Ciao! It’s not often that one gets to enjoy work and passion in the same session, but at the stroke of luck, fate and a little bit of pixie dust, today happened to be one of them! 🙂

I was working on an important beauty & wellness project by the Italian Trade Agency (ITA) in collaboration with Bologna Fiere and Cosmetica Italia, called the Cosmoprof Worldwide Bologna Presentation Kuala Lumpur. Although we started working on it on a short notice and within a tight timeline, I’m glad we all managed to pull things together for a great day.

Joanna, Shini & Myself at the foyer of the Malaya Room, just before the seminar began.

This presentation was held prelude to the world’s biggest international trade show for the beauty industry – Cosmoprof Worldwide Bologna 2018, from 15 – 19 March in Bologna, Italy.

Read on, if you’re keen to fly yourself to the land of pasta, pizza, olive oil and high fashion! 

 

Managed to snap a picture of my outfit just before I entered the venue, The Westin Kuala Lumpur

White blazer & black stilettos from H&M | Black blouse from Sally Fashion

Leopard print high waisted skirt from River Island | Bag from Michael Korrs

 

It was held for the first time in Malaysia to help beauty brands around the world to boost their businesses and achieve greater visibility abroad!

Best part is? It’s in support of MATRADE (Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation). Way to go!

 

I was helping out at the counter for our guestlist of beauty industry experts & media!

At the request of my team mate & close friend Joanna, who hated her candid facial expression,

I replaced her with a cute cuppa 8 bit coffee 🙂 Hey!

In all seriousness, for over 50 years, Cosmoprof Worldwide Bologna is the world’s leading trade fair and 360° worldwide event dedicated to all the sectors of the professional beauty sector and international platform for the cosmetics and wellness industry.

From perfumery & cosmetics, natural products, nails, raw materials, hairdressing & salon, packaging, machinery, beauty & spa – you name it. They’ve got it!

Our Italian Trade Commissioner, Dr. Samuele Porsia, and our Ambassador of the Embassy of Italy, H.E Cristiano Maggipinto, welcomed all the guests & media as early as 10.30am with an introductory speech and light banter.

 

“Cosmoprof Worldwide Bologna is the only exhibition in the world where more than 2,500 companies coming from 69 countries and 250,000 professionals of the beauty industry develop new business relationships.

The show collects the beauty industry under one roof, and the international appeal of this exhibition is recognized by the whole beauty industry. We are glad to have the support from MATRADE in this presentation,”

said Dr Samuel Porsia, Italian Trade Commissioner of Kuala Lumpur during his opening remarks.

 

When all the formalities were over, here comes the part that everyone has been waiting to learn from!

The International Marketing Manager of Cosmoprof, Mr. Mattia Miglio himself introduced and presented all the whats, wheres, whys, whos and hows of Cosmoprof Worldwide in Bologna, Italy.

“Following a process started in the past editions, Cosmoprof Worldwide Bologna 2018 will continue its evolution to a “tailor-made” event, thanks to a clearer diversification for areas and initiatives according to the professional profile of our visitors. Exports to Europe and issues on taxes are also dealt with for smooth operation,”

said Mattia.

His presentation was indeed valuable for the beauty industry, professionals and trade businesses to promote the export and import of cosmetics and beauty products!

More importantly for SMEs (Small Medium Enterprise) to pay attention to, The Director of Lifestyle, Life Science & Medical Devices and Pharmaceutical Section of MATRADE, Mr. Abu Bakar Yusof also shared how one can go global with MATRADE.

He also announced that MATRADE will look into considerations to build a Malaysia Pavilion at Cosmoprof Worldwide Bologna in 2019 to leverage greater opportunity for Malaysian business to tap the European market through Italy.

For OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturer) to take note of, Puan Mawarni Hassan from FMM Malaysia Cosmetics & Toiletries Industry Group (FMM-MCTIG) spoke about the Halal Perspective in terms of OEM manufacturing.

The term “halal,” as it applies to cosmetics, simply means products that have been manufactured, produced and composed of ingredients permissible under Islamic Sharia law.

The advantages of being in Malaysia is that obtaining a Halal certificate for Malaysian beauty skincare is much easier than those in non-Muslim countries too!

The final presentation of the day was by Dr Baskaran Kosthi, President of the Malaysia Association of Wellness & Spa (MAWSPA)

He shared MAWSPA’s plans to brand our own Malaysian Massage known as Urutan Malaysia. They have finally combined a Massage technique

With Malaysia being a multi-cultural country, they have finally stirred the melting pot and concocted a massage technique that truly represents Malaysia, and will be launching & promoting Urutan Malaysia in the international market!

Fun Fact:

Italian exports of cosmetics to Malaysia amounted to EUR 8.1 million in 2016, making Malaysia the 57th largest importer of Italian cosmetics (out of 177 countries considered by the Italian National Institute for Statistics). In particular relevance are the Italian exports of perfumes, which in 2016 registered a growth of 5% compared to 2015 and amounted to 35% of the total value of Italian exports of cosmetics to Malaysia, with brands like Prada, Versace and Bvlgari.

Moreover, in 2016, imports of cosmetics from Malaysia reached EUR 1.6 million, with a 326% increase compared to 2015 which strengthened the already sizeable trade between the two countries in the sector and made Italy a more important destination of Malaysian cosmetic products.

Guests looking through the brochures provided for more information

Cosmoprof is not only in Bologna, but also in Las Vegas, Hong Kong and, from 2018, Mumbai.

Cosmoprof has signed joint venture agreements with international organisations to create new top-level trade fairs throughout the world, a testament to the company’s internationalisation strategy: Cosmoprof Worldwide Bologna, Cosmoprof Asia (Hong Kong), Cosmoprof North America (Las Vegas) and Cosmoprof India (Mumbai).

 

The Cosmoprof network today is a huge global community, made of:

  • 6,600 beauty companies from 160 countries
  • Over 360,000 professionals from all over the world
  • $70 million of total revenues in 2016

 

After the Q&A session, it was time for lunch!

I’m pretty sure the VIPs, media & guests enjoyed the buffet. I sure did!

Being an Italian event, I wasn’t surprised that the spread was relatively inclined towards the likes of the Italian cuisine as well. Thank you for the amazing food! We particularly loved the Beef Lasagne and the Smoked Salmon.

One of the many Stories I posted on Instagram during the event

It was indeed a fruitful session, and I’m glad my guests found it inspiring and informative!

If the above hasn’t convinced you yet, here are 10 REASONS TO TAKE PART IN COSMOPROF WORLDWIDE IN BOLOGNA, ITALY 

1. Cosmoprof is the leading B2B platform on the international beauty scene for industry professionals and operators.

2. The only event to gather together all sectors of the beauty industry under one roof.

3. An international hub that brings together all the relevant distribution channels, from the retail market to trade professionals and digital.

4. A meeting place for professionals and decision makers where developing business, creating new partnerships and keeping update on the latest trends in the beauty world.

5. To take advantage of Cosmoprof brand awareness, equity and knowledge internationally, developed over 50 years in the beauty industry.

6. To find new market niches and new trends.

7. To build relationships with the exhibitors, your prime potential suppliers/clients.

8. To meet high profile buyers from the major emerging markets.

9. To communicate with press, television, web.

10. To benefit from a strong marketing and communication plan before, during and after the events.

 

 

The 51st edition of Cosmoprof Worldwide Bologna will take place in Bologna Fair District, Italy from 15th – 19th March 2018. Head over to their official website, Facebook page or Instagram page to stay updated!

Keen to join? Get in touch with them at:

See you there! Or will I? 😉

 

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