On Tuesday 2 April, in-cosmetics Global unveiled the winners of its Innovation Zone Best Ingredient Awards 2019. The event was a celebration of the most cutting-edge personal care ingredients launched in the past six months.
Ingredients businesses large and small put forward their best innovations for contention for Gold, Silver and Bronze places across five categories: Best Active Ingredient; Best Functional Ingredient; Green Ingredient; MakeUp Bar Award and the Sensory Award.
Judged by some of the industry’s foremost experts, the awards are highly respected around the world and demonstrate the fantastic innovation that is on display at in-cosmetics Global.
A further Rising Star award was handed out for the first time to recognise a first-time exhibitor at in-cosmetics Global. Entrants were judged by the range of their offering, as well as innovation, commodity, how many sectors they can accommodate and how solutions orientated the product range was.
![]() Gattefosse team received the Gold Award for the Best Functional Ingredient | ![]() The Vytrus Biotech team received the Gold Award for the Best Active Ingredient |
This year’s winners
Rising Star Award: Vitalab
Best Functional Ingredient
Gold: Gattefossé – Emulium Illustro – distributed by Carst & Walker
Silver: Vantage Specialty Ingredients – InstaMask
Bronze: Clariant – CareMag D
Bronze: PolymerExpert – EMC30
Best Active Ingredient
Gold: Vytrus Biotech – OLEA VITAE PLF
Silver: Hallstar – LOOK Oléoactif – distributed by Millchem
Bronze: Givaudan Active Beauty – Darkenyl – distributed by The Care Co.
Green Ingredient
Gold: Vytrus Biotech – Sarcoslim Re-Shape PRCF
Silver: Lipotec Active Ingredients – LUMICEASE blue ingredient – distributed by Savannah
Silver: LABORATOIRES EXPANSCIENCE – SKINHAIRGIUM BIO
Bronze: Vitalab – NutriVita
Sensory Bar Award
Gold: Arkema – A sensorial journey with orgasol powders
Silver: Adeka Europe – NOL GT-730 & GT-930, Thixotropic memory gel
Bronze: Sumitomo Seika – Aqupec MG N4OR
MakeUp Bar Award
Gold: Daito Kasei Europe – 100% natural or innovative textures
Silver: Tagra – Cameleon Caps
Bronze: Sun Chemical – Intenza Glitter Effects – distributed by The Care Co.
Feedback from the winners
Winner of the inaugural Rising Star award, Gabriella Collenci, CEO at Vitalab, was delighted to be chosen. ‘It is fantastic to win this award – we are all incredibly excited! The team has worked very hard and we are very proud of this win,’ she said.
On winning Gold in the Best Functional Ingredient category, Paula Lennon, Group Director for Cosmetics at Gattefossé, said: ‘We are grateful for the collaborative approach taken by our R&D and formulation teams, which has made this award win possible. It took six years and a lot of talent and expertise and we are absolutely thrilled.’
Gold Best Active Ingredient category winner Dr Oscar Expósito, Co-Founder and CEO at Vytrus Biotech, said: ‘I can’t believe it – I’m completely speechless. We put passion into our products, we love what we do and a lot of research and many years have gone into OLEA VITAE PLF. We are a small company and so winning is incredible for us.’
A view from the top
Dr Andrea Mitarotonda, Independent Consultant for the industry and member of the awards judging panel, said: ‘This year’s entries brought unrivalled innovation to Paris with some incredible ingredients to choose between.
‘in-cosmetics Global is the event of the year for those in the personal care industry to see the newest creations before they hit the market, with many suppliers choosing to launch their latest products at the show. The Innovation Zone Best Ingredient Awards reward excellence, while it was a pleasure to bestow the first-ever Rising Star award to Vitalab. I am excited to see some of the incredible formulations that will be created by manufacturers using these products over the coming months.’