Canada is a well known hub for new and exciting startups and the cosmetic industry is no different. ​We had a quick chat with Chevon Riley,  the founder of NORM about his story and tips for success. 

We started our business out of the UofT startup incubator called "The Hub". I'm passionate about natural and organic products because my grandparents made products using natural ingredients and that became the NORM for me. Our customers have claimed that our Almond Balm has helped them manage their eczema and dry skin conditions as it leaves a non greasy finish when compared to other products on the market. Our biggest challenge is having a mentor in the cosmetic space. NORM​ offers a variety of products for different ethnic groups, ages, genders, and purposes. Our customers benefit from our transparency, and the knowledge that we stand for the same things they do: health, sustainability, and general kindness towards our planet and those that inhabit it. Our designs and packaging attempt to be as clear and as transparent as possible. Furthermore, our social platforms sustain our commercial objectives by providing a space to communicate openly about health- related issues and natural ingredients; this way we provide back stories about the ingredients we use. By keeping our formulas simple and not complex, we provide our customers with effective natural products at less cost than our direct competitors.

​My future plans for the business is to grow our company as the NORM for Canada. Find out more about Norm.

Join us at our first event of the year - We wanted to start the year off with a focus on innovation and trends. Explore the various new creations in ingredients, packaging, services, and marketing. 

The focus of the event will be on the following;
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• Beauty On A Budget
• Sustainability In 2023
• Health Is Wealth 
• Body Is Your Temple
• Fragrance Reimagined 
• Start-Up Stories

We will start the evening with a showcase of innovations. We will have some first-hand accounts of startups and their tips on the journey to success. Come and join us for an evening of networking and knowledge.
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We have enjoyed working on many different projects with all our partners from around the globe. This year marked another year of the ChemBox Project. The ChemBox was an opportunity to connect suppliers with product developers and provide ingredients to help further the development of new formulations.

 Another exciting project that we continued was to help companies to accelerate their business. This will be one of our main focuses in 2023. We have revamped the program which will allow companies a faster and more efficient way to get access to fast track a way to the cosmetic market.

 As always we are going to be having events throughout the year. Starting on January 31st, we are having our Cosmetic Innovation Night in Toronto. This will be an evening event that will focus on cosmetic innovations to help kick-start ideas for product development and branding. 

As in previous years, we will be attending the InCosmetics Global Show which will be held in Barcelona, Spain. This is always a fantastic opportunity for formulators and suppliers to learn about the industry. 

This year the Cosmetic 360 Show will be on October 18 19th cosmetic 360 show in Paris. This is part of Cosmetic Week which features our Global Cluster Day as well as our general assembly. We have another event in October that is quite new and we will share information in the coming weeks. This will be the sustainability and tech conference that we are organizing with some of our cluster partners. The focus of the evening will be on the sustainability aspects of the cosmetic industry and how the tech industry can help accelerate and provide solutions for some of the challenges that we face.

We hope you join us this year and we look forward to a wonderful year ahead. 
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​The beauty industry has grown to be worth 500 Billion USD. It is an industry full of opportunity but also full of competition. There are many companies that can benefit from the use of technology to further their business. Experience how the Metaverse is full of opportunities for the cosmetic industry. This webinar will be for Ingredients Suppliers, Packaging Companies and Beauty Brands. We will focus on how to incorporate digital strategies that incorporate AR (Augmented Reality), VR (Virtual Reality) and XR (Mixed Reality) which falls under the category of immersive technology for digital strategy. 

What the Webinar Will Cover 

I) Why does storytelling sell, especially in the beauty industry?
Definition of storytelling
Impact on the brain and the hormones
Examples specific to the beauty industry

II) Overview of the new technologies for digital strategy and storytelling
What is AR?
What is VR?
What is XR?
What is the Metaverse?

III) Examples of campaigns using these technologies and if applicable results obtained.

Webinar Download Available Below

The Canadian Cosmetic Cluster is excited to share that our partner, Re-Source is moving away from online courses to offer you educational & informative content on a subscription basis. You will have access to in-depth reports about sustainable beauty for marketing and product development with a monthly membership.​

Re-Source is on a mission to help beauty marketers make sense of sustainability, avoid greenwashing, and perform in the market with ingenious products and actions. They will cover topics on marketing claims, regulations, packaging and formulation innovations, recycling innovations, and more. More info here.
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​Their next reports will cover:

• consumers and the wording of sustainability (how to talk to consumers about sustainability)
• brand purpose and sustainability (what does it mean to be a sustainable beauty brand)
• refillable beauty (market figures, brands testimonials, market & product innovations)

Re-Source will initially release one in-depth report monthly, in addition to the content already available to members. We encourage you to explore their website and feel free to contact us or book a demo.
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Become speaker of the 5th edition of the scientific congress Cosm'Innov (The International Congress for Cosmetics Research) on 24 & 25 May 2023 in Orléans (France) 

Interested in cosmetic research? Industrials or Researchers, you wish to present your work in front of the international experts of the perfumery-cosmetic industry?  
  
Be an actor during the congress by becoming a speaker. To do so, submit an abstract of your oral communication before January 13, 2023 on 
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https://www.cosm-innov.com/registration/63219186b9023c378668c46f?force_new_registration=true 
 
Congress Introduction
  
The development of a cosmetic product, ever more efficient and effective, requires very high-level research in a variety of fields combining chemistry and physical chemistry, biology and dermatology, biotechnology, as well as neuroscience, humanities and social sciences, physics, mathematics, AI, etc. 

Cosm'Innov is the international congress to establish a state of play for cosmetics research, promoting recent scientific discoveries and linking them to the major challenges of the cosmetics industry. 

By bringing together public and private research players, it contributes to the development of partnerships and technology transfer to create the future of cosmetics.