French cosmetics cluster Cosmetic Valley has signed an agreement with France’s Île-de-France region, which includes the country’s capital, Paris and its suburbs. The aim is to build a business network in the region, accelerate R&D projects and help companies expand internationally.
As part of the agreement, Cosmetic Valley and the Île-de-France region will create the Cosmetic Week, a new event aimed at enhancing the French beauty industry’s visibility worldwide. The event will be based on the model of Fashion Week and include site openings, demonstrations and workshops.
Cosmetic Week will offer small- and medium-sized businesses, as well as start-ups, large companies and research institutes, the opportunity to network with one another and showcase their innovations to the public.
France’s beauty industry has 3,200 companies, 250,000 employees and generates €45bn in annual turnover. The sector is France’s third-largest exporting industry, behind aeronautics and wines & spirits.
The Île-de-France region generates 70% of this annual turnover and is home to many beauty companies’ headquarters, in addition to production, logistics and R&D facilities. It is home to 40,000 beauty industry employees, 20% of French manufacturers (500 companies) and 4,000 distributors.
Île-de-France is the most populous of France’s 18 regions and has eight administrative departments: Paris, Essonne, Hauts-de-Seine, Seine-Saint-Denis, Seine-et-Marne, Val-de-Marne, Val-d’Oise and Yvelines.