Beauty & Style | Sunday 7 June, 2015 8:39 pm |

Beautyworld Middle East 2015 has concluded its 20th anniversary celebrations on an all-time high in Dubai, as trade visitors to the three-day event fell just short of the 30,000 mark.

Organiser Messe Frankfurt Middle East reported a total of 29,973* visitors from more than 120 countries passed through the region’s largest trade fair for beauty, hair, fragrances, and wellbeing, a five per cent increase over the previous year.

The halls were buzzing with activity as influential buyers from the Gulf region, the wider Middle East and Africa, Iran, Asia and further afield from countries such as the Seychelles and Maldives experienced first-hand the latest beauty and wellness trends while discovering new and exciting opportunities for their businesses.

“It has been another fantastic week for Beautyworld Middle East, and we are delighted to sign-off the 20th anniversary edition in 2015 with a record number of trade visitors and exhibitors,” said Ahmed Pauwels, CEO of Messe Frankfurt Middle East.

“The beauty of the show’s location in Dubai is that the Emirate is a major import and re-export hub, and so any company that exhibits at Beautyworld Middle East exposes itself to not only the Middle East and Africa, but also India, and Asia, and they immediately have an audience of about two billion people.”

Added Pauwels: “Exhibition space also grew by 13.5 per cent this year, and with 1,450 exhibitors from 60 countries out in force, there were plenty of opportunities for buyers to meet new suppliers, view innovations, experience new products, and compare options.”

Beautyworld Middle East 2015 was held under the patronage of the Emirates Authority for Standardisation and Metrology (ESMA), the UAE governing body for nation-wide standardisation policies.

ESMA announced at the three-day event its new Halal mark and certification for beauty companies looking to tap into the Muslim population that require their products to be Shariah-compliant.

Meanwhile it was business as usual for long-time exhibitors and debut exhibitors alike, including British company HCT Group, which made the decision to exhibit at Beautyworld Middle East 2015 for the first time having visited the show in 2014.

The London-based cosmetics design and manufacturing company provides complete turkey solutions for private label owners, from concept to creation, logistics, formulation, engineering, manufacture, point of sale design, and brand launch strategy.

Neil Hayward, Business Development Director at HCT for the Middle East & Pacific region, said that buyers in the Middle East are increasingly looking at owning private-labels in popular regional consumer products such as fragrances and colour cosmetics.

“For us the Middle East is a fantastic opportunity,” said Hayward, whose company has an annual turnover of US$300 million, and designs and produces packaging for major global names such as MAC, L’Oréal, and Marc Jacobs.

“There are lot of people in the region that want to start their own labels in fragrances, cosmetics, nail polish, and so on. We had someone from Dubai wanting their own high-end label for premium cosmetics for tourists, while another buyer from Abu Dhabi chose one of our lip glosses, and we will certainly hear from her again.”

Hayward added the calibre of visitors to their stand at Beautyworld Middle East were up there with the best: “The enquiries that we’ve had at Beautyworld Middle East this year have been on par with other top European trade fairs,” said Hayward. “If we convert just a couple of leads, then it would be worth coming here.”

Beautyworld Middle East focuses on the five core areas of Cosmetics & Skincare (625 participating exhibitors in 2015), Hair, Nails & Salon Supplies (323 exhibitors), Machinery, Packaging & Raw Materials (227 exhibitors), Fragrances (170 exhibitors), and Professional Equipment & Spa (50 exhibitors).

It also featured 24 country pavilions headed by Italy (67 exhibitors), Germany (41 exhibitors), France (102 exhibitors), USA (26 exhibitors), UK (20 exhibitors), Spain (40 exhibitors), and Turkey, (99 exhibitors), while 25 per cent of exhibitors were based in the UAE.

German fragrance manufacturer Dullberg Konzentra has been exhibiting at Beautyworld Middle East for the past ten years, and as one of the first players in the Middle East market, continues to see big opportunities.

Guido Kaiser, Director of International Sales for Fragrances & essential Oils at Dullberg Konzentra, said: “The Middle East is still a growing market with big potential. The fragrance culture is different in the Middle East; the concentration of perfume in the end product is higher than in Europe or other countries which makes it interesting for us in terms of consumption and demand.”

“The other exciting thing about the Middle East is that perfumers can be really creative, because we have this mix of oriental culture with the influence of the so-called French perfumes, and they are growing together in a really creative process which is a great inspiration for perfumers and makes it fun to sell,” added Kaiser.

Beautyworld Middle East 2015 took place from 26-28 May at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre. The regional beauty industry’s annual showpiece event concluded as the Middle East and Africa (MEA) overtook Latin America as the world’s fastest growing beauty market this year.

According to analysts Euromonitor International, the retail value for the MEA’s beauty and personal care market was US$25.7 billion in 2014, while its estimated 4.8 per cent annual growth rate between 2014-2019 is almost twice the global average of 2.6 per cent.

Amid this backdrop, the double-digit growth of Beautyworld Middle East looks set to continue for many years ahead, as its inter-regional reach into new and emerging markets continues unabated.

“I first visited Beautyworld Middle East two years ago, and I returned this year to update my supplier-base of wellness products,” said Okey Ewurum, Chairman of Mentor Health Services, which owns and operates a chain of health and wellness retail stores in Nigeria.

“I was taken aback as to the variety on offer from renowned brands across the world while there were also a lot of new products that I’ve not come across yet. I will definitely return next year and will bring with me business colleagues that have cosmetics in their retail chain portfolios.”

Highlights of the 20th edition of Beautyworld Middle East included the dual launch of Centre Stage by Nazih Group, and an Organic and Natural Pavilion; while other features included Hair Education by ghd; Nail It! by OPI and Nazih Group; Fragrance Station; Face It! by Grimas ME; and the two-day Spa and Wellness Management Summit, which took place from 26-27 May.