There is appointment with beauty that cannot be missed: at Cosmoprof USA 2010, from 18^th to 20^th July at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas. Participation in the show, for which the Italian Trade Commission, together with the trade association, Unipro, will coordinate a collective of the best Italian companies, is aimed at improving performance in a market that is very particular.

The cosmetic sector in the USA, which is large, competitive and also sophisticated, is 85% monopolised by local companies, which produce and distribute their own products, with 10% absorbed by French products and the remaining 5% in the hands of other countries. Data from 2009 released by the US Department of Commerce shows that Italian cosmetic imports accounted for 364 million dollars and that Italy is in sixth place among suppliers to the United States, behind Mexico, China, Canada, France and Ireland.

The Italian products that are most preferred are without doubt perfumes, followed by hair beauty products, and new important business opportunities can be created precisely by starting from the positive performance of these two micro-sectors. The trade fair, which covers a substantial number of different products, is also the ideal setting for a correct approach to the market. American companies do not normally show particular interest in bilateral meetings outside of these occasions, due in part to the distribution practices that regulate the system.

The Italian companies are therefore well aware of the opportunity offered them through participation in the Cosmoprof 2010 fair, because the USA is a strategic market due to its size, its central role in the world economy and its capacity to drive trends. They will therefore be trying to showcase their best products inside the pavilions of the prestigious Mandalay Bay Convention Center. These will include delicate, dermatologically tested body creams with light fragrances for sensitive skins and latest generation collagen-based cosmetic products for older skins. There will also be the latest perfumes created in the laboratories of the most important designer labels and hair care products of the highest quality, from special shampoos for treated hair or dandruff to nutritional and soothing masks.

The 2009 edition of the Cosmoprof fair involved the participation of 625 exhibitors, arranged over a large area (16,000 m²): this year the organisers hope to repeat this success and do even better. Some are convinced that the lion's share will be contested among hair cosmetics, a mixed blessing for the representatives of hairdressing salons from the west and south-west coast of the USA, Mexico, South America and the Caribbean. Attention should also be paid to accessories, which can make the difference between a bland outfit and one which is right on the mark.