Roziana Zulkifli,

Our overarching goal is to create an environment that encourages industry collaboration, learning, and progress, helping professionals to drive innovation and shape the future of cosmetics.

Entrevista

in-cosmetics Global returns to the City of Lights in 2024 and everything points to this being the best edition in the history of the trade fair. What is in store for the cosmetics industry this year in Paris?

Of course, with the France’s reputation for cosmetic sophistication and quality, there isn't really a place that provides a better backdrop for the show than Paris. We anticipate the 2024 edition will be one of the most exciting yet, with a number of brand-new events, areas, and initiatives introduced.

More than 12,500 visitors and nearly a thousand exhibitors will shape what is undoubtedly the event par excellence for cosmetic science. What will be the central theme of this edition and why?

In response to current industry trends, science, innovation, and sustainability form the three core themes of in-cosmetics Global 2024. When planning the show, we undertake plenty of market research, engaging with our stakeholders, collating feedback, and collaborating with industry experts to understand the most pressing topics, challenges, and opportunities are. This year, it was very clear that a focus on science, innovation, and sustainability aligned with the direction of the industry and its consumers, and that we needed to take a deep dive into how they are shaping the future of cosmetics.

Additionally, with the event returning to Paris, and the country’s well-known reputation for cosmetic sophistication, there will be a dedicated Country Focus on France. The French Pavilion will be a core focal point for beauty savoir-faire, guided by the pioneering French experts themselves: leading suppliers including Biocosmethic SAS, Givaudan, Gattefossé s.a.s., Laboratoires Expanscience, Roquette Beauté, amongst many more, will be at this year’s event.

One of the strong points of this event has always been the educational programme. What topics will be the focus of attention this year? Which companies and speakers will be present?

This year we have strengthened our educational programme to present even more collaborative opportunities that explore cosmetic science, innovation, sustainability, and market intelligence. The venue will be a hub for knowledge exchange and innovation, welcoming attendees to the Innovation Zone, Technical Seminars, Formulation Lab®, Marketing Trends Theatre, R&D Tours, the Testing, Regulation & Lab Zone, The Fragrance Zone, and many others. Experts from leading companies such as Euromonitor International, Mintel, Kline & Co., Kenvue, Ecovia Intelligence, Expressions Parfumées, SYMRISE, Lubrizol Life Science, Clariant, and others, will lead speaker sessions, engage in panel discussions, and conduct live demonstrations.

Trends and end-consumer behaviour are two hugely influential factors when it comes to the way the industry moves forward. How do these affect the way the fair is organised?

To understand the key challenges and opportunities our visitors and exhibitors are experiencing, a comprehensive process of stakeholder and consumer engagement is undertaken as part of the preparation for each of our shows. Of course, consumer behaviours and trends play a core role in the direction that the industry moves in, so we keep our ears to the ground in terms of the most influential factors and trends and stay close to our exhibitor audience.

Recently, we launched our in-cosmetics Global Co-Labs programme which brings together industry leaders and professionals from the cosmetics and personal care sector to address a key topic. Last year, we focussed on the significant challenge of sustainability. We held two sessions in London and Paris, featuring insightful presentations from leading industry experts and provided a place for attendees to share their knowledge and experiences through a range of group activities.

Sustainability is nowadays the central issue on which most companies in the industry are focusing. Will there be anything new in the Sustainability Zone this year? And in the other zones? And the pavilions?

This year, we will introduce our enhanced Sustainability Zone, in partnership with The Green Chemist Consultancy and Ecovia Intelligence, which is devoted to offering inspiring offering information, and uncovering opportunities for brands to be more sustainable. The Zone will encompass several new features, including the Sustainability Display and Theatre, both of which are sponsored by AAK, and the Sustainability Pavilion, powered by Farmforce, which will provide space for visitors to identify and explore sustainable solutions across the entire cosmetics value chain. The interactive Display area will allow delegates to discover environmental and social sustainability initiatives, while the Theatre will provide expert guidance via sessions on the different approaches that brands can take to improve their sustainability credentials. 

