HBA GLOBAL EXPO—WHERE BEAUTY & BUSINESS MEET
The entire beauty industry gathered in New York for three days of content sharing, community building, and commerce when the 17th Annual HBA Global Expo took place September 15-17, 2009 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York. Attendance was up almost 5% with a strong increase in buyer attendees for the exhibits and for the first time cross-over registration with the Spa & Resort/Medical & Aesthetics Expo.
As the destination for beauty business innovation, HBA Global Expo was a wellspring of ideas and innovations. Audience and event highlights included:
Ÿ21% of the 16,266 HBA audience were buying teams from major brand manufacturers
Ÿ23% were first time attendees
Ÿ25% of the HBA audience visits no other industry event
Ÿ75% can approve purchases of products and services sourced at HBA
Ÿ55% have more than $500,000 to spend on products and services
“We can’t afford not to be at HBA, it is an important forum for us to platform all our capabilities and meet face-to-face with customers and new prospects” said Barry Freda, President, World Wide Packaging. “And this year we saw more decision makers from Estee Lauder, Coty, and Beiersdorf.“
For first time exhibitor, EKATO Corporation, a worldwide mixing company, “HBA was a great success. We saw a good mix of domestic and international visitors, with the largest group from Central and South America. Many company owners, presidents and CEOs from mid-size companies visited our booth and as a result we have generated several quotes and presentations for customer prospects,” said Victoria Denora.
Working closely with a wide-range of global entities including leading associations, analysts groups, media and advisory board members, HBA increased its promotional outreach and added several new show features that were clearly a major draw with buyers and attendees at the show. The exclusive invitation-only VIP Buyer Program and Lounge drew 300 top tier executives from companies as varied as Unilever, Kao Brands, Elizabeth Arden. L’Oreal, NARS, Zotos, CVS, Vitamin Shoppe, Johnson & Johnson, Shiseido, Estee Lauder, MAC Cosmetics, Coty, Avon, Benefits Cosmetics, Procter & Gamble, Limited Brands, Mally Beauty and Colgate Palmolive. Designed to be a respite for busy executives and their buying teams, the VIP Lounge was also conducive for more in-depth business at the show.
“As a first time attendee to the HBA I was really impressed. The show seemed well organized and well attended. I especially enjoyed the VIP Lounge which allowed me to have a couple of meetings with various suppliers which was beneficial,” said a sourcing director from Avon.
HBA started off on a high note with its largest Keynote audience since Leonard Lauder in 2002. Horst Rechelbacher CEO of Intelligent Nutrients and founder of Aveda spoke passionately about the naturals and organic market. He urged attendees to be authentic in their product development and bring truth to the consumer customer base.
Following his address, Lisa Price, founder of Carol’s Daughter, presented the first annual HBA Positively Beautiful Award to nine time Grammy Award winner and actress, Mary J. Blige. Upon accepting the award, Ms. Blige thanked Ms. Price for making her feel beautiful from the inside out. and said “I’m so honored to be receiving this award from HBA. Beauty is not about the physical; it’s about the light that you’ll reflect from within.”
As a first time activity during HBA, the Networking Roundtables were well received. They were held on the show floor and hosted by the Personal Care Products Council (PCPC) and Advisory Board members with attendees wanting more information on niche areas of business including regulations updates, safety testing, INCI as well as the power of Twitter, Facebook as well as mobile marketing.
A lively crowd of suppliers, brand manufacturers, media and designers celebrated the announcement of the HBA International Package Design Awards (IPDA) on Tuesday, September 15th on the HBA exhibit floor with the Lancome Lotus receiving the Grand Award. And the nearby Material Connexion Innovation Lounge attracted a wider group of designers in 2009, whose constituency continues to grow at HBA.
The re-designed HBA educational programming, with its strong faculty of speakers and powerful content has won raves from attendees. Post-show, the interest in the content and material presented at this year's HBA has never been stronger.
Every year the New Products Showcase and Beauty Innovations Lounge presented by Mintel keeps getting bigger and better. This year drew even more attendees for the analyst-led presentations and daily exotic beauty food samplings. Exhibitors showing new products included 3C inc., Alpha Packaging, American Chemical, Anisa International, Banana Packaging, Catalent Cosmetics, Clariant, IDC Integral Dermo Correction, Joon Skincare, Konica Minolta Sensing Americas, Lady Burd, O.Berk, P.L. Thomas, Qosmedix, San-Mar Laboratories, Silab, Tecnocosmesi Spa, World Wide Packaging, and Yupo.
"In a marketplace craving innovation and seeking information from across the globe, HBA Global Expo did not disappoint. For three days in New York, the entire product development community came together to collaborate, communicate and do business,” said Jill Birkett, Event Director, HBA Global Expo. “HBA offered unparalleled education, networking and professional growth opportunities as well as international suppliers from formula to finish, making it again a must attend event for the entire beauty and personal care product development community.”
Next year, HBA Global Expo will take place September 28-30, 2010 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York. In addition, HBA plans to host several educational webinars, association-sponsored events, and other activities for the beauty and personal care industry throughout the year. For more information go to www.hbaexpo.comor call 212-600-3033.
