At Paris Packaging Week 2026, I will be moderating a panel discussion on the Circular Economy Stage titled “Dreams, Material Realities of Biomaterials vs. Traditional Plastics” (14:30–15:15), bringing together a cross-section of voices from materials innovation, packaging manufacturing, brand ESG leadership, and polymer science. The panel features Eva Lagarde, CEO and Founder of Re/sources; Helen Yang, CEO and Founder of Clement Packaging; Jamie Richards, Director of ESG at Bansk Beauty; Olivier Le Cour Grandmaison, Business Development Manager, Specialty Plastics at Eastman; and Philippe Michon, Co-Founder and Associate Director at Eranova Bioplastics. Together, we will examine the growing gap between sustainability narratives and material realities in packaging, with a focus on what is technically, economically, and systemically achievable today.
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The discussion will open by addressing the tension between storytelling and data, exploring how well-intentioned marketing narratives around “plastic-free” solutions can sometimes obscure scientific and industrial constraints. Panelists will share where misconceptions most often arise—particularly around performance, scalability, and environmental impact—and how the industry can align communication more closely with measurable outcomes and verified data. From there, the conversation will turn to the real potential of biobased and bio-feedstock materials, examining how close plant- and biomass-derived polymers are to true commercial scalability, and what technical, regulatory, and economic barriers must still be overcome before they can compete with established materials such as PET or PP in terms of cost, consistency, and supply reliability.

Your scientific and technological innovations play a vital role in shaping the future of the cosmetics and perfumery industry. THE COSMETIC VICTORIES, Cosmetic Valley’s flagship scientific competition, is now open to companies, start-ups, R&D teams, and industrial project leaders whose solutions contribute to transforming the sector toward more innovative and sustainable models. The competition is designed to identify, recognize, and showcase projects with strong scientific, technological, and industrial impact across the cosmetics value chain. For its 11th edition, THE COSMETIC VICTORIES places a particular focus on sustainability and the transition of processes, materials, and technologies.

In the global skincare industry, innovation has long focused on new ingredients—stronger actives, higher concentrations, and increasingly complex formulations. Yet despite these advances, the same structural challenges persist: poor skin penetration, unstable actives, and rising ingredient costs driven by over-formulation. A new generation of delivery technology is shifting that paradigm. Instead of reformulating the product, it re-engineers how actives reach the skin. At the forefront of this shift is NTP Research, an IP-driven Canadian R&D company developing nanofiber-based skin patch technologies for skincare brands and OEM manufacturers. By acting as an external R&D and scale-up partner, NTP Research enables brands to move beyond traditional creams and serums—offering innovation-ready products that dramatically reduce time, cost, and technical risk.

Beauty Builders Club is our new founder cohort created to bring cosmetic entrepreneurs together—and give you real, steady support while you build. After 10 years of working one-on-one with founders through the Canadian Cosmetic Cluster, we’ve seen the pattern over and over: running a product business can be exciting, but it can also be isolating. You’re making decisions across formulation, packaging, claims, cash flow, marketing, retail, and growth—often with no one in your day-to-day who truly understands the pressure. Beauty Builders Club is designed to change that: a small room of founders who “get it,” guided by the Cluster, with practical conversations that lead to action.
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This cohort runs January to April, with weekly 60-minute sessions throughout January, February, and March (12 sessions total), followed by an April wrap-up period for momentum and next steps. We keep the group intentionally small—only 10 founders per cohort—so everyone has space to participate, ask questions, and get meaningful input. Each week we tackle one key topic with clear takeaways you can apply immediately, and the side benefit is big: you build relationships with other founders that often turn into collaboration, referrals, and genuine support. We’re not here to compete—we’re here to build together.

As we look ahead to 2026, we’re excited to share our new Cluster motto: SEE — Services, Education, and Events.It’s simple, it’s memorable, and it reflects exactly what we do best: we support companies with real-world services, we teach what founders actually need to know, and we create events that connect people, ideas, and opportunities across the industry. Before we jump forward, we also want to acknowledge what it took to get here. 2025 was a big year—from Beauty by the Sea to supporting companies from the Atlantic to the Pacific, it has been a joy to meet founders coast to coast and watch Canadian innovation keep moving forward. At the same time, it hasn’t been easy. Postal strikes, shifting trade conditions, tariffs, and the general instability of the last few years have created real pressure for businesses. If you’re still standing at the end of this year, truly--give yourself a huge round of applause. You’ve earned it, and we’re here to keep working for you.

2026 is officially the Year of Active Beauty at the Canadian Cosmetic Cluster – and we’re lacing up, clipping in, and switching on all the red lights (therapy devices, that is). With major global sports events on the horizon – including the FIFA World Cup 2026 coming to North America – there has never been a better time to create products for athletes, weekend warriors, and everyone who lives in motion. Around the world, and especially in Canada, the line between sport, wellness, and beauty is disappearing. Canadians are spending more than ever on fitness, sports equipment, and personal care, with gyms, wellness products, and performance gear all seeing steady growth. At the same time, the beauty and personal care market in Canada is expanding rapidly, driven by multifuctional, health-linked products and a strong appetite for natural, sustainable, and high-performance brands.

