Category Archives: Trends

12/15/2016 · 11:39

Retail notes from Taipei: Fasun [Brand Profile]

I first came across organic Taiwanese beauty brand Fasun a couple of years ago. The packaging is rather cute (also, there are not that many certified organic domestic C&T brands) and the INCI list looks interesting.

When I was in Taipei last month I finally had the opportunity to check out the brand more closely. I’m particularly interested in face care so I bought two products, a foaming facial wash and an intriguing-looking face mask. Click on the link below for more information and pics on Fasun.

fasun-5

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12/03/2016 · 12:07

CBM Magazine: Retail Focus articles from 2016 [Ainz & Tulpe, Olive Young, Belport, Parashop, Wahanda, Mankind et. al.]

Here are some of the Retail Focus articles I wrote for CBM Magazine in 2016. Retail Focus is a monthly article series of short company/brand/store profiles.

I often write about retailers or stores that I have come across on my travels – like Japanese drugstore chain Ainz & Tulpe, Korean perfumery retailer Belport, Korean drugstore chain Olive Young or French parapharmacy chain Parashop.

This year we also published articles on interesting online retailers, like Vegane Pflege from Germany, UK salon booking company Wahanda (Wahanda also owns the Treatwell and Salonmeister sites) and men’s grooming store Mankind.

Other retailers, like US drugstore chains Ulta or CVS, I’ve never actually visited but still managed to write in-depth company profiles about them (thank you, Internet!).

The copyright to these articles belongs to HPCi Media/cosmeticsbusiness.com.

Enjoy!

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11/24/2016 · 09:35

Retail notes from Hong Kong: [Show Report] Cosmoprof Asia 2016

Well, the 21st edition of Asia’s biggest beauty trade show has come and gone. Cosmoprof Asia 2016 took place from 15th to 18th November 2016.

This year, organisers UBM BolognaFiere had divided the trade show into two sections: Ingredients, Machinery/Equipment, Pack & OEM took place from 15th-17th November at AsiaWorld-Expo; Cosmetics & Toiletries, Salon Beauty, Hair & Nails was at Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre from 16th-18th November.

Since my focus is retail cosmetics I spent the entire trade show at HKCEC. And like Cosmoprof Asia 2014 and Cosmoprof Asia 2015, Cosmoprof Asia 2016 turned out to be a fabulous show: I discovered interesting new beauty brands and met up with many familiar faces – it was an exciting (and exhausting!) three days.

Click on the link below for some of my favourite brand discoveries!

cosmoprof-asia-2016-24

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11/14/2016 · 01:50

SPC Magazine: Germany C&T Profile 2016

And here is the PDF version of one of my favourite annual article assigments for SPC Magazine: the big Germany C&T Market Report 2016!

The C&T industry of Europe’s largest market economy condensed into 2500 words – which is no mean feat, let me assure you! The German personal care market is complex and interesting enough for a feature of three times the length. However, since SPC is a print magazine I had a word limit.

Still, I have done my best to include as much info as possible! Check out the article for a run-down of the most important product launches last year, for turnover figures and detailed market data, key trends in individual retail sectors, product categories and distribution channels, brand news, M&As and other stuff that happened in the German retail and beauty industry last year. Enjoy. The copyright belongs to HPCi Media.

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10/18/2016 · 09:23

Natural Cosmetics Conference 2016: [Show Report]

From 27th to 28th September 2016 the annual Naturkosmetikbranchenkongress (Natural Cosmetics Conference) took place here in Berlin.

This year, the conference focused on digitalization and its effect on the consumer: how the constantly growing connectivity is changing our society and altering consumer behavior and consumer expectations. The digital world is transforming existing retail structures, market dynamics and brand management, but it also creates exciting new opportunities for companies, brands and consumers. Excellent presentations, a great keynote speaker and interesting panelists and attendees made this one of my favourite Branchenkongress events so far.

