Category Archives: Trends

04/08/2015 · 17:02

Brand Profile: CremeKampagne

I first came across Berlin-based organic skin and body care brand CremeKampagne last autumn when I visited Original Unverpackt supermarket in Kreuzberg. Original Unverpackt is Berlin’s first supermarket to sell groceries in bulk and without packaging – you bring your own containers or buy reusable packaging in the store.

I was at OU to write an article for Mintel (read the article here or check out this profile) and was walking around the store, checking out products and taking pics. OU sells a lot of regional labels and in their personal care section they carried a selection of skin and body care products from a small Berlin brand: the aforementioned CremeKampagne.

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15/06/2015 · 12:03

DMY International Design Festival Berlin 2015: [Show Report]

As expected, last weekend’s DMY International Design Festival was very interesting indeed. The organizers had selected a different location this year: DMY 2015 was held in Kraftwerk, an old power station which was originally built in the early 1960s. It was the first time I’d actually visited the Kraftwerk; I knew it only as a location for events, exhibitions and concerts and the building also hosts legendary techno music club Tresor.

We’re talking major industrial charm here, lots of towering concrete, pipes everywhere, slightly gothic and very atmospheric – a bit of a contrast to the soaring spaces of Tempelhof’s airport hangars from last year but still very effective. Made for some stunning photos! The festival featured five official sections this year – Showroom (for established designers and brands), Education (for design school and universities), Lab (for up-and-coming young talents), Berliner Zimmer (“Berlin Room”, a special area for Berlin-based designers) and DMY Store, a shopping area for design fans.

DMY intro (3)

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11/05/2015 · 15:47

Next Organic 2015: [Show Report]

Last Sunday, Next Organic 2015 took place in the terminal hall of Berlin’s now defunct Tempelhof airport. I’d been to last year’s trade show and loved it – read the 2014 blog article here – so I was very excited when 10th May finally rolled around! Although Next Organic is smaller than, for example, regional organic show BioOst it is also a great deal more exciting. Probably because Next Organic focuses strongly on culinary and food trends and has a much more local flavour.

Next Organic 2015 (20)

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03/04/2015 · 15:26

Beauty International 2015: [Show Report]

From 27th to 29th March 2015 I was in Düsseldorf, visiting Beauty International, Germany’s biggest trade show for the salon, spa and wellness industry. The professional beauty sector is strong over here and the big German salon brands – like Babor, Alessandro International, LCN, Klapp, Jean D’Arcel, Kryolan or Dr. Grandel – are very successful internationally.

2015 also marked the 30th anniversary for Beauty International. According to organizers Messe Düsseldorf, 51000 visitors from 60 countries attended the trade show and there were 1400 exhibitors in total. And since Beauty International traditionally takes place in conjunction with Top Hair International, the most important German show for the hair salon industry, and the Make Up Artist Design Show, Düsseldorf’s trade show centre was practically bursting at the seams with visitors.

Beauty International 2015 (18)

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15/11/2014 · 15:02

Retail notes from Hong Kong: [Show Report] Cosmoprof Asia 2014

I arrived in Hong Kong a few days ago to attend Cosmoprof Asia, the biggest and most important C&T trade show in the Asian region. This year’s Cosmoprof Asia took place from 12th to 14th November at Hong Kong’s Convention & Exhibition Center in Wan Chai. Click on the link below to read more on the show.

Kowloon (19)

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03/11/2014 · 08:02

Retail notes from Taipei: [Show Report] Asia Organic & LOHAS Expo 2014

I arrived in Taipei last week. A very cool city! On my first day I was walking past the Taipei International Exhibition Centre (I was actually on my way to meet a friend for coffee!) when I saw big posters advertising the 7th Asia Organic & LOHAS Expo from 31st October to 3rd November. I had come across the term LOHAS several times in Taiwanese stores and on product packaging – obviously organic and LOHAS is a lifestyle and/or marketing trend in Taiwan just as much as in other Western and Asian countries. I decided that I simply had to visit the Organic & LOHAS Expo – and it turned out to be a compact and interesting little show.

LOHAS show (12)
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Retail notes from Tokyo: [Store Profile] Organic beauty at Cosmekitchen

If you’re interested in organic cosmetics, a visit to Cosmekitchen (Mash Beauty Lab) is practically mandatory. It is Japan’s biggest organic beauty store chain: the first Cosmekitchen store opened in 2004 and the company currently operates 30 outlets across Japan. The majority of the stores are in the Kanto area on Honshu island.

Although the organic beauty market in Japan is growing constantly, I think it is still primarily an urban trend – I noticed that Cosmekitchen stores seem to be mostly located in larger cities. The retailer’s outlets are usually shop-in-shop areas that are based in department stores; in Tokyo, for example, five of the Cosmekitchens are situated in outlets of the Lumine department store chain.

Cosmekitchen Hikarie (1)

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29/10/2014 · 10:42
28/10/2014 · 00:31

Retail notes from Tokyo: [Store Profile] Retail at RanKingRanQueen

There is a Japanese store chain which is even more focused on the trend aspect of FMCG retail than @cosme. RanKingRanQueen sells cosmetics, confectionery, beverages and books strictly according to what the three top-sellers are in each category. There are four RanKingRanQueen stores in Japan; two in Tokyo, one in Yokohama and one store in Osaka.

The stores are located in busy train stations since this is where commuter traffic and especially the trend-driven younger consumers (the main target demographic of the store chain!) congregate. I visited the RanKingRanQueen store in Yokohama – it’s located in Azamino station (one of the stops on the Tokyu Den-en-toshi line from Shibuya) directly opposite the main ticket gates.

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24/10/2014 · 13:54

Retail notes from Tokyo: [Store Profile] Hansel & Gretel

On the list of my must-see stores in Tokyo was an intriguing-sounding shop in the Western parts of the city: Hansel & Gretel (yes, the store is indeed named after the Grimm Brothers’ famous fairy tale!) is located in the affluent suburb of Seijo.

Seijo area (2)

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23/10/2014 · 20:45

Retail notes from Tokyo: [Store Profile] Online/offline beauty @cosme

I was eager to see the stores of @cosme, a Japanese beauty chain with a retail concept that is strongly driven by social media network. The @cosme approach is an ingenious merger of online and offline retail.
[EDIT 30/01/2018: @cosme finally has an English-language version of the website! Check out: https://www.cosme.com/en; it’s just a part of @cosme’s huge Japanese language database but still, yay!
EDIT 24/01/2020: A couple of weeks ago @cosme opened a massive multi-storey outlet in Harajuku, opposite the Omotesando entrance of Harajuku JR station. This new store is stupendous – it makes all other @cosme outlets in Tokyo look boring and even dated; so if you’re in Harajuku or Omotesando area, do yourself a favour and visit it!]

@cosme is Japan’s largest cosmetics online store and it is also the country’s biggest virtual beauty community. The company’s websites are www.cosme.com and www.cosme.net so every Japanese Internet user who searches for anything to do with cosmetics ends up at @cosme sooner or later. @cosme’s main target group are consumers aged 16-25 which means that the website and its online community are hugely influential in the trend-driven teen and young adult consumer demographic in Japan.

@cosme’s very successful retail venture actually started with a simple review website: cosme.net was launched in 1999 and became popular very quickly. In 2001, the company behind @cosme (marketing agency iStyle), launched online store cosme.com. @cosme sells an extensive range of Japanese, Asian and Western mass market, masstige and premium brands. Whether you are looking for a Japanese face mask, a Korean eyelash lotion or Chanel’s latest whitening face serum, it is all available on @cosme.

@cosme (1)

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