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Innovation and research are pushing the development of the cosmetics industry. The constant improvement of the quality and safety of products is the result of research of new technologies for optimising the supply chain and business management processes, but also of implementations aimed at enriching the consumers’ experience.
Artificial intelligence, augmented reality and virtual reality solutions, and increasingly interactive apps are influencing the sector. Highly advanced machinery and digital processes guarantee high safety standards, complete traceability and a better analysis of the environmental impact of the single product. At the same time, services to the consumer are increasing, with more effective marketing and communication strategies, complete customisation of the product and the shopping experience, and a new approach to customer care.
(Source: BolognaFiere Cosmoprof)
Today there are more and more companies and start-ups offering Beauty Tech services and solutions for brands, and they are assuming a fundamental role in the evolution of the sector. A specific area was dedicated to these players during the 2023 edition of Cosmoprof Worldwide Bologna. In the Beauty Tech Area exhibiting companies could present to business owners, retailers and buyers from all over the world their services and products fitting the needs and new habits of consumers.
“Cosmoprof Worldwide Bologna is the largest cosmetics fair in the world, and this year I had the opportunity to meet many operators and discover the novelties in beauty & spa. I was able to understand how the cosmetics industry is evolving and above all I found new inspirations and connections between cosmetics, technology and sleep care, which is our core business,” said Dongheon Lee, CEO & Founder of Asleep, a company that develops AI and IoT solutions to treat sleep disorders. “In Bologna I observed three main elements. First, the attention to highly personalised beauty products, which are rapidly being produced to cater to diverse customer segments. It was noticeable that the industry has shifted from being dominated by major corporations to embracing more involvement from small and medium-sized enterprises. Secondly, the technological methods of recommending personalised products from millions to hundreds of millions of cosmetics gained significant attention. Diagnosing users' skin conditions through data and artificial intelligence and recommending products based on that information were the main focus. Finally, the integration of different industries, especially the combination of "beauty" and "health and wellness," received significant attention. Companies that go beyond merely improving skin have shown ways to enhance overall health. Asleep, for example, explored collaborations that not only improve skin health but also promote sleep health through fragrance and skin temperature regulation. With advancements in technology, the integration of measured biomarkers and beauty products holds the potential to expand into the domain of digital health”, said Dongheon Lee.
The growth of the Beauty Tech sector has been highlighted by Visage Technologies, a provider of specialised face tracking, analysis and recognition solutions and custom development services. We see the future as immersive, personalised, and better for the people and planet. We already see young generations' mass behaviour with social filters as part of their beauty routines, trying and experimenting with different things at a scale that wasn’t possible before. And it won’t stop there. Matching reality is the crucial thing here. That is why beauty tech is growing larger than beauty itself; will it completely substitute reality? No. But it will enhance it for sure,” says Krešo Šach, Product Manager at Visage Technologies.
The impact of Beauty Tech on the cosmetics industry was the subject of a roundtable of CosmoTalks, the calendar of Cosmoprof Worldwide Bologna dedicated to the most current trends for the sector. The panel, entitled "Revolutionizing the Power of Beauty with the Power of Technology", was moderated by Federico Ferrazza, Director of WIRED ITALIA.
Among the speakers, Laurent Bouttier, Business Development Director of Perfect Corp. Europe, a leading AI & AR Beauty & Fashion Tech solution provider, who declared: “As the beauty industry continues its’ digital transformation, beauty tech will evolve to play a bigger role in omnichannel shopping experiences. Beauty Tech is a key driver of customer engagement and has become fundamental for a successful direct-to-consumer strategy. The results are therefore tangibles and measurables like higher time-on sites, more website traffic, decreasing product return rates, larger basket size or higher conversion rates. Our goal is to democratise AI & AR solutions and to bring them even to smaller market players so they can compete with the top dogs of the beauty industry.”
“Beauty Tech tools help not only choose a product and make the right purchase, but they enable people to look better and feel better,” said Rebecca (Becky) Hall, Vice President, DMM Beauty at Neiman Marcus, who took part as a speaker during the round table of Cosmoprof Worldwide Bologna 2023. “Today it is necessary to work on the training of brands, collaborators and sales personnel, so that it is possible to get the most out of the new technologies at our disposal. In the future, there will be more and more tools for selecting specific products for individual needs and interaction solutions, even in retail outlets: learning how to use them correctly is essential."
Max Benator, Co-Founder & CEO of Orca, a company specialising in live streaming and social commerce, participated as a speaker at the round table. Live streaming and social commerce are increasingly popular digital services, especially in Asia, and offer many development opportunities because they are still in an early stage. Any brand can take advantage of these technologies starting from corporate social channels, creating a stronger relationship with consumers and differentiating itself from the competitors. The beauty sector is very suitable for this type of technology, because it is a category that relies heavily on visual impact. These tools will be increasingly popular in the coming months, as Benator underlined during the talk: “Artificial intelligence is having an incredible impact in all sectors, and the cosmetics industry will also experience profound changes. Chatbots, which are already performing customer service roles today, will become more sophisticated. They will have real conversations and take on a specific, almost human personality. Another change I see on the horizon is the spread of V-Tubers: they are influencers who are not real people, but completely virtual beings.”
Cosmoprof Worldwide Bologna was held from 16-20 March 2023 in Bologna, Italy Fair District, with 2,984 exhibitors and recording 250,000 visitors. The next edition will take place from 21-24 March.