Click on the link below for a review of the conference. Be warned though, this is one of my longer reports (I had my laptop with me so my notes are very detailed indeed)!

branchenkongress-2016_pics-2

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08/31/2016 · 09:20

Retail notes from Helsinki: [Store Profile] Ruohonjuuri

One of the retailers on my must-see list in Helsinki was organic supermarket chain Ruohonjuuri. Ruohonjuuri (the name translates as “grass roots”) is one of Finland’s organic food retail pioneers; their first store in Helsinki was opened in 1982. Today Ruohonjuuri has five stores in Helsinki and four outlets in other Finnish cities; they also operate an online store.

I had googled Ruohonjuuri prior to my trip and decided to visit their flagship store on Salomonkatu 5 in Helsinki’s Kamppii district: a very large and beautiful retail space, vis-à-vis from Kampii metro station. The store offers an extensive selection of fresh and dried organic foods, fruit and vegetables, frozen and chilled products and a spectacular organic beauty department, plus a treatment room where you can book a variety of face and beauty treatments.

Helsinki_Ruohonjuuri (28)

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08/22/2016 · 13:28

Osmodrama Festival Berlin [Event]: The art of olfactory storytelling

A few days ago I finally visited Osmodrama, a crowd-funded interdisciplinary art project which is currently taking place in cooperation with Berlin-based arts space Radialsystem V and the International Literary Festival. Osmodrama – illustrating/telling soundscapes with scent – is an new art form developed by Austrian multimedia artist Wolfgang Georgsdorf who is also the inventor of the world’s first electronic olfactory organ, the Smeller 2.0.

Osmodrama (33)

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08/12/2016 · 13:37

Company Profile: Coop Switzerland

A few months ago I researched and wrote a company profile on Swiss supermarket chain Coop for one of my magazine projects. In the end, we decided not to use the Coop piece; so here it is (updated and annotated!). Coop is an interesting retailer: like its competitor Migros, the company has very strong position in the Swiss food market – basically, there is Migros (market leader) and Coop and that’s pretty much it as far as supermarket chains are concerned. At least in German Switzerland.

During my article research I noticed how closely  Coop’s brand line-up reflects current food trends: over the past few years, the company has added a number of organic, regional and vegetarian own label brands. And this June, Coop signed a distribution agreement with Berlin-based vegan supermarket chain Veganz. Another interesting project is Coop’s new market place Siroop.ch, the first online store in Switzerland to offer products from local, regional and international manufacturers on one retail platform. For more information on Siroop, scroll down the article!

Zürich (23)

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07/22/2016 · 10:47

OWN: A special edition for Natural Products Asia 2016 trade show

The latest issue of Organic & Wellness News has just gone online: we have published an e-paper with Asia-specific content on the occasion of Natural Products 2016 trade show which will take place in Hong Kong this August. I contributed two articles: an interview with industry expert Mei Graefe on the cross-border e-commerce business in mainland China and an interview with Brenda Lee, founder of Hong Kong’s biggest organic perfumery chain Beyorg. Enjoy!

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07/13/2016 · 16:40

Retail notes from Szczecin: [Store Profile] Vegananda

A few days ago I spent the day in Szczecin (or “Stettin”,  as it is called in German), a city in Poland which is located very close to the country’s border with Germany. From Berlin, Stettin is an easy day trip (the direct train takes just 1 h 50 minutes!) so I like to visit every once in a while.

In this case I hadn’t been to Stettin for a couple of years so I used the opportunity to do some store checks (Rossmann, Douglas, Sephora, Hebe, Drogeria Natura, Dayli, Carrefour, Auchan), keeping an eye out for new beauty brands (organic and otherwise!) and also checking on the organic food situation while I was there.

On my recent trip to Budapest I had been surprised by the strong presence of Vegan and Paleo foods in the city (check out my store profile of Bio-Barát) so I was on the lookout for similar developments in Stettin. And I did find something interesting: Vegananda, a charming little Vegan store and café which was opened exactly a year ago.

Stettin, Vegananda (1)

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