Fair to boost Nigeria’s share of $34.5b beauty, personal care sector

Industry Stakeholders in Nigeria and Middle East have expressed optimism on the outlook of the beauty industry in the country, stressing that the next edition of the industry’s trade fair will boost the sector’s contribution to Gross Domestic Product.

Speaking at a roadshow in Lagos organised to highlight the opportunities of the 23rd beautyworld fair, which is expected to host industry players in Dubai in May next year, experts including Director, Registration and Regulatory Affairs , NAFDAC, Dr. Monica Eimunjeze, Regional Brand Development Manager, Messe Frankfurt Middle East, Abdelrahman Kurdieh and others tasked Nigerians to take advantage of the fair to speed up growth in the sector.

Eimunjeze, who said the country boasts of opportunities in Beauty products, especially with abundance of raw materials, noted that the right platform was critical to help the sector contribute meaningfully to GDP.

She noted that a number of small and medium scale enterprises in the sector have been in the industry, adding that the agency was committed to addressing players challenges.

Noting that the region’s Beauty & Personal Care sales are expected to reach $34.5 billion by 2021, up from US$30 billion in 2016, Kurdieh said Middle East and Africa (MEA) would be the driving force behind the future of the global industry.

According to him, the fair, scheduled to hold between May 8 – 10, 2018 at Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Center hosted about 1,568 exhibitors in 2017 and had 41,898 visitors.

While stressing the need for Africans to attend the event as exhibitors, Kurdieh said: “Visitors from the African continent continue to progress with a growth of over 300 per cent since 2014. In 2017, they represent five per cent of our total visitors. “

He stated that the exhibition would showcase six basic product group, which include hair, nails and salon supplies, cosmetics and skincare, machinery, packaging and raw materials, personal care and hygiene, fragrance compounds and finished fragrance as well as natural & organic.

He added that the company has also introduced a business matchmaking programme to facilitate business connections between exhibitors and visitors.

“The business matchmaking programme is a vital tool for exhibitors and visitors pre-show, which allows them to efficiently set their meeting agendas for maximum benefit – it’s about meeting the right people in the right place at the right time, “ Kurdieh said.