27 APR | The world’s first network of cosmetics is born

Barcelona, April 27, 2021. Cosmetics and perfumery clusters and associations have come together to officially launch Global Cosmetics Cluster, a network representing the entire value chain of the global beauty industry. This new global association includes entities from across the entire cosmetics, perfumery and personal care value chain. From companies involved in ingredient extraction to distribution, formulation, manufacturing and packaging, universities and technology centers.

Global Cosmetics Cluster will be the gateway to SME internationalization, cluster collaboration and an international benchmark for cosmetics expertise. It consists of 15 founding members representing more than 3,700 companies worldwide.

  • Cosmetic Valley – Francia
  • Beauty Cluster – España
  • Canadian Cosmetics Cluster – Canadà
  • Associaçao Empresarial de Beira Baixa (AEBB) – Portugal
  • Beautéville – China
  • Cluster Menara – Morocco
  • Corporación Biointropic – Colombia
  • Detic – Bélgica/Luxemburgo
  • Cosmetics Cluster UK – Reino Unido
  • International Beauty Industry Trade Association (IBITA) – Corea del Sur
  • Independent Beauty Association (IBA) – Estados Unidos
  • Innov’Alliance – Francia
  • Japan Cosmetics Center – Japón
  • Taiwan Beauty Valley – Taiwan
  • Thailand Center of Excellence for Life Sciences (TCELS) – Tailandia

The board is led by Cosmetic Valley (France) as president, Beauty Cluster (Spain) as treasurer and Canadian Cosmetics Cluster as secretary.

The purpose of the new meta-cluster is to increase international collaboration for commercial and research purposes by creating opportunities and thus helping its members to grow. “It is a great responsibility and a great honor to be part of this new entity born to lead the sector internationally,” declares Ivan Borrego, director of Beauty Cluster and board member of the Global Cosmetics Cluster.

Spain has an important role to play in this new association because “we are the second largest exporter of perfumery and the fourth largest in cosmetics, a purely exporting country with a trade balance that shows a positive balance every year,” confirms Ivan Borrego.

The initiative originated in 2016, when the associations involved began a cycle of annual meetings in Paris as part of the Cosmetics 360 trade show. In 2019, its members decided to go a step further and form a board and working committees and become an official organization. Already in 2020, a new branch, Global Cosmetics Cluster-Europe, was formed with the support of the COSME Program of the European Commission, and in April 2021 it has finally seen the light of day as a cluster with global reach.

The Beauty Cluster leads the Spanish industry’s presence in this new network, in addition to directing the admissions committee and managing the accession of new associations. It is expected that a dozen new countries will join before the end of 2021, representing key markets in the cosmetics sector.