Sales of cosmetic products are rising continuously. At the same time, it is becoming increasingly difficult for medium-sized manufacturers in Germany in particular to hold their own against the major competition. PolyNeo creates the conditions for greater competitiveness.
Despite an all in all weak economy, the cosmetics industry in Germany will continue to hold its own in 2023 with record national sales of more than EUR 21 billion, with renewed growth forecast for the coming year. Exports of German products are also developing positively to the same extent and will exceed 12 billion euros in 2023. Based on the number of members of the German Personal Care and Detergent Industry Association (IKW), which claims to represent 95% of members in the German market, this turnover is spread across around 460 companies. Despite this generally positive picture, especially when having in mind the overall economic development, manufacturers are facing growing challenges. Above all, this affects numerous contract manufacturers, whose task is to develop ideas, usually based on marketing aspects, and produce them ready for market.
Traditional patterns are losing significance.
Particularly in Germany, many companies in the cosmetics industry base their success on long-standing traditions and products developed many decades ago, which have given rise to brands that today help shape the reputation of entire corporations. At the same time, this principle of product-based success is increasingly reaching its limits. In the past, companies were able to retain customers in the long term and generate constant sales with special, carefully kept secret formulas, but the market has changed significantly in recent years. On the one hand, it is now almost impossible for manufacturers to keep recipes "secret" for long periods of time, while on the other hand, especially young consumers are much less aware of tradition and instead demand product properties, especially in terms of environmental friendliness, sustainability and health safety, which "old" recipes often no longer meet. In return, innovation and trend awareness are becoming increasingly important.
Existing know-how becomes increasingly worthless.
Where cosmetics companies can no longer rest on their laurels, research and development are becoming more and more important. At the same time, these are the areas to increasingly burden mainly medium-sized companies and making it difficult for them to enter the industry. In addition to costs incurred for the development of new products, the time factor is a difficult hurdle to overcome against the backdrop of ever faster changing trends in fashion and cosmetics.
Cosmetics companies today focus primarily on marketing and sales issues. Above all, small and medium-sized companies are increasingly dispensing with their own production facilities and instead commissioning highly specialized contract manufacturers. For their part, they are faced with the challenge of having to implement their clients' ideas as quickly as possible.
Functional blends accelerate product development.
On closer inspection, the number of ingredients in modern cosmetic products is limited. This provides the possibility for contract manufacturers to create new products based on prefabricated mixtures, for example in the form of emulsifiers, stabilizers or thickeners. On the one hand, this eliminates the need for development work and, on the other, significantly shortens the approval process for finished products, as their components already have their own approvals. Contract manufacturers and manufacturers with their own production facilities rely on suppliers such as PolyNeo GmbH from Frankfurt am Main. With raw materials and functional blends, PolyNeo offers a growing selection of components for common types of cosmetics and care products, based of which manufacturers can develop individual products with little effort. At the same time, PolyNeo takes on important tasks in trend management and supports manufacturers in the development of products based on recognizable and foreseeable consumer wishes and needs. With a diverse international network of raw material suppliers, producers and developers, PolyNeo is able to provide a growing portfolio that also covers trend topics such as sustainability, vegan cosmetics and neuro-cosmetics. As an exclusive partner of various international producers, PolyNeo guarantees a permanently reliable supply and can also realize a transparent cost structure for smaller purchase quantities.
"We monitor the current trends in cosmetics worldwide," explains Eduard Albrecht, Managing Director of PolyNeo GmbH. "Together with our partners, we are able to produce functional blends that also open up international prospects for smaller, local manufacturers."
One of PolyNeo GmbH's prominent partners is the Hamburg-based company Cosactive GmbH, founded in 2021 by Rainer Kröpke. In cooperation with PolyNeo, the renowned service provider for the cosmetics industry develops emulsions, stabilizers and other functional blends with, for example, moisturizing, antibacterial or antioxidant effects, which can contribute to the success of contract manufacturers and their clients as components of innovative cosmetic products.
