COSMOS Presents at 2021 BIOFACH Conference

What happens when the world’s leading trade fair for organic food (BIOFACH) combines with the international trade fair for natural and organic personal care (Vivaness)? A massive 3-day E-Special trade show unlike any other. Industry experts met to launch new product demos, share knowledge on the latest trends, and provide lectures and presentations on various themes. One particular focus was COSMOS’ initiative to expand the certification specifically in the US region! Along with 2 Cosmos representatives, our Ecocert USA Cosmos Manager Chris Koestline spoke at two panels regarding updates to the US Market and the landscape of COSMOS in the US from its initial launch in 2011 to now. Though a bit slow in the US at the onset, COSMOS certification has seen a continued steady increase! The initial trend of companies requesting Cosmos Organic level of certification has actually led to more clients looking specifically at the Cosmos Natural level of certification.
Another trend is that companies and retailers are creating their own ‘negative’ lists of ingredients that they don’t allow, so now the consumer is more mindful about what is not in the product as opposed to what is actually in the product. Though the Cosmos standard bans most of those ingredients anyway, the standard instead focuses on the positives – by requiring clients to have recyclable and eco-friendly packaging and also requiring manufacturers to have environmental management plans at their facilities to reduce the impact on the planet.
Market research also shows that although Whole Foods is still the biggest retailer of natural and organic products, it only represents around 11% of the market opportunity – meaning 89% of sales comes from other platforms (conventional retailers, MLM, e-commerce, direct sites).
The Biofach conference was a great opportunity for Ecocert USA to discuss the growth of the COSMOS Organic and Natural standards for personal care products in the US Market as well as expanded opportunities for marketing certified products.