The beauty industry is resilient and poised for renewed growth, according to show officials at Cosmoprof North America, the annual trade show and conference for beauty professionals held July 22-24 at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino.

Although attendance and square footage were flat compared with 2011, when 23,500 attendees and 760 exhibitors occupied 189,750 net square feet of space, the event boasted an 11-percent increase in exhibitors, with 856 exhibiting companies spanning a bustling, well-organized trade showfloor.

With its extensive range of cosmetics, hair and personal care items, spa and wellness products, CPNA brings the beauty industry under one roof for three days of business, networking and education, including seven conference sessions and a host of special events.

The 10-year-old show also is known for attracting independent boutique retail store owners, major salon and spa owners and international buyers from more than 100 countries looking for new products and services.

“First and foremost, our strategy is to continue remaining focused on providing a complete, all-in-one total beauty event that nobody else offers in North America,” said Daniela Ciocan, marketing director of SoGeCos Americas, which organizes the show.

She added, “We know attendees want to maximize their time and be in an environment where they can see trends, make distribution connections, get advanced education and network all at the same time.”

But to get the event growing, it’s all about coming up with new, value-added initiatives to help drive participation, so CPNA launched a few new offerings this year, including SPOTLIGHTS, an exclusive exhibit area for smaller, artisan companies unable to invest in custom booths or full booth space, Ciocan said.

“Cosmoprof North America continues to evolve and always has exciting new initiatives and programs,” she added. “For 2012, a very user friendly Web app was developed to help attendees and exhibitors better navigate the show floor and connect with brands. The show directory was also enhanced to make it easier to find products and services by their product category and a QR Code was also developed to provide relevant information on the show and help attendees connect.”

Other points of focus included the return of the show’s One-2-One Beauty Matchmaking software, created to match up manufacturers and distributors, as well as its International Buyer Program involving more than 200 exhibiting companies and  100-plus qualified buyers from around the globe.

Cosmoprof was ranked No. 116 on the most recent 2011 TSNN Top 250 U.S. Trade Shows.

Out on a well-trafficked showfloor sporting a mix of colorful custom and sleek rental booths displaying the latest in cutting-edge beauty trends, industry professionals appeared to be engaged and focused on doing business.

First-time exhibitor, Dev Rice, vice president of InStyler Professional, said that although the economy had impacted the beauty industry somewhat, what came out of a challenging time was a strong period of innovation in beauty technology and products.

“Cosmoprof is one of the best places to meet distributors globally, not just domestically, so for us it was a no-brainer – we felt we needed to be here,” Rice said. “It’s a great show, and we’re loving it. The traffic has been pretty good and our booth has been very crowded most of the time. We’ll be back next year.”

First-timer Attendee Kippy Spergel, marketing director of Cosmetic Brands of North America, said that although she thought the event was busier than the most recent

spa and beauty show she had attended in Las Vegas, she wasn’t seeing anything new. 

“I’m seeing a lot of the same stuff but here it’s from all over the world,” Spergel said. “However, I think it’s a valuable event and I’m glad I came. We’re considering taking a booth at next year’s show.”

Cosmoprof will return July 14-16 to the Mandalay Bay.