
US singing sensation Ariana Grande launches second fragrance
Ariana Grande, US singer, has announced the launch of her second fragrance, named Frankie after her brother. A limited edition fragrance, the scent is said to be gender neutral and has notes of pink pepper, apricot, wild orchid, cedarwood and musk. Priced at $49 for...

Sephora gives female entrepreneurs a boost with mentoring programme
US retail giant Sephora has launched Sephora Accelerate, which is set to give female entrepreneurs a lift and provide them with a mentoring programme in order to help them kick-start a successful career. As part of Sephora’s social impact agenda, the programme is...

AkzoNobel cements position following Eko Peroxide buy out
Netherlands-based AkzoNobel has acquired full ownership of Eko Peroxide after acquiring the outstanding shares of the company from joint venture partner OCI Peroxygens LLC. The company has strengthened its position in the North American market with the buyout, of...

Ashley Tisdale teams up with bh cosmetics to launch make-up line
First came Salma Hayek and CVS, then came Gwyneth Paltrow and Juice Beauty, now celebrity Ashley Tisdale has announced the debut of a new make-up line, Illuminate by Ashley. Step back celebrity fragrance; it looks like 2016 will be the year of the celebrity cosmetics....

Millennials sign up in droves to become Mary Kay consultants
Nearly half of Mary Kay’s new US recruits in 2015 were aged between 18 and 34, according to the company. “Our unparalleled business opportunity appeals to a wide range of ages and backgrounds, and Millennials bring a unique set of talents and expectations,” said Sara...

Shiseido USA promotes new Snapchat account with blogger takeover
Shiseido USA has joined social networking site Snapchat. The Japanese cosmetics brand hosted popular blogger Jen Chae, owner of From Head to Toe, on January 14 to drive traffic to its new account. Chae’s takeover was themed with the hashtag #DayWithJenChae, and...

Revlon owner sends shares sky-high as he considers ‘strategic alternatives’ for the business
Revlon’s shares experienced their steepest one-day rise in almost three years as billionaire owner Ron Perelman announced he was considering ‘strategic alternatives’ for the cosmetics company, according to a report published by Bloomberg Business. Perelman, who owns a...

Unilever updates Axe deodorant marketing campaign to promote male individuality
Unilever is aiming to expand the reach of its Axe (Lynx) deodorant brand past the younger generation previously targeted with its advertising campaigns and focus on an older consumer based on the theory that individuality is attractive. Riding high on the success of...

Walgreens continues to roll out Boots products in US stores
US retail giant Walgreen has announced plans to continue rolling out UK-made Boots products in more of its North America stores, beginning this summer. The move comes following the merger of the two companies to form Walgreens Boots Alliance and will focus on the...

Green Gorilla announces first web presence alongside launch of new hemp-based range
Hemp and cannabis-based consumer products retailer Green Gorilla has announced the launch of its first website www.ilovegreengorilla.com, which coincides with the launch of its new Hemp & Olive line of cannabiol-infused products such as cosmetics. The website...

Dolce & Gabbana fails to make cut off period in Coty transfer
Ten out of the possible 12 fragrance brands are set to transfer from Proctor & Gamble licenses to Coty in the transfer set to take place in the latter half of 2016, however, Dolce & Gabbana and Christina Aguilera will not be joining their stablemates. Coty has...

Evonik eyes US for potential acquisition target
Chemicals maker Evonik Industries AG is said to be looking to the US for a potential acquisition after struggling to find a suitable asset to purchase in Europe. According to Bloomburg,com, the company is running out of time to make an acquisition following Chief...

Juice Beauty teams up with Gwyneth Paltrow to launch clean living make-up line
Entrepreneur and owner of organic skin care line Juice Beauty, Karen Behnke, has partnered with actress Gwyneth Paltrow to create a line of high-performance, certified organic make-up. Paltrow is said to have been heavily involved in product development, from...

Lord & Taylor to host charity day for Look Good Feel Better
The US’ oldest department store Lord & Taylor is set to host its first Charity Day in 2016 this weekend, in aid of Look Good Feel Better. All 50 of Lord & Taylor’s stores will participate in the all-day shopping event, themed around a ‘new year, new you’...

Henkel launches Schwarzkopf ULTÎME onto Canadian retail market
Henkel Canada has announced the launch of two salon-inspired premium hair care lines under the Schwarzkopf banner onto the Canadian retail scene. The lines include products for color, care and style and include the hair care brand developed with Claudia Schiffer,...

Duty Free Americas vs Lauder: Case closed as DFA declines to appeal
The legal battle between Duty Free Americas (DFA) and Estée Lauder Companies (ELC) has come to an end as the former decided not to appeal against a US Court of Appeals ruling in Lauder’s favour, according to an article published by The Moodie Report. The retailer sued...

