Although attendance was down on last year's In-Cosmetics show in Milan, the majority of exhibitors and visitors said that they had been happy with the quality of the show and the contacts they made. The unaudited total number of visitors through the gates at Berlin stood at 3,040, compared to the 2004 show total of 3,705 visitors.
But Reed Exhibitions, the event organiser, was keen to stress the fact that an additional 2,034 revistis brought visit numbers up to 5,344, an 11 per cent increase compared to the last time the show was held in Germany, back in 2001.
Some 75 per cent of visitors came from outside of Germany, with Eastern European (9.4 per cent), Asian (7.4 per cent) and North Americans (6.0 per cent) making up the largest percentage of visitors outside of Western Europe.
"Compared to last year the show is much more international," said Cathy Laporte, Reed Exhibitions marketing manager. "Whereas the number of visitors from the European Union has decreased, the number of visitors from Eastern Europe, North America and Asia has grown considerably."
"In particular we have seen many visitors from both Russia and Poland, which was one of the reasons why we located the event in Berlin this year. Some 130 of the visitors were from Poland, many of whom just drove over, and equally for Russians it is still a relatively easy trip."
Likewise, in line with positive reports over the quality of visitors, Reed reported that some 70 per cent of those attending the show described themselves as being of management level or above.
Equally the diversity of exhibitors grown with Chinese ingredients suppliers increasing significantly in number. But many of the industry's biggest names were also flying their flag with Lonza, Dow Corning, Novozymes, Quest, National Starch and Eckhart all having prominent stands.
This year the growing trend for natural ingredients was clearly a winner, with many ingredients suppliers pushing naturally derived products. One of the most talked about was Essentially New Zealand, a small company which is pushing its Totarol ingredient for skin and oral care formulations. Such was the interest in this product that company director Reinhard Hueber said he had already made serious enquiries about booking his stand for the show in Barcelona next year.
This year's show also featured strongly on presentations, with companies opening a lid on a number of innovative products on subject as diverse as wet wipes ingredients to the testing of sunscreen products.
A series of Market presentations was also well received by visitors, with presentations about men's grooming and the growth of the natural and organic ingredients all proving popular. In particular a presentation given by Euromonitor's Claire Briney about global trends in the cosmetics and personal care industry was packed out.
With preperations now well underway for next year's event in Barclona, 4-6 April, the event organisors say they are hoping the fact that Spain is currently western Europe's fastest growing economy will help to fuel the success of the show.