Formulators from some of the best-known brands in the global beauty industry will go head-to-head in the first ever in-cosmetics Formulation Challenge, taking place in the Formulation Lab at in-cosmetics North America on 7 September 2016 in New York City.
Global cosmetic manufacturers Johnson & Johnson, Unilever, Conair, Victoria’s Secret, Cosmetic Group USA and Dermolab Canada are among those taking part in the competition. Having created some of the best-selling personal care products of recent times, they will be tasked with developing a unique new beauty product in just 90 minutes, highlighting the importance of innovation in the personal care sector.
The teams, made up of four formulators or chemists and up to two marketing personnel, will receive an information sheet at the beginning of the competition and a mystery box of ingredients on the day. These will be supplied by Ashland, Chemyunion Quimica, Croda, Dow, Dr Straetmans, DSM Nutritional Products, Gattefossé, Grant Industries, Inolex, LipoTrue, Lonza, Lucas Meyer Cosmetics, Sederma and Sensient. Using these products alone, they will battle it out in the exhibition’s fully-equipped Formulation Lab on the show floor and will be required to come up with both a formula and accompanying marketing campaign to be in with a chance of winning.
Marcee D. Martinez, Principal Scientist, Skincare R&D at Johnson & Johnson, commented: “We are very excited to take part in the Formulation Challenge. Innovation is a huge part of our business and we are constantly striving to come up with new product formulations that meet our customers’ needs. The timescale will be the biggest obstacle on the day as in reality, it takes significantly longer to realise new formulation ideas. However, we will bring some our most skilled NPD team members and are confident that we can come up with a winning formula!”
Belinda Carli, Director of the Institute of Personal Care Science and one of the judges, added: “This is no easy task. The teams must display the precision of surgeons, the knowledge of chemists and the creativity of artists to prove they are the best of the best. We have secured participants from some of the most exciting brands in the industry, so we are sure they will deliver. We would like to thank all our suppliers for providing the ingredients for the challenge.”
Specialists from the Institute of Personal Care Science and Mintel will judge the formulation and marketing efforts of each team and the winner will be announced at the in-cosmetics North America Awards Ceremony on September 7 2016. In addition to taking home the Formulation Challenge Trophy, the successful company will also win a trip for four people to either in-cosmetics Latin America 2016 in São Paulo or in-cosmetics Global 2017 in London.
The Formulation Challenge will take place in the Formulation Lab at in-cosmetics North America, Pier 36 in New York City from 15:45-17:30 on 7 September 2016. For more information, visit http://www.in-cosmeticsnorthamerica.com/formulationchallenge