The brand-new Sustainability Zone Forum, curated by The Green Chemist Consultancy, will be a one-day programme enabling visitors to discover the eco-evolution of the cosmetics industry. It will include a number of sessions from other leading experts in this space examining the applications of sustainability, from corporate and financial perspectives to shared risk and natural resource interconnections. The likes of Kaffe Bueno, Ashland, NATRUE, Kao Chemicals, Lubrizol, Eurofragrance, AAK, Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil – RSPO, plus more will be holding presentations and discussions here on all things green beauty.

in-cosmetics Global’s parent company, RX, is a founding member of Net Zero Carbon Events and recently introduced its Net Zero Carbon Event Roadmap. What kind of commitments have you made and how are they reflected at the show?

RX plays an integral role in ensuring that its events contribute to the goals of the Paris Agreement and helps to drive meaningful progress. At in-cosmetics Global, we have already implemented various initiatives to reduce waste and improve sustainability operationally as  part of our Net Zero Carbon Event Roadmap. Some of the initiatives include choosing venues based on energy consumption, using low carbon and re-usable materials (such as carpeting), and employing smart at-event practices to minimise waste.

All our in-house contractors are equipped and qualified to measure emissions and provide advice and guidance to our customers on the best and most sustainable design options. In line with this, in-cosmetics Global has introduced the brand-new Sustainable Stand Award to the in-cosmetics Global Awards, which celebrates exhibitors for implementing eco-conscious measures when designing and building their stands. We are continuously gathering insights from exhibitors and visitors to understand their perspectives on show sustainability, and this award has been developed in response to key feedback to help recognise and award the increasing number of exhibiting companies taking a sustainable approach to stand design.

Industry professionals are always grateful to have role models for good performance and work ethic, and in-cosmetics Global is a great example of both, but what does in-cosmetics learn from its exhibitors and visitors? How has it evolved over its three-decade history?

There are a number of requirements that exhibitors and visitors have to ensure they have a good experience at the show, so naturally, this helps to shape our own operational strategy. For example, from the exhibitor side, we learn that tracking leads and KPIs are important to them, so we introduced lead tracking tools and an Exhibitor Dashboard to help them analyse their performance. On the visitor side, we discovered that seamless navigation at-show was a priority, so we are now introducing the interactive floor map.

We also acknowledge and understand that a lot of research, engagement, sourcing, and testing (amongst many other processes) goes into creating a product. The industry is incredibly creative, enthusiastic, scientific, and passionate about the work it does, so this always filters up to us – as the leading platform for the industry, we ensure that we not only align with it to operate in a similar way but continue to push its boundaries and celebrate its growth.

The world seems to have recovered from the pandemic that has been so disruptive to our business for years, but it seems to have succumbed to the allure of AI (Artificial Intelligence). Will AI play a role in the event in any way? Will it facilitate a hybrid format for attendance, or will we return to full face-to-face attendance?

AI is not currently utilised at in-cosmetics Global as the tactile nature of product exploration at the show makes face-to-face interaction and collaboration indispensable. However, we do remain open to leveraging AI or hybrid formats to support our team's daily operations and help to improve future visitor and exhibitor experience.

It's always exciting to have the whole industry come together again for a few days in one place. What advice would you give attendees to make the most of their experience at the show?

Immerse yourself in the different elements the show has to offer – and there will be countless opportunities to do this. Attend expert-led speaker seminars and sessions, take part in hands-on laboratory experiences in the Formulation Lab®, visit one of the thousand exhibitor stands, and network with the thousands of experts who will be there to discover, experience, and celebrate cosmetic science.

And looking to the future... What challenges does in-cosmetics face? What does it aspire to? What impact does it want to have on the cosmetic science industry?

We are committed to further strengthening our position as an important and leading platform for cosmetic science and innovation, and delivering relevant, current, and scientific content that resonates with all our visitors. Our overarching goal is to create an environment that encourages industry collaboration, learning, and progress, helping professionals to drive innovation and shape the future of cosmetics.

Conoce a Roziana Zulkifli,

Nombre	Roziana Zulkifli,
Empresa	Reed Exhibitions
Cargo	Exhibition Director, in-cosmetics Global & Formulation Summit
Biografía