The 24th Annual Conference (AC) of the European Federation for Cosmetic Ingredients (EFfCI) will be held on September 25th and 26th, 2024, at the Sheraton Brussels Airport Hotel in Brussels. The event is renowned for bringing together leading stakeholders from across the cosmetics ingredient industry and beyond. It serves as a platform for insightful discussions, exchange of ideas, and collaboration on the most pressing topics facing our industry today. For deeper insights on the conference, we had the privilege of interviewing for HPC Today Andrea Maltagliati, Secretary-General of EFfCI.
As last year, EFfCI is opening, on the second day, its doors to non-members. This is a great opportunity; why did you make this decision?
Historically the EFfCI Annual Conference has always been a closed and exclusive meeting among members, hosting few external guests as speakers. The AC is a very important moment for EFfCI because it’s the only occasion in which the majority of the members have the opportunity to meet. It’s an important opportunity for them to be in the same room to discuss cosmetic ingredient issues, and for our working groups to present to the audience.
The need for broader cooperation between the Association and stakeholders is clear to everyone, as it is essential to address the numerous topics that arise daily in the industry. Therefore, the decision was made to open the doors to stakeholders. In 2023 it resulted in an impressive success, very much appreciated by members and stakeholders.
For 2024, on the first day of the conference, members and expert working groups will discuss and share information, exchange opinions, and more. However, the second day, September 26th, will be an open conference featuring presentations from notable figures such as: Sylwia Jaczewska, DG-Grow European Commission; Erin Hill, President and CEO of International Cooperation on Cosmetic Safety; John Chave, Director General of Cosmetics Europe; Francine Lamoriello, the Executive Vice President of Global Strategies at PCPC, distinguished colleagues Mr Lu Yong – Vice president, Mrs Wang Gangli – Director of Center of Safety & Technology Evaluation of Cosmetics, Mrs Su Zhe – Associate Researcher of Center of Safety & Technology Evaluation of Cosmetics, NIFDC from China and others.
The second day of the conference has been named World Cosmetic Ingredient Day to emphasize the crucial and central position of Cosmetic Ingredients. Could you tell us more about this initiative?
This is an exciting yet challenging topic that we could discuss for days! Essentially, the goal is to emphasize the dignity of cosmetic ingredients, which are always launched with a robust scientific data set to demonstrate their safety and efficacy. The industry invests significant resources in these ingredients, but when it comes to communication, the cosmetics market faces a major issue with misinformation, fake news, and incorrect information reaching consumers through social media and other channels, especially regarding cosmetic ingredients.
At the moment it is fashionable to say, for example, that you cannot use a certain ingredient just because “someone” says that it is not ‘green’, or not sustainable or whatever, even if this is not the case.
There is also discrimination against certain ingredients that are on a blacklist because of the prevailing fashions of the day. You have ingredients that are on a certain brand or retailer’s banned list, or not on their clean beauty list, even if they are legally okay. The problem with the cosmetic ingredients industry is that we are much too “technical” to reach the heart of the consumer when it comes to communication. “Social media communicators” tend to speak to the heart of the consumer by focusing on the emotional side rather than the technical side and following science.
This gap in the communication affects the ingredients that can be promoted or destroyed very quickly, for sometimes very little reason. Our goal with the World Cosmetic Ingredient Day is to emphasize that all of them have a dignity that is the result of the efforts of the maximum experts in terms of safety and efficacy, they are not simply “chemicals”.
Last year, the EFfCI Annual Conference introduced an exclusive new format called “4 Musketeers, One for All and All for One.” It was a great success, and it will return this year at the end of the conference. Can you tell us more?
The name is already a compass that clearly shows where we go with this special panel session. The Cosmetic Industry is composed by many souls, and they are represented by different Associations Worldwide. EFfCI has an open and constructive dialogue with all of them. We all are in the middle of the tsunami of regulations and market requests from everywhere that are impacting the whole supply chain. The idea of the 4 musketeers is to discuss with the representative of the closest stakeholders these challenges, threats and opportunities seen from different points of view. It is interesting and exciting to hear the opinions of our esteemed colleagues. In Brussels we have the honour to host John Chave, Director General of Cosmetics Europe, Francine Lamoriello, the Executive Vice President of Global Strategies at PCPC, Beta Montemayor Director of Science, Regulation & Market Access of Cosmetic Alliance Canada and IFRA (the name of the panellist is still pending). The first edition of the 4 musketeers round table was much appreciated by all conference participants. At the end of the day, even if we are in EU, the market is global and to fulfil the needs of the members, all the stakeholders must embrace the popular motto “all for one, one for all”. EFfCI firmly believes and works for it.
