The third edition of the Cosmetic 360 trade show hosted 200 exhibitors and welcomed about 4,400 visitors (an 11% increase compared to last year). Organized by the Cosmetic Valley - the French Competitiveness Cluster dedicated to the cosmetics sector, which concentrates 800 companies and extends over an area covering the metropolitan and suburban areas of Tours, Rouen, Orleans, Chartres and Versailles - this event aims to "promote the innovative players from the beauty sector.”
Start-up Zone and Open Innovation
An 800 m2 area was entirely dedicated to some 30 beauty start-ups such as Aryballe Technology (which showcased an electronic odour identification device), Oxiproteomics (presenting a technique to determine the skin’s aging from protein oxidation), Zéo (a 100% natural absorbent powder that provides ultra-fast hair drying and winner of the Cosmetic Victories 2017 competition), Exhalia (an interactive fragrance bar), Saralon GmbH (electronic packaging inks), Waw (a mobile app for delving into cosmetics bags around the world).
This area was conceived as a full business incubation area, where entrepreneurs had a chance to present their projects to a committee of experts including Business Angels and banks.
As in previous years, Cosmetic 360 also offered a series of meetings dedicated to Open Innovation. For the third edition, some 150 appointments were scheduled between project leaders from around twenty countries, selected from the 253 start-ups, and five leading multinationals: Chanel, Johnson & Johnson, L’Oréal, LVMH Research, Shiseido.
Bringing the sensorial experience online
Another highlight of the show was the debut edition of the Hackaton C360. The event gathered 50 international students - including marketers, designers, programmers, creators, developers, engineers and designers - from 22 French schools (Mines, Chimie Paris Tech, ENSTA Paris Tech, ISIPCA, Telecom Paris Tech, Neoma Business School, International Fashion Academy, etc.), grouped into seven teams, to brainstorm on the theme Reveal Your Perception, with the support of LVMH teams.
The U Scent concept (“How to test and choose the right fragrance online?”) won the competition over the various projects presented (perfume samples available in Uber cars, use of Big Data, skin tone photo-measurements, personal assistant to help with the choice of cosmetics, beauty routine tutorials, etc.).
In the wake of this test edition, the Cosmetic Valley intends the Hackathon C360 to transform into an annual and bigger and more ambitious event within the Cosmetic 360 show.
"Innovation is the hallmark of the Cosmetic Valley. The actions the cluster has been conducting for 20 years to multiply industrial and collaborative research projects, to pool resources, have made the sector stronger, more enterprising and more visible. However, they would not have any future if the cluster would not be able to foster the agility and capacity of its members to face competition and to remain disruptive within a changing world and the context of the digital revolution," said Marc-Antoine Jamet, President of the Cosmetic Valley.
