SIPPO South Africa, Colombia, Peru and Tunisia supported BSOs at In-Cosmetics Global Trade Fair
Several BSOs from South Africa, Colombia, Peru and Tunisia were supported by SIPPO in their presence at In-Cosmetics Global Trade Fair in Barcelona, the important trade fair for the Natural Ingredients sector focusing on the cosmetics industry. For South Africa, it was the first official participation with 14 exhibiting companies, led by BSO the dtic.
The first official participation by South Africa at In-cosmetics Global trade fair, in Barcelona, Spain, with 14 exhibiting companies, led by the dtic, showcased the diversity of South African natural ingredients and its biodiversity at the leading global stage for the cosmetic ingredient sector. It also highlighted the entrepreneurial spirit of South African businesses and their high-quality products. Keen interest was shown by an impressive number of high quality and targeted buyers to the South African pavilion. The high demand for sustainable ingredients with great emphasis on upcycled products and impactful social and environmental aspects were emphasised during the numerous discussions.
Valuable contacts established
The South African BSO representatives from team South Africa, with the four BSOs the dtic, CECOSA, Wesgro and ECDC and SIPPO, as well as the businesspeople who participated at In-cosmetics Global trade fair, expressed their happiness with the progress made and the quality of the contacts established during the trade fair. The success of the trade fair participation follows a process implemented over many months through targeted preparation prior to the fair, which included preparatory workshops offered by the BSOs to the participants, resulting from the collaboration between SIPPO South Africa and the dtic. The exhibitors mentioned that they were better prepared and informed and also appreciated the “the team spirit” and support offered by the BSOs during the trade fair. A social media campaign was also undertaken by the BSO (the dtic), with guidance from SIPPO, to promote the South African participation at In-cosmetics.
During the three-day event, the BSOs were able to meet their objectives of expanding their knowledge in this sector and strengthening their networks through engagements with various organisations and associations in the cosmetic ingredient sector, as well as linkages with certifiers and importers. This included a mapping of the fair and competitor analysis facilitated by SIPPO.
SIPPO also facilitated valuable linkages with BSOs from other SIPPO partner countries. The South African BSOs were able to meet with CEPEX from Tunisia, PROMPERU from Peru and the Bogota Chamber of Commerce from Colombia, to strengthen their networks and exchange on learnings and best practices at the fair. The BSOs undertook to continue these discussions for potential future collaboration.
Successful work by SIPPO Tunisia
SIPPO Tunisia is supporting its partner CEPEX in developing a strategy to promote the export of natural ingredients to the cosmetics sector, which is a growing sector with great potential for local supply. Since In-Cosmetis 2022, but also during In-Cosmetics 2023, SIPPO Tunisia acted as a facilitator to connect CEPEX with buyers. The aim is to communicate about new and promising products, and to exchange ideas with key interntional players: because this creates an understanding of the overall picture of requirements in the cosmetic industry, international trade flows, market demand and measures to promote sustainable ingredients in the cosmetics industry. SIPPO Tunisia helps its its partners to define their offering, identify their Unique Value Proposition and create a country branding with the aim of attracting new buyers.
SIPPO Tunisia's collaboration with CEPEX in the cosmetic industry has had three notable effects: First, the development of a product portfolio in the Tunisian pavilion that was better tailored to buyers at the fair; then, the involvement of the Chamber of Commerce CCIT, SIPPO’s partner in the export promotion strategy in the cosmetic industry; and finally, the development of a new business relationship between a Tunisian exporter and a German importer. This involves a new product range as a result of a B2B matchmaking between CEPEX and this buyer organized by SIPPO last year. Institutional capacity development to promote local supply could thus be put into practice with the partner BSO.
Capacity development by SIPPO Colombia
SIPPO Colombia accompanied the first mission of the "Market Diversification and Product Suitability" program of the Bogota Chamber of Commerce to Incosmetics Barcelona 2023, strengthening capacity for better commercialization of natural products from Colombia, the second most biodiverse country in the world. SIPPO's support was aimed at: 1) Efficient preparation of the mission: selection and preparation of the 6 beneficiary companies for the mission: Carboquímica; Inverbeauty; Greenandina; Neyber; Pitother and Biofos Beiotechnology. 2) Study Tour that included visits to the global headquarters of the companies; Scentmate by Firmenich; Puig - Airparfum and Quadpack Group, together with the Beauty Cluster, the largest Spanish cluster of cosmetics, perfumes and personal care with more than 330 companies and 3000 professionals from the entire value chain. 3) Effective participation in the fair, supporting the commercial agendas, knowing the main trends in the natural ingredients market, visiting the different stands to compare products, prices, packaging, certifications, etc. 4) Follow-up on participation in the mission.
SIPPO Peru: Tools for market research and buyers’ identification
The objective of SIPPO Peru was to strengthen the expertise of PROMPERU professionals for participation in the trade fairs InCosmetics in Barcelona and Industrias Perú (a business roundtable organized by PROMPERU in Lima next June 2023). The know-how acquired at In-Cosmetics will become a benchmark for other trade promotion tools in the future. Thanks to the work of PROMPERU's Manufacturing Department and Trade Office in Spain, a group of Peruvian companies were able to meet with key players in the sector and learn about the latest trends in sustainability in the cosmetics and personal care industry. In collaboration with BSO Sierra y Selva Exportadora, they also presented the range of natural ingredients offered by organizations of Peruvian Amazon growers.
SIPPO Peru also supported the identification of market research tools and organized market orientations during the In-Cosmetics trade fair. A methodology was developed to identify potential buyers who could be invited to the Industria Peru trade fair, and requirements were defined so that other companies in the natural ingredients sector could be better characterized and evaluated.
Finally, the Peruvian delegation promoted a focus on sustainability, given that Peru considers itself the cradle of natural cosmetics. In this respect, Peru was able to count on the support of all the SIPPO delegations present at the fair and their BSOs. These activities were very useful because they strengthened cooperation and the exchange of knowledge between the SIPPO teams.