Green beauty pioneers speakers gathered for Natural & Organic Products Europe

25-Apr-2018 - Last updated on 25-Apr-2018 at 11:07 GMT

The event’s speaker lineup this year included Vogue’s former beauty editor Anna-Marie Solowij, Millie Kendall MBE, Holland & Barrett, Soil Association, Weleda, Beauty Kitchen, Allergy UK, and Ecovia Intelligence.

Hot topics for the event included personalised beauty, male grooming, anti-ageing, indie brands, food in cosmetics, clean beauty, anti-allergy, skin microbiome, and ethical labelling.

“The show provides a unique opportunity for visiting retailers and buyers to gain extensive knowledge into untapped opportunities for growth in the thriving natural and organic beauty and skincare market,” said organisers.

It took place at the ExCeL centre in London, 22 - 23 April. Full details can be found here.

Two major panel discussions

The theatre hosted two key panel discussions, bringing together some key names in natural and organic beauty.

The first, taking place on opening day at 11.30am, highlighted how retailers can maximise the opportunities in the ‘male grooming’ category.

High profile speakers on the panel included Joanne Hill, owner of Amaranth; Stephen Bisse, business development director at LoveLula; Karleen San Jose, account director at CCD PR; and blogger and make-up artist Lou Dartford.

The second panel session, taking place on the second day at 11am, discussed the ever evolving ‘clean beauty’ trend and what it means for the industry.

The expert panel included: Lucy Pottinger, head of category for ethical beauty and aromatherapy at Holland & Barrett; Jayne Sterland, managing director of Weleda; Lauren Bartley, development manager of beauty and wellbeing at Soil Association; Helen Lynn, co-founder of CoolGreen and chair of Women’s Environmental Network; and Jo Chidley, founder of Beauty Kitchen.

The session was chaired by Beauty Kitchen’s Nicola Nolan.

Other features

Lauren Bartley from Soil Association Certification outlined the main findings of the Soil Association’s 2018 Organic Beauty & Wellbeing Report including predicted trends for 2018, on the show’s second day.

Published last month, the report reveals that sales of certified organic and natural beauty products increased by 24% in 2017.

“Natural & Organic Products is hugely important to the sector. It’s a very positive space and great to connect with and learn from like-minded businesses,” says Lauren Bartley.

“For our Organic Beauty & Wellbeing Market Report talk, I’d like attendees to walk away with an understanding of the consumer mindset for younger generations and the potential for organic beauty and wellbeing products.”