COVID19 and the lockdown caused by it had some inevitable and drastic repercussions on the brick and mortar and the in-store sales; however online sales and e-commerce have already seen a business growth of 3%. The brands that have been able to ride the wave of this new and unexpected success are the brands that have been capable of finding new and innovative methods to virtually meet their pool of customers.

The survey led by BW Confidential (between March 19th & 24th) received a response by 375 different companies from the beauty industry which helped to shed a light on how this virus pandemic affected their business progress: though a big part of the companies that participated in this survey admitted they already have or will be forced to make some cuts, about 60% of these same companies asserted they are expecting a considerable financial rebound in the near future and 52% of them reveals to be ready for a slight business growth.

Algorithmic Perfumery is a retail project created to let their customers experience the process of making their own perfume, thanks to an automised mixing machinery system supported by artificial intelligence.

An article that steps into the various chapters of the life of Christophe Laudamiel, looking in particular at his studies and preparation that allowed him to become one of the most acclaimed perfumer of our time. In order to become a perfumer a good knowledge of chemistry, a good “nose”, a great passion and a lot of patience are essential…

Chemist and perfumer Christophe Laudamiel was, in March 2020, one of the founders of Global Chemosensory Researchers (GCCR), a body that gathers more than 400 scientists from 52 different countries, born with the aim to further the scientific knowledge around COVID19, the virus that has shaken the entire world’s population.

From the moment ageusia and anosmia have been officially recognised as symptoms of this virus or symptoms of other respiratory problems, the GCCR has created a survey (translated in 24 languages) with the hope to reach anyone who’s had or who suspects they might have had COVID19 or that simply suffered from loss of smell and taste in the past few months. All the collected data is expected to be extremely helpful in the near future in order to gain a better understanding of the virus, with the aim to find a vaccine.

A growing number of marketing campaigns that highlight the potential risks of beauty product heavily dependent on chemical agents, generated a growth in the demand of completely natural products, which consequently called for a packaging innovation. In fact the lack of various chemical elements means that the product will be visually (with change of color, phase separation, bad smell) subject to external agents like bacteria, UV rays and air. APG Packaging has stepped up to the challenge by developing a new packaging line for sierum and creams based on airless pumps that will improve by 15% a natural product life thanks to the use of an innovative non-pressurized chamber.

The European Commission has recently adopted a new Circular Economy Action Plan in order to secure a clear and strongly competitive market for Europe whilst maintaining high the focus on taking care of the environment and allowing new rights to the consumers.

Various actions are being implemented such as: making sure the production of sustainable products becomes a standard for the European market, creating products that are built to last longer, that are easy to be reused, recycled or repaired, and, whenever possible, made with recycled materials as opposed to raw materials; to guarantee more information and details about the product in order for the consumer to make a more informed and sustainable choice.