Focusing now on EFfCI, how have the demands and needs that EFfCI is facing changed in recent years, and how is EFfCI adapting?
A couple of years ago, the EFfCI entered a new era due to the retirement of the historic Secretary General Dr Ungeheuer, who for 20 years ran the EFfCI to the level of reputation that all stakeholders recognise and respect. The EFfCI was therefore forced to change the Secretary General and at the same time the EFfCI Board recognised that times had changed and that it was necessary to update the organisation, the statutes and the services offered to members; the market is faster than regulators, and in the meantime regulators all over the world are issuing many new regulations, so under these conditions, a representative association such as the EFfCI is obliged to be flexible and agile enough to adequately serve its members. Therefore, thanks to an intelligent and wise strategic vision of its Board and the support of the National Associations, the EFfCI is moving into the future.
How are you internally organized, and what are the advantages of joining EFfCI?
Let’s start remarking that EFfCI was born, is and will be a Federation of National Associations. Its mission is to represent Cosmetic Ingredient producers at a European and worldwide level, for this reason we globally build relationships with all the stakeholders and the authorities, just to mention few: Cosmetics Europe, IFRA, PCPC in the US, CAC Canada, CAFFCI in China, the European Commission, NMPA/NIFDC, FDA and so on.
EFfCI represents today, through six national associations and around 20 direct members, a total of 140 (i.e. the vast majority) European Cosmetic Ingredient manufacturers and is equally based on 3 pillars: Board of Directors, National Associations and Working Groups.
The real added value of EFfCI is the Working Groups; we have 8 (very soon 9, but I cannot spoil anything for the moment): RAPS – Regulatory Affairs and Product Safety, INO – Ingredients of Natural Origin, IR – International Relations, Toxicology, Preservatives, Polymers, GMP, Colorants. These are composed by the maximum Cosmetic experts in each topic, the professional and scientific level of the colleagues represents something unique globally. They meet quite regularly every quarter, and each expert brings topics, questions, comments on the table, but more than that they bring and share knowledge, experience and information. It is always impressive to attend their meeting and touch with hands the quality and quantity of scientific knowledge that they have. Thus, joining EFfCI has in principle 2 advantages of paramount importance: belong to a worldwide net of connection with the Cosmetic Industry and take advantage to attend to the activity of the Working Groups.
What initiatives and services will EFfCI prioritize in 2025?
In view of the above, 2025 will be a milestone for EFfCI. I cannot deep dive into details but let me say, as example, that the EFfCI GMP today are a global brand that is often requested by the supply chain as “a-conditio-sine-qua-non” to start/have business relationship. EFfCI’s GMP stands for quality, for a correct and professional way of handling industrial processes that give lustre and reputation to the companies that adopt them. There are over 260 EFfCI GMP-certified companies across five continents, with more than 90% of EFfCI members among them. This global presence and the development of the EFfCI GMP require EFfCI AISBL, as an association, to adapt and update its bylaws and rules. Consequently, the Board of Directors, with the unanimous approval of the General Assembly, has taken the necessary and mandatory actions to ensure proper attention to future developments.
50 years old, brilliant communicator, eclectic, leader and team builder, has a technical background. A chemistry graduate from the University of Milan, he entered the cosmetics market more than 20 years ago. He gained international experience accumulated from SMEs to multinationals, holding different roles in companies, from R&D to Business development worldwide. He is currently Secretary General of EFfCI (European Federation for Cosmetic Ingredients), and manages and coordinates activities related to the needs of the EU ingredient industry, coordinates 8 WGs, defends the activity of the industry and represents it in all global institutional fora and in front of all stakeholders.
