12 • CosmeticNews Weekly No485/September 5 2011 • www.CosmeticNews.com

Looking ahead

SPOTLIGHT12-14 SEPTEMBER

BEYOND BEAUTY PARIS

Venue: Porte de Versailles

www.beyondbeautyparis.com

12-15 SEPTEMBER

NATURAL BEAUTY

SUMMIT EUROPE

Venue: Paris

www.naturalbeautysummit.com

18-19 SEPTEMBER

OLYMPIA BEAUTY

Venue: Olympia, London

Email: ian.archbold

@olympiabeauty.co.uk

www.olympiabeauty.co.uk

18-23 SEPTEMBER

TFWA WORLD EXHIBITION

Venue: Cannes, France

www.tfwa.com

Online registration is open

now for one of the industry’s

most prestigious upscale

events.

23 SEPTEMBER

THE EU COSMETICS

DIRECTIVE & THE NEW

COSMETIC REGULATIONS

Venue: London

Tel:+44 (0) 1483 730071

www.management-

forum.co.uk/pharmaceutical

24-26 SEPTEMBER

INTERCHARM MILANO

Venue: Halls 1, 2 & 4

Fieramilanocity, Italy

www.intercharm.it

6-7 OCTOBER

PACKAGING INNOVATION

Venue: Business Design

Centre, Islington, London

Tel: +44 (0) 20 8843 8804

Email: suzannah.leigh@

easyfairs.com

www.easyfairs.com

6-7 OCTOBER

NATURAL BEAUTY

SUMMIT AMERICA

Venue: Sheraton Hotel, NYC

www.naturalbeautysummit.com

19-21 OCTOBER

LUXEPACK MONACO

Venue: Monte Carlo

www.luxepack.com

19-21 OCTOBER

INTERNATIONAL

CENTIFOLIA CONGRESS

Venue: Grasse, France

Tel: +33 4 92 42 34 08

www.centifolia-grasse.net

31 OCTOBER-2

NOVEMBER

IFSCC 2011 CONFERENCE

Venue: Bangkok, Thailand

www.ifscc2011.com

2-4 NOVEMBER

IN-COSMETICS ASIA

Venue: Bangkok, Thailand

Tel: +44 20 8910 7873

www.in-cosmeticsasia.com

7-10 NOVEMBER

ISPA CONFERENCE & EXPO

Venue: Las Vegas, USA

Tel: +1 888 651 4772

www.experienceispa.com

7-9 NOVEMBER

PACKAGING SUMMIT

Venue: Atlanta, USA

Email: meetings@

packstrat.com

www.packstrat.com

9-11 NOVEMBER

COSMOPROF ASIA

Venue: Hong Kong, China

Tel: +852 2827 6211

www.cosmoprof-asia.com

Come & meet the CNW team!

15-16 NOVEMBER

SCS FORMULATE

Venue: Coventry, UK

www.scsformulate.co.uk

28-30 NOVEMBER

SUSTAINABLE COSMETICS

SUMMIT

Venue: Paris, France

Tel: +44 208 567 0788

www.sustainablecosmetics

summit.com

The days of finding sachets of nondescript cream hidden

away in the pages of glossy magazines are fast

disappearing. A new era of sampling has dawned, paving

the way for beauty companies to grow brand awareness, gain

valuable consumer insights and boost product sales.

A recent study conducted by Mintel involving over 1,800

participants saw one-third of respondents aged 16-24 admit to

being influenced by samples. A further four in 10 also counted

friends’ opinions as key to their purchasing decisions – a trend

that’s sure to continue with the advent of social media.

Mark Lockyer, md of Sampling Innovations UK, believes the

recession has also given the industry an unexpected boost.

“From a sampling point of view, the recession is a good thing.

It has a direct influence on sales even if market share is

shrinking, and in many cases, there’s been increased spending

on sampling by beauty brands. The difference is brands are

now more diligent in how they conduct sampling to create as

little wastage as possible.”

Not only are brands responding to recessionary pressures

by boosting sampling – but they’re also thinking outside the

box when it comes to reaching consumers. “Over the last 10-

15 years, sampling has become a more integral part of brands’

marketing budgets. From niche to global players, brands are

being more creative, such as looking to specialist events and

websites to engage their consumers,” said Lockyer.

One such website is Latest in Beauty, which was started up

in 2008 following the model of successful US sampling sites

such as Birchbox and GlossyBox. Offering both value for

money and the latest product samples, Latest In Beauty allows

members to order a box of three samples from just £1. Site

founder Nort Janssen told CNW the concept grew out of a goal

to match products with the right customer. “Every member on

the site has a profile, and they are given an opportunity to

order samples that are right for them.”

While there are obvious benefits for consumers, Janssen

conceded that it was more difficult to get brands on board: "In

the beginning, this was one of the hurdles. We now have a

feedback mechanism which gives brands a chance to ask

questions. Around 54 per cent of customers who order

samples come back to give feedback about the products, so

brands end up receiving some very targeted market research.”

But it’s not only brands that are thinking more creatively

about sampling – the format of samples has also evolved.

Premium samples such as fragrance miniatures are replacing

traditional magazine scent strips. New formats promising

faster calls-to-action have also emerged. Imagin, a credit card-

sized printed piece that allows one to two spritzes of fragrance

is proof that sampling has certainly upped its game.

Beatrix Hon, London

A new era of sampling?