Good Wares Sales & Distribution is a modern, women-owned Canadian distributor championing beauty, wellness, lifestyle, and home goods brands across the country. Based in Canada and serving national sales channels, Good Wares is built for founders who are ready to grow but don’t want to navigate the Canadian retail landscape alone. Their model goes beyond warehousing and shipping. Good Wares purchases inventory, manages logistics and fulfillment, and maintains relationships with key retailers, all while featuring brands on a curated B2B platform. This allows emerging and impact-driven brands to stay focused on product innovation and storytelling while Good Wares handles getting those products onto shelves and into customers’ hands. 

Athletic Stream Care is a France-based export and representation partner for sport, active beauty, wellness and performance-lifestyle brands. We help European companies enter and scale in North America—especially Canada—through market readiness, regulatory guidance, distributor/retail matchmaking, and high-impact trade missions and showcases. Alessia Orda, Founder of Athletic Stream Care, leads the company’s France operations and international partnerships. She focuses on building practical, revenue-oriented bridges between European innovators and Canadian distribution, helping brands move from interest to in-market traction.

Behind every company, there is a story. Ours starts with a deep passion for movement, health... and the human. Before creating this brand, I had the opportunity to accompany young athletes, especially in cycling and dance — two demanding disciplines, at the crossroads of performance and body expression. My background in medical education naturally led me to take an interest in the well-being of athletes as a whole. I quickly realized that their balance depends not only on training or technique, but also on everything around them: their comfort, their recovery, their mental state — and even what they wear. By being as close as possible to these young talents, I identified a real need: that of sportswear that is functional, comfortable and aesthetic, capable of following the rhythm of the body without constraining it. But also well-being products adapted to their active daily lives, to support their efforts and prevent exhaustion. In the course of my research, I discovered exceptional products created by French companies, combining innovation, quality requirements and local know-how. These brands, often little known outside the borders, deserved to be highlighted on an international scale. That's when the idea came to me: to introduce these French nuggets to other markets, especially sportsmen and women abroad. Canada quickly became an obvious choice. It was during this first contact that I met Margarita Sidorova, director of the Canadian Cosmetic Cluster, who was instrumental in the rest of the project. Not only did she help me conduct an in-depth study of the Canadian market, but she also drew my attention to the cultural, regulatory and commercial particularities of this market. Thanks to her, I was able to become aware of the adjustments necessary for a good integration of French products in Canada. She also presented me with the Canadian Cosmetic Cluster's charter of services, a structuring tool that allowed me to assess the extent to which the French offer was ready to meet the requirements of the Canadian market. This resource proved to be invaluable
throughout the construction of the project, allowing me to position my company as a real relay to support French manufacturers in adapting their products to the specific expectations of Canadian consumers.

On Saturday, November 15, the Canadian Cosmetic Cluster was proud to be on site at Lavelle in downtown Toronto to support the official launch of Merci Baby, the new beauty importer founded by Kash Atay. With a vision to spotlight cosmetic brands from the Middle East and other emerging global regions, Kash curated an intimate evening that brought together industry professionals, media, and beauty lovers. Against the backdrop of the Toronto skyline, Merci Baby introduced its first partner brand to invited guests: Bloom Dead Sea Life, a Jordanian skincare company that has been crafting mineral-rich Dead Sea products for more than 30 years.
Bloom Dead Sea Life, part of Bloom Dead Sea Gift Enterprise founded in 1993 in Jordan, specializes in natural health and beauty products based on Dead Sea mud, salts, and minerals, operating under the brand BLOOM Dead Sea Life. Guests at the Lavelle launch had the opportunity to discover mud masks, mineral soaps, body scrubs, and targeted hand and foot care while learning about the unique mineral composition of the Dead Sea—more than 25 naturally occurring minerals and trace elements known for their skin-conditioning and therapeutic benefits. 
For the Canadian Cosmetic Cluster, the event was an opportunity to do what it does best: connect. Throughout the evening, Cluster representatives met with Merci Baby, Bloom Dead Sea Life, and local beauty professionals to discuss distribution pathways, retail partnerships, and regulatory considerations for bringing Dead Sea–based products into the Canadian market. The Cluster helped contextualize Bloom’s offering within the broader Canadian skincare landscape, highlighting the growing interest in mineral-based, nature-derived formulations and the demand for authentic stories tied to place and tradition.

On September 23–24, 2025, the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) in Oban, Scotland, became the beating heart of a global conversation on seaweed. The two-day Beauty By The Sea symposium — hosted by the Canadian Cosmetic Cluster in collaboration with the UK Cosmetic Cluster (CCUK), SAMS Enterprise, the Pacific Seaweed Association, and the Canadian Seaweed Network — gathered 35 delegates from across Canada, the UK, and Europe to explore how marine innovation can shape the future of cosmetics, wellness, and sustainable industry.