Target to launch own nail care range
US drug store Target is expanding into the nail care market with the launch of its own label nail color collection Defy & Inspire. The first to be launched under its own brand name, the collection is hoped to further boost the company’s two main categories;...

FlashPatch LipGels launches into lip care market
Patchology has launched its latest solution to targeted and effective skincare; the FlashPatch LipGels. Following up on the launch of the FlashPatch Eye Gels last year, the new lip care solution use antioxidant-rich ingredients and potent peptides in order to diminish...

L’Oréal USA announces acquisition of Raylon Corporation
L’Oréal USA has announced that it has agreed to acquire key assets from Raylon Corporation, a wholesale distributor based in Pennsylvania. The acquisition will expand L’Oréal’s distribution unit, SalonCentric – created in 2008 – granting greater coverage in...

Salma Hayek to replace entire color cosmetics line with new improved formulations
Salma Hayek is set to replace the color cosmetics segment of her Nuance brand with 37 new products, due to be rolled out to some 5,000 CVS pharmacies in March, according to a report published in Women’s Wear Daily (WWD). The new line-up includes eye shadows, a cream...

Mary Kay reaches patent milestone as tally reaches 1,200
Having registered 130 patents in 2015, Mary Kay has set a company milestone with more than 1,200 patents for products, technologies and packaging designs in its global portfolio. “Mary Kay’s patents play a key role in keeping our products competitive and protecting...

Less is more: P&G culls a sixth of Olay line
In a bid to refocus the brand on anti-aging alone, Procter & Gamble has discontinued several products from its Olay range, bringing the new product count to approximately 120 – in total eliminating a sixth of all products, according to a report published in The...

Is Ulta Salon Amazon-proof? The WSJ says yes
US specialty cosmetics store Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance has been named as one of the few bricks and mortar retailers that is ‘Amazon-proof’ by The Wall Street Journal. According to the author, few traditional retailers can compete with Amazon’s dominance –...

Colgate to shine spotlight on sustainability agenda at Super Bowl
Colgate is set to debut as a Super Bowl advertiser during February’s big game, with a commercial designed to rebrand the toothpaste manufacturer as a champion of sustainability. The oral care brand’s 30 second spot is entitled Save Water and urges consumers to turn...

US grocery chain Wegmans bans cosmetics containing microbeads from its shelves
US grocery chain Wegmans is set to remove a wide range of cosmetic products containing microbeads from its shelves in February. The ban is in line with new legislation due to come into effect in Erie County, NY, which will prevent the sale of any cosmetics containing...

Henkel acquires Magna-Tech Manufacturing
Henkel Corporation – the North American arm of the German-based giant Henkel AG & Co – has announced the acquisition of Magna-Tech Manufacturing, a market leader in vacuum impregnation services. The company has a focus on process center capabilities and will...

Bionova skincare launch harnesses power of the human body
A new skincare product has launched to market that is said to utilize the benefits of the human body. The concept of Bionova skincare is said to utilize the same substance composition in the same quantities that are found in a human body. The brainchild of Dr Danielov...

US antitrust watchdog questions Walgreens-Rite Aid merger
The Federal Trade Commission has requested further information on the proposed merger between Walgreens Boots Alliance and Rite Aid, causing the market to question whether the deal will go ahead. Representatives of the companies claimed that, under the Hart-Scott...

Evonik considering US$27 million expansion in Birmingham, US
Evonik is said to be considering a US$27 million expansion of its site in Birmingham, Alabama. The German specialty chemical manufacturer is looking to enlarge its biomaterials business as well as invest in a fill line machine. The Birmingham Industrial Development...

Chanel breaks real estate records with US$152 million Rodeo Drive store
Chanel has set a Southern Californian real estate record with the purchase of an 11,500 square-foot store on Beverly Hill’s Rodeo Drive for US$152 million. “It is a regional record price, and sets a new standard for Los Angeles-area retail space,” Scott Kalt, Partner...

Another blow for Publicis; L’Oréal USA appoints MEC after 8-month review
L’Oréal USA has completed an eight month review of its media buying business and appointed WPP-owned MEC to take over its media buying business. The French beauty giant initiated a review in April following the appointment of Nadine Karp McHugh as Senior Vice...

Canada one step closer to animal testing ban with Senate bill
Canada is one step closer to ushering in a wholesale ban on cosmetics tested on animals thanks to the introduction of the Cruelty-Free Cosmetics Act Senate bill S-214 to the legislature last week. If passed, the bill would prevent the sale of cosmetic products or...

Tengram Capital invests in niche luxury US retailer Cos Bar
Luxury cosmetics retailer Cos Bar USA has announced that is has signed a definitive agreement to receive an undisclosed investment from specialty private equity firm Tengram Capital Partners. Founded in 1976, Cos Bar was one of the first independent luxury cosmetics...

