18 JUL | Mission successfully held in Las Vegas

Barcelona, July 18, 2022. Beauty Cluster has organized a mission to the United States in the framework of the Global Cosmetics Cluster – Europe project, a European network with the aim of increasing international collaboration for commercial and research purposes, in order to boost the international growth of all cluster members. The mission was carried out together with other European clusters members of the GCC.eu network: France (Cosmetic Valley), Portugal (AEEB), Italy (Polo Tecnologico della Cosmesi), Romania (Transilvania Lifestyle Cluster) and Turkey (IKMIB).

European delegation of GCC.eu during the Mission to the United States

The mission held in Las Vegas and with a clear B2B focus, covered a period of 4 days in which the 16 participating entities and companies were able to participate in activities and events focused on our industry with the aim of learning more about the North American market in terms of trends, business models and innovations, in addition to strengthening the network of contacts in this country.

This mission was also framed in the celebration of one of the most important trade shows in the country for the beauty industry, Cosmoprof North America. During the first day, the participants were able to meet and talk in first person with the organizers of the event to know what they could find in this edition, the history of the event, what forecasts they have for future editions and what areas of interest they had organized this year. Afterwards, there was free time for each company to customize their visit according to their interests.

The European delegation at the meeting with the organization of Cosmoprof

During the event, companies had access to different training sessions on different topics. In the first one, a group of industry experts discussed the most common mistakes that brands make when they are in the process of looking for a contract manufacturing partner. In the next session we learned how the digitization of the supply chain through the centralization of data and the efficient use of resources can help companies to manage production forecasting and identify supply indicators for planning their strategy.

On the second day we were able to attend a conference focused on guiding organizations on how to better adapt to corporate and consumer shifts within the beauty industry, and beyond, to ensure success in the future. In addition, we attended another training on how to improve the sustainability of plastic packaging, a topic in high demand among U.S. companies at the regulatory level.

During the day, the European delegation had the opportunity to engage directly with two key players in this market.

On the one hand, with specific meetings with the governmental entity International Trade Administration to discuss the best strategies to access this market and what kind of services they can offer to companies.

On the other hand, and to end the day, the GCC.eu co-organized with the Independent Beauty Association a networking cocktail in which the European delegation could interact with members of this association to expand their network of contacts in the industry.

Cocktail Networking co-organized between IBA and GCC.eu

On the last day of the mission, members of the IBA team and board of directors offered us a guided Beauty Retail Tour through the Las Vegas Fashion Show Mall to learn about the business models currently present in this market by visiting stores such as the internationally known Sephora, to leading retailers in this market such as Bath & Body Works or MAC. Other stores visited included BITE’s Lip Lab and the beauty sections of department stores such as Saks 5th Avenue and Nieman Marcus.

Beauty Retail Tour

To conclude the mission, a cultural visit to Downtown Las Vegas was organized. This is the central business district and historic center of Las Vegas, Nevada. It is the original site of the city, and the Downtown gaming area was the main gambling district of Las Vegas prior to the Strip. As the urban core of the Las Vegas Valley, it features a variety of hotels and business skyscrapers, cultural centers, historic buildings and government institutions, as well as residential and commercial developments.

Initiatives of this nature are possible thanks to our local partners IBA, ITA and Cosmoprof North America and their invaluable collaboration in co-organizing the agenda and, of course, to the European project to support the internationalization of small and medium-sized companies in the cosmetics industry, in which the cluster is directly involved and which is co-financed by the COSME program of the European Union.