National Conference for the fragrance and cosmetics industry - October 2020
Cosmetic Valley looks ahead to the post-Covid future
The competitiveness cluster is the driving force behind the National Conference for the fragrance and cosmetics industry
“Responsibility, Agility, Solidarity and Innovation will be the watch words of a recovery which promises to be super-competitive, particularly with our Asian counterparts,” predicts Christophe Masson, CEO of Cosmetic Valley. With that in mind the cluster has called a national conference for the industry, aimed at forming a collective response to the challenges of the post-Covid world.
Coming as a major blow for businesses, particularly small and very small businesses, who make up 85% of the fragrance and cosmetics industry, the Covid-19 pandemic has triggered an unprecedented crisis for the economy of this key sector. This extraordinary situation demands a collective response, in order to rise to the challenge of an effective, sustainable recovery. The sector also needs to learn the lessons of this crisis, re-examining its models and practices and doing more to take into account essential priorities such as environmental impact, sanitary standards, CSR, short supply chains and sustainable development, and thus working to consolidate the “Made in France” brand.
As coordinator of the French fragrance and cosmetics industry, the cluster has launched a collective programme aiming to bring together all stakeholders in the national ecosystem, organising for the post-Covid recovery and reflecting upon the future of the sector. The National Conference is organised in partnership with local authorities, the French government, the European Commission, the FEBEA, the CNEP and the CNRS, and will take place in three main phases:
- 1st to 30th June: submission of topics and proposals by stakeholders from the sector: online consultations open to manufacturers, entrepreneurs, teachers, researchers;
- 1st July to 30th September: thematic workshops to develop the recovery strategy: rebound units at regional, national and European levels;
- 14th and 15th October 2020 in Paris, at the Carrousel du Louvre: meeting bringing together decision-makers in the industry, public officials and private partners, analysing the work done in the workshops and presenting a collective recovery strategy in a plenary session on 15th October.
ABOUT COSMETIC VALLEY
Founded in 1994, and recognised as an official “competitiveness cluster” in 2005, Cosmetic Valley is now the national coordinating body for the French fragrance and cosmetics industry, mandated by the government to coordinate France's actions in support of an economic sector which includes 3,200 businesses, of which 80% are small businesses or micro-companies, along with more than a hundred major brands, spanning all of the specialist functions which make up the cosmetics industry: ingredients, processes, packaging, testing, finished products, etc. Representing 45 billion euros in turnover and 246,000 jobs,* Cosmetic Valley embodies the new values of the French “brand” in the fragrance and cosmetics sector: innovation, performance, product safety and respect for the environment.
. * Source: Asteres report for the FEBEA, 2019.