Booscala at Cosmoprof Bologna 2026 – What We Saw, Who We Met, and What We Learned

Bologna, We Came. We Stayed. We Learned

We're back from Cosmoprof Worldwide Bologna 2026 – and what a few days it was.

Eight of us made the trip: Anđela, Dunja, Biljana, Kristina, Sanela, Nikola, Stefan, and Ivan. First time as a team at a trade show of this scale. It showed us a lot – about the industry, about brands, and honestly, about ourselves.

What We Walked Into

Cosmoprof Bologna is unlike anything you can prepare for. Thousands of brands, hundreds of booths, every corner of the beauty world under one roof. Skincare, haircare, tools, packaging, ingredients, certifications, distributors, buyers, founders, CMOs – all in one place, all at the same time.

The stands were stunning. K-beauty brands brought full editorial setups. The attention to detail – textures, materials, lighting, scent – reminded us why this industry is so compelling to work in.

We took it all in.

200+ Conversations

Our team approached over 200 brands across the two days. We spoke with founders, brand managers, heads of eCommerce, global sales directors. We listened more than we pitched.

What we heard confirmed a lot of what we already believed – but also surprised us.

Many smaller brands are still heavily reliant on distributors. The traditional playbook: attend trade shows, find a distributor, hope they carry you into retail. It's slow, expensive, and it hands over the customer relationship to a middleman. A lot of brands are stuck in this loop and don't yet see the alternative.

The brands most open to a different conversation? C-beauty, K-beauty, and J-beauty. They understand eCommerce. They've seen what Medicube, COSRX, and Beauty of Joseon built by going direct. European brands were more cautious – comfortable with retail, less familiar with the eCommerce-first model.

The Team

This was also the first time our full team traveled together for something like this. Eight people, two days, hundreds of conversations.

Watching the team work – the energy, the curiosity, the genuine interest in every brand's story – was something. Everyone showed up. Everyone contributed. The photo we took together at the end of day one is going on the wall.

What We're Bringing Back

Every insight from Bologna goes directly into how we work. The trends we spotted, the gaps we identified, the conversations we had with brands at every stage – it all sharpens our understanding of what beauty brands actually need in 2026.

If we spoke with you in Bologna and you want to continue the conversation – about Amazon strategy, eCommerce growth, or just to compare notes – reach out. We'd love to pick up where we left off.

Bologna, we came. We'll be back.