In April, I had the opportunity to attend In-Cosmetics Global in Amsterdam - one of the world’s premier trade shows for personal care ingredients. With over 1,200 exhibitors from across the globe, it was an inspiring and informative event that gave us valuable insights into where the personal care industry is heading and how Westpro’s BioactiveMax ingredients might play a part. 

Our key focus was exploring new opportunities for our lactoferrin - particularly in skincare, oral care, supplements, and women’s health. Lactoferrin is a natural glycoprotein found in milk with well-documented antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and iron-binding properties, making it a promising candidate for a range of functional health and beauty applications. 

Industry trends that caught our attention

Here are some of the dominant trends we observed across the show floor: 

1. Clean and Clinical 
There’s a growing demand for safe, effective ingredients backed by robust science. Many brands are now investing in lab-based research, safety studies, and claim substantiation - complete with advanced imagery and clinical data. It’s clear that efficacy, traceability, and transparency are driving purchasing decisions. 

2. Ingestible Suncare 
One of the more exciting innovations was UV protection from the inside out - a new category of supplements aimed at supporting skin resilience and protection through ingestible formulations. 

3. Plant-Derived and Vegan 
Botanicals and vegan formulations are becoming the standard, not the exception. We saw a shift toward plant-based actives and cruelty-free testing methods being adopted more widely across all product categories. 

4. Sustainability Front and Centre 
Sustainability isn’t a nice-to-have - it’s an expectation. Many companies were proudly displaying their environmental certifications such as Ecovadis, SMETA, ISO standards, and more. There was strong interest in upcycled ingredients, biotech solutions, and full life-cycle assessments. 

5. Waterless Skincare 
An emerging format that sparked interest was waterless skincare - including solid tablets that transform into full skincare products with just a splash of water. It’s a space with exciting potential, especially for reducing packaging and transport emissions. 

Opportunities for Westpro 

Throughout the show, we connected with several companies who are already working with or interested in lactoferrin - particularly in areas like female health, anti-acne and wound-healing skincare, and oral hygiene using the lactoperoxidase system. These conversations reaffirmed the relevance of our bioactive portfolio in today’s personal care market and opened some promising new leads for future collaboration. 

I left Amsterdam energised and full of ideas - not just for how we can better position lactoferrin in personal care, but also for where our innovation and product development efforts could go next. Watch this space.