LAUNCH OF THE EUROPEAN GO4COSMETICS PLATFORM

Europe

In order to strengthen the competitiveness of European cosmetics companies and increase their presence in strategic foreign markets, Cosmetic Valley, the Centre-Val de Loire Region and its economic development agency DEV’UP Centre-Val de Loire - with the support of the European Commission, and in conjunction with the Lombardy Region, the Reindustria Innovazione (REI) development agency, Polo della Cosmesi and Cosmetica Italia, the cosmetics clusters of Lombardy - have created a European network called Go4Cosmetics.

Focused on capitalizing on the value chain of the sector, this platform will generate new interactions between European players in the cosmetics industry, but also promote investments and new research and development projects.

The official launch of Go4Cosmetics took place at the end of the Perfumery and Cosmetics Industry Summit held in Paris on October 12th.

Strengthening the leadership of the European cosmetics industry

To enable the European cosmetics ecosystem to consolidate its position as a global leader in this highly competitive market, The Centre-Val de Loire Region and the Lombardy Region are leading the creation of a European cosmetics network. awarded the label in June 2021 by the European Commission, within the framework of the smart specialisation platform for industrial modernisation (S3)This network, named Go4Cosmetics, will be implemented and coordinated by Cosmetic Valley, DEV’UP Centre-Val de Loire, REI – Reindustria Innovazione, Cosmetica Italia and Polo Della Cosmesi.

Five other territories have joined the movement:Catalonia (Spain), the Central region (Portugal), the Northwest (Romania), Olomouc (Czech Republic) and Sardinia (Italy).

This cooperation represents a new strategic step for the ecosystem players already united within the European cluster Global Cosmetics Cluster – Europe*. Indeed, the Go4Cosmetics platform is based on taking into account the entire value chain present in Europe – from suppliers to consumers, including research – to to create new collaborations, both in terms of investments, innovation and sharing of experience, while reviewing the latest results of scientific research.

It will also be a way to promote the interests of the cosmetics industry to European institutions and to highlight public policies related to the digital and ecological transition.

Three priorities identified to support cosmetics companies

Thus, Go4Cosmetics will promote the development of the entire cosmetic value chain through a transregional approach and the involvement of all relevant stakeholders.

The partnership will play a central role in identifying and linking complementary expertise to create new solutions and business models to strengthen the competitiveness of the cosmetics sector, stimulate its sustainable growth and accelerate the transition.

The partners have thus defined three priorities:

The digital transition: by supporting industrial modernization projects to make the cosmetics industry stronger and more agile, in conjunction with other support mechanisms such as the EDIH (European Digital Innovation Hub) project, the European Digital Strategy or the Recovery Plan program.
The ecological transition: by supporting initiatives related to the circular economy, waste management and the implementation of the objectives of the European Green Deal and the Recovery Plan.
Information for consumers and citizens: by promoting the strengths of the territories and the attractiveness of the cosmetics industry, by informing consumers about the values and know-how of the sector while developing wellness tourism.

By capitalizing on the potential of the European cosmetics ecosystem, the Go4Cosmetics platform will facilitate and expand investment capacity in the field of innovation, enabling companies to optimize resources and save moneyTaking into account the environmental and digital transitions will allow all actors in the chain to gain competitiveness and establish sustainable growth.

Official launch at the Cosmetic 360 international trade fair

The official launch of the Go4Cosmetics platform took place on Thursday, October 14, 2021, during the The perfume and cosmetics industry summit, scheduled in parallel with the Cosmetic 360 trade show organized by Cosmetic Valley, at the Carrousel du Louvre, in Paris. The initiative was presented to industry stakeholders during the round table "The European Strategy for Innovation and the Internationalization of Businesses," which included François Bonneau, President of the Centre-Val de Loire Region, of DEV’UP Centre-Val de Loire and Vice-President of Regions of France; Anne Besnier, Vice-President for Higher Education, Research and Innovation of the Centre-Val de Loire Region; Fabrizio Sala, Minister of Education, Higher Education, Research and Innovation of the Lombardy Region; Christophe Masson, CEO of Cosmetic Valley; Renato Ancorotti, President of Cosmetica Italia and Matteo Moretti, President of Polo Cosmesi.

On this occasion, the two lead regions formalized their coordination and collaboration by signing a memorandum of understanding. The organizing committee met the following day, Friday, October 15, to define the implementation procedures and action plan for this new structure.

*Coordinated by Cosmetic Valley, GCC.EU brings together six European cosmetics clusters and benefits from the support of the COSME program. This European Commission initiative funds actions directly carried out by the clusters to support the internationalization of their SMEs and facilitate their access to new markets.

The acceleration program dedicated to cosmetic SMEs runs for 24 months until the end of August 2022. It includes four components: market knowledge; skills development (training on internationalization and awareness, coaching, etc.); business development and partnership (marketplace, benchmarking missions and BtoB events); financing opportunities.