Estée Lauder: Due to relocate?
Cosmetics giant Estée Lauder is possibly looking to relocate its head office from Boston Properties’ General Motor Building, and has enlisted the help of property company CBRE to help ascertain whether it should remain in the building. According to the Commercial...

Dow Chemical and Dupont in merger talks
Chemical behemoths Dow Chemical and Dupont could announce plans to combine in what would be one of the biggest deals of 2015, according to the Wall Street Journal. The two companies, which are said to be worth nearly $120 billion combined and are two of America’s...

Burt’s Bees owner Clorox launches creative agency review
US consumer goods multinational Clorox has launched a creative agency review following 20 years with DDB agency. The company is said to be in the initial stages of the review, yet it could see Clorox move onto pastures new after nearly two decades with DDB. The agency...

Shock at Publicis as P&G switches US media account to Omnicom
After over a decade of working with Publicis, Procter & Gamble has switched almost all of its media planning and buying for North America to Omnicom, according to a report published by The Financial Times. The FMCG giant spent US$2.6 billion on US media last year,...

OPI appoints new Global General Manager
OPI (Coty) has announced the appointment of a new Global General Manager. Ron Anderskow will oversee day-to-day operations for the professional nail brand. Anderskow joins Coty from Procter & Gamble where he served as Senior Vice-President of Sales for Wella North...

Sustainability leadership award goes to Colgate-Palmolive at 2015 Greenbuild Conference
Leading consumer products company Colgate-Palmolive has been awarded the Ray Anderson Radical Industrialism Award at the 2015 Greenbuild Conference by the US Green Building Council (USGBC). It was awarded to the company for ‘exemplifying sustainability leadership in...

Birchbox eyes further retail expansion with appointment of ex-Sephora and Apple execs
As part of its ongoing expansion into bricks and mortar stores, online beauty box subscription service Birchbox has made a series of appointments from well-known retailers in order to push forward with this strategic move. Phillipe Pinatel, former Senior Vice...

JDO upgrades Alberto Balsam design for Unilever’s premium range
JDO Brand & Design has unveiled its latest commission; Unilever’s premium hair care line, Alberto Balsam Blends. The design house was tasked with upgrading the standard Alberto Balsam design for a premium range of products with advanced formulas and more indulgent...

Pfizer tax scandal: US outraged by Pfizer’s plan to move domicile to Ireland
Pfizer’s CEO Ian Read has been criticized for admitting that the company’s planned merger with Allergan is motivated by its desire to reduce its tax bill. Should the deal go ahead, Pfizer will relocate its domicile to Ireland, significantly reducing the corporation...

HCT Group picks up two awards at NJPEC Banquet
HCT Group was honored with two awards at the New Jersey Packaging Executives Club’s annual banquet in November. The Group was endowed with a Silver Award for its Laura Mercier, Into the Wold Look Book Collection, a festive take on classic color palettes, launched for...

Merck tops trademark transactions list of the most valuable brands in 2014
According to financial statements, Merck & Co topped the charts of the most valuable brands in trademark transactions list, with the brand portfolio being valued at $7.1bn following its acquisition last year. Of the top 20 brands on the Markables list, Merck &...

Mary Kay: $100 million manufacturing site to be built in Lewisville
Direct sales giant Mary Kay has earmarked a new site in Lewisville, North Texas, as the location for its new $100 million manufacturing site. Following the announcement in October that they were to build a new R&D manufacturing facility, the company scouted...

Hain mislabelling class action: judge stays proceedings pending key Ninth Circuit decisions
A Californian district judge has halted proceedings in a high profile class action suit pending the outcome of two Ninth Circuit appeals. Consumer plaintiffs allege that The Hain Celestial Group misleadingly labelled cosmetic products as ‘all natural’, despite the...

Barron’s: P&G must split to compete
US finance magazine Barron’s has published an article suggesting that FMCG giant Procter & Gamble should consider more radical solutions in the face of rising competition and diminishing demand. P&G has been pursuing a divestment strategy aimed at reducing its...

Estée Lauder names John Demsey Executive Group President
Estée Lauder has promoted John Demsey to Executive Group President, The Estée Lauder Companies, effective January 1, 2016. Demsey, who has served as Group President since July 2006, will add Clinique and the Men’s Skincare Group to his current portfolio, which...

Unilever awarded perfect score for workplace equality
Unilever has received a perfect score of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign’s 2016 Corporate Equality Index (CEI). The CEI assesses policies and practices related to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender workplace equality. “We are honored to be recognized for an...

DSM Personal Care launches new multifunctional anti-ageing peptide complex
Global science-based company DSM Personal Care has launched SYN®-EYE, a multifunctional anti-ageing peptide complex, which is said to target wrinkles around the eye. The 4-in-1 eye care complex will join the company’s SYN-Peptides product range, using the same...
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