Premium Beauty News - The Cosmopack trade show was back in Bologna, from 28 April to 1 May 2022, for its first "face-to-face" edition since 2019. What are your first conclusions?
Aurélie Ignaccolo – We didn’t know what to expect after the disruption caused by the health crisis, and we were more than pleasantly surprised by the number of visitors to our stand. Overall, the show was a real success for the IL Cosmetics Group!
Our customers were impressed by the number of formulas on offer. Even at a slower pace at the beginning of the pandemic, we continued our efforts towards innovation and very quickly, from September 2020, we resumed our cruising speed on our developments, notably with IL Cosmetics’ exclusive technology in the nails category.
Premium Beauty News - Your innovations in the "nails" category were very timely just as the market was recovering!
Aurélie Ignaccolo - Indeed, with the stabilisation of the nail polish market, we are seeing the end of the downward trend, and noticed a desire on the part of brands to boost the category with several launches planned worldwide, hence an increased interest in the nail segment and signs of possible market growth.
We have been leading the Longwear category since 2016, with a focus on technologies that are still fully in line with the current market demand!
Whatever the trends (bio-sourced / clean / microplastic-free / photo-reactive formulas) the longwear claim remains the key factor in the consumer’s purchase intent. This is why we have developed a new G’last boost’R technology featuring patented components to go even further in terms of longwear performances while optimising other parameters such as gloss, which remains the #1 priority when testing products and then deciding which one to choose.
This technology, which was premiered in Bologna, can suit all types of formulations, from our bio-based portfolio, where we offer unprecedented levels of naturalness, with a minimum of 85% in shades, to our photo-reactive formulas, Oligo and Hybrid, which allow for extreme wear while keeping application and removal stages as simple as with traditional polish.
Our next challenge in the area of longwear is to offer a gel polish that meets the requirements of the European Union for retail sales. It is a real challenge, as there is, to date, no solution on the market and thus represents a major investment in R&D.
Premium Beauty News - What about nail care, a segment that was booming before the pandemic?
Aurélie Ignaccolo - The segment is still very dynamic, driven by the craze for sensory textures and products combining an instant healthy-look effect and proven efficacy by consumer panel tests. To meet this demand, we have enhanced our portfolio with a wide range of optimised bio-sourced formulas as well as products with a combined instant and nail care action. It is important to remember that the consumer’s main concern remains hardening properties, which is why we are also in the process of finalising a formula with proven efficacy that will be the subject of a pending patent.
Premium Beauty News - Beyond nail polish, IL Cosmetics has become a major player in mascara in Europe. Where do you stand in this area?
Juanita Parra - Mascara has grown significantly over the last few years. We have consolidated our leading position among the key suppliers in Europe. IL Cosmetics Group now holds about 30% of the European contract manufacturing market. In this market, the trend is still towards volume and lash lift, without forgetting the clean and natural trends.
After Europe, the United States is the next growth vector for the category where we are starting to win over key players. We are well aware of the market’s expectations, and we produce one of the best-selling mascaras on Amazon USA. We are currently putting together a new team to boost our positioning in the US and thus increase our presence in this market.
Premium Beauty News - Another line of diversification, lip make-up: a segment in full swing!
Laura Pereira - The lip category (liquid lipstick + lipgloss) is still IL Cosmetics’ category with the strongest growth, where the group reached in a short period about 12% of the European contract manufacturing market. The post-covid context is very favourable, with consumers showing renewed interest in lip products and sales skyrocketing. To meet this surge in demand, we have significantly increased the number of formula options, all of which can be customised to best meet the expectations of brands!
Premium Beauty News - In conclusion, what are IL Cosmetics’ projects in the medium term?
Aurélie Ignaccolo - We will hit the EUR 100 million mark in sales in 2022. Diversification remains the key to growth for the Group, both in terms of products and markets.
We recently inaugurated our new Make-up Lab to serve all make-up projects and we are planning several investments in this area to support this development. On the industrial side, we have merged our two packaging units in Poland to gain efficiency to expand our capacities in 2022.
But in the meantime, see you at MakeUp in Paris next June ...
