariffs,” he said, “but because being closer to customers enables you to better understand the market, not to mention [to optimize] logistic costs and speed. Having a local production is a goal a company with global ambitions has to have. We started with China and hope to replicate it in the U.S. soon.”
The executive wishes fellow Italian suppliers would follow suit in order “to boost the critical mass of our companies and join forces to avoid what is happening in other sectors, like in luxury.”
“This is still one of the few industries where Italy plays a key role…but we need to be good not only in terms of innovation but scale up in terms of size. If the whole system grows, there’s a bigger opportunity for all of us,” said Valsecchi.
According to preliminary figures released by Cosmetica Italia, total sales generated by Italian beauty companies grew 9.1 percent to 16.5 billion euros in 2024 versus 2023. Exports were the driving force last year, growing 12 percent to 7.9 billion euros compared to 2023. According to projections, in 2025 total sales and exports will further increase 6.9 and 8.5 percent, respectively.
International players are watching closely. Packaging giant HCT went on a little shopping spree at the end of last year, acquiring Italian company Laffon and securing control on its plastic injection molding factory, in another quest to further expand and diversify its footprint.
“It’s not magical. Italy would not be like China. But when you find the right spot — and for us it’s really compacts, sticks, jars — and the right quantity, you become even more cost-competitive in Europe compared to China.…So it’s great to have options everywhere,” said Denis Maurin, president of sales and innovation at HCT by Kdc/one.
The company is also on a strong start to the year, thanks to its limited exposure in both China, where it primarily works with niche indie brands, and to luxe beauty players in France, which are struggling also due to a general shift in consumption from prestige to masstige products.
In France, Maurin sees potential in the pharmacy channel, instead, as he highlighted its showcase of more qualitative and price-competitive products compared to beauty retailers and its widespread footprint.
“I see a big trend here. Those products in France are made for the French market, they are very hard to actually export to the U.S. or copy because of regulations, so some of them just prefer to stay in Europe and not move, and it’s creating a niche,” he said. “Through Laffon we want to target more of the skin care market and the pharmacy brands that are sometimes more simple in packaging but that need a bit more innovation.…We will see a lot of newness in terms of design and what we can bring to that market.”
Rethinking Beauty Archetypes
“We’ve had liquid lipsticks, lip oils, lip glosses, but what about the lipstick itself? What’s the future of lipstick? Same for eye shadows: We had the palette’s boom, but what else can we give to consumers?” said Enrica Arsenio, chief marketing officer of makeup manufacturer Art Cosmetics.
These were questions shared across suppliers, which recognized that rather than brand-new innovation, the main game now is stretching existing items to new possibilities and refreshing beauty icons with tweaks.
For example, at Intercos, global strategic marketing and corporate projects vice president Chantal Cozza presented a new no-transfer, high-shine solid lipstick.
“The holy grail of the industry has always been a lipstick, shiny, no-transfer and long-lasting. In the past, we presented with our technologies fluid lipsticks that were able to achieve these features. This year, for the first time we’re putting this into solid form,” said Cozza.
At Art Cosmetics, Arsenio showed a version with SPF properties. “This is not a balm. It might sound simple to develop, but it’s not, because with filters you lose some color payoff,” she said.
It was part of the company’s threefold new collection and presented under a cluster addressing climate change and the need for high-performance formulations able to be resistant to warmer temperatures, embedded with SPF and, at the same time, have appealing textures.
Hence, the development of formulations undergoing waterproof, humidity-proof, blue and UV light-proof tests, ranging from 12-hour-lasting foundations to sweat-proof mascaras. Arsenio said the research was propelled by Art Cosmetics’ increasing interest toward the Middle East, a market the company will target also by attending upcoming beauty trade shows in Riyadh and Dubai for the first time.
At Gotha Cosmetics, the Tubby-ing Mascara featured another innovative formula that sounded like an oxymoron, as it was water-resistant yet studied to be removed with mere warm water.
Chromavis pushed its technology to create hybrid textures, which vice president of innovation and corporate marketing Andrea Brambilla defined as shape-shifters. These informed 3D compacts fusing gummy and jelly textures and transforming into powder once applied for a seamless interaction between the product and the skin, as well as formulations rich in active ingredients.
“Makeup now has to move at two speeds: fast and slow. You have to apply it fast, but its beneficial effects have to be long-lasting,” said Brambilla.
Also new from the company was the Sheer Dream vegan creamy nail polish remover in stylo form, featuring the nourishing properties of balms and ideal for on-the-go consumers.
Overall, sticks were a big trend, with multifunctional and water-based formulations and playful packaging best expressing customers’ demand for high performance and simple, fast yet fun application.
The Fun Pack
“For the younger consumers, it’s all about the DIY approach,” said Bakic’s CEO Dominic Bakic. He cited his 15-year-old daughter, who uses two types of mascaras, mixing them with the brushes before applying the product. “That’s representative of how this generation uses products: They go in, they mix, they experiment. The approach is becoming much more playful, interactive and [their] personal share of contributing [in the process] is bigger,” said Bakic.
He also reported the lip category is booming. “Everything that you can put on the lips is a major trend, from how you apply it — be it a sponge or a silicon applicator — to how you play with it,” he said, while showing the Mila stick. This comes with a screwing mechanism at the bottom and an inner lid with an integrated hole guaranteeing a precise product application.
In the same vein, the company also developed the Mila Grinder, coming with a lid featuring a built-in grinder mechanism with strategically placed cutouts that evenly dispense the solid or cream products, and the playful Mila jelly jars coming with a bouncy silicon applicator.
“One of the challenges right now is to bring together premium-zation and sustainability,” said Bakic, as he held a plastic compact mimicking the touch and feel of jade stone for a more sophisticated effect.
At Cosmei, marketing manager Isabella Milesi also addressed the use of higher quality plastics and their mix with materials such as aluminum in creating more premium packaging.
She confirmed the stick trend, too, showing mono-material takes on the format that could also answer to brands’ sustainable needs. “It’s all about rethinking must-have products with some twists,” said Milesi, pointing to new gestures and refillable formats whose lifespan can exceed the one of the product, like featuring detachable mirrors or beauty cases a person can keep.
Smelling New Opportunities
Milesi additionally teased Cosmei is eyeing to expand and experiment with delivery systems for hair care, after it explored the category’s potential with a custom project.
Along with hair care, many manufacturers are plotting moves into fragrances as well, drawn by the category’s booming performance.
For one, Italian company Lumson marked its 50th anniversary by launching its first fragrance packaging collection with 13 premium-designed solutions and 60 caps in different materials, for a total of more than 1,500 combinations. The company, which last year reported total sales of 134 million euros, is looking to tap into a global fragrance market valued at $65.49 billion in 2024, according to Euromonitor.
Double-digit sales growth of scents’ mini formats propelled fragrance packaging specialist Aptar Beauty’s latest launch. After three years of development, the company introduced Nomad Refill, a 10-ml. purse spray that is directly refillable on the perfume bottle in a quick, clean and secure way thanks to a patented integrated connector.
Savéria Guelfucci, marketing manager of Turnkey Solutions by Aptar for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, noted the rise of smaller sizes beyond sampling purposes, as they are seen as more convenient price-wise and favored by customers who like to change and try new scents more frequently. Spurred by its acquisition of the iD Scent company two years ago, Aptar Beauty is also exploring new solutions, like encapsulating fragrance in the fiber of paper as an alternative to traditional glass samples.