Cosmoprof North America, held at Mandalay Bay Convention Center from July 31 to August 2,brought together a robust bunch of 760 exhibitors and 25,000 visitors from across the globe. Distinct by their presence were both big and small, old and new brands be it Zoya, Star Nails, AHAVA, CONAIR, CND, Essie/ L’Oreal Professional, Maletti, Moroccan Oil, OPI Nail, Orly, Jessica, RUSK, Sportarredo, TIGI, and Zotos International. Also seen were international country pavilions- each an aggregate of small businesses to emphasize the speciality in each. Country Pavilions allow small and medium-sized companies from select markets to participate in the event with the objective of obtaining direct “face time” with distributors and retailers to secure U.S. distribution. Featured countries at the 2011 show included Argentina, Brazil, China, Italy, South Korea, and Taiwan.
As a mark of growing online awareness in this industry in North America, Cosmoprof reportedly also saw the continued presence of online media, with as many as a 100 bloggers reporting live from the show. Beauty Blogger Central, a unique feature saw Bellasugar.com, Cliomakeup.com, DailyMakeover.com and Temptalia.com. Furthermore, the Trend Scout Program, saw the B.I.S. graduating class of Fashion Institute of Technology, explore the show floor and report live on social networking sites like twitter and Facebook. Technology again proved beneficial as Cosmoprof used a One-2-One Beauty Matchmaking software, to connect people on the show floor.
The International Buyer Program, a Cosmoprof North America exclusive, was sponsored once again by UNIPRO. The international buyers were invited from Argentina, Australia, Benin, Canada, Congo, Guinea, Japan, Mauritania, Mexico, Peru, Senegal Uganda and Uruguay. The event has other exclusive features like the Discover Beauty, that assists emerging and fledgling brands in finding the proper market and highlights the newest trends. The one-on-one meetings between prestigious retailers like Bergdorf Goodman, C.O. Bigelow, Cosbar, Duane Reade, Henri Bendel, HSN, Nordstrom, Skins 6|2 and Zappos, aimed to give Discover Beauty brands critiques and feedback.
The Discover Beauty Award saw 17 brands participating in the 2011 Discover Beauty program. These brands were judged on creativity, innovation and market readiness. The voting was done by specialty retailers such as Bergdorf Goodman, C.O. Bigelow, Henri Bendel and HSN as well as various beauty bloggers including Bellasugar.com, DailyMakeover.com and Youbeauty.com. The 2011 Discover Beauty Award winner is Snowberry. This natural anti-aging skin care line is said to be full of peptides, antioxidants, super fruits, and the finest herbal oils, including extracts from New Zealand rain forest plants cultivated on Snowberry’s plantation.
Special education seminars were filled to capacity with more than 1,100 attendees in total. Businesses and industry leaders from multiple sectors of the industry participated in round-table discussions and panels to share their knowledge and insights. Every year CPNA brings industry leaders to the forefront to share innovative ideas and experiences that will help the beauty industry better understand the dynamics and market trends, present and future.
The North American Hairstyling Awards (NAHA), held in conjunction with Cosmoprof North America, took place on Sunday, July 31st and was attended by a record number of 2,800 guests at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. The event was also seen worldwide via live online steaming broadcast by an additional 22,000. These extraordinary stylists showcased the talent and creativity of the professional beauty industry in North America with Kris Sorbie winning the Master Hairstylist of the Year Award, Salon M Squared winning the Best Salon Design Of the year, and Jake Thompson the Avante Guard Award with the most amazing hairdesigns!
Absolutely not to be missed was Graham Staedman’s motivational speech to the hairdressers. A breathing, thinking and enormously exciting event – both PBA Beauty WEEK and Cosmoprof North America score a full five for its dynamism!
