Japan show a success against the odds

The theme was the “Next Step for Cosmetic Ingredients & Technology” and 260 companies exhibited their products, displaying an increase of 58 from the previous exhibition, and the number of the booths was 641 (an increase of 170). It has developed into a worldwide cosmetics exhibition, as is illustrated by 18 companies from six overseas countries participating. The exhibitors were not only manufacturers of raw cosmetic materials but also companies within the fragrance, packaging, equipment manufacturing, measurement, and cosmetic tool industries. In particular, the number of contract companies had increased. In Japan, electricity was in short supply due to damage caused by the earthquake and tsunami to the nuclear power plant. As a result, the organiser announced that some of the general lighting in the hallways and exhibition area would be darker than usual, the temperature of the air conditioning would be adjusted to a moderate level, and some of the escalators would be not operating.

The exhibition

For the first time, a keynote speech was given at CITE Japan 2011. Dr Son, who is a professor of China Association for Traditional Chinese Medicine, gave a lecture on “The present conditions of Chinese cosmetics and the raw materials regulations and future directions”. Globalisation is a theme that cannot be avoided by any company; and particularly, entering into the Chinese market is a big topic for the cosmetics industry in Japan. The exhibitor technology forum was held in three rooms in the Annex Hall on the second floor. There were 81 sessions each of 30 minutes, including nine English sessions (given by Clariant, Inolex Chemical (two subjects), Akzo Nobel, DSM Nutrition (two subjects), Dow Chemical, Thales/ Bossa Nova Technologies and Aqua Bio Technology ASA. The content of the exhibitions could be classified into four general groups: