"There’s no one-size-fits-all in beauty," Tomas Espinosa, Schwan Cosmetics

After two years of robust double-digit growth, Schwan Cosmetics has been refining its production and innovation processes to stay aligned with a slower-paced market in 2024. The color cosmetics manufacturer has significantly shortened lead times for developing new product lines; a key factor in maintaining customer loyalty, especially within the social media-driven indie segment.

At this year's Cosmoprof Worldwide Bologna, Tomas Espinosa, CEO of Schwan Cosmetics, greeted Premium Beauty News with the poised energy of a leader who knows his industry is evolving fast and furiously. With a warm smile, Espinosa described this year's show as the best the company has seen in the past three years. "A clear sign that the market is transforming," he said.

"The past few years were all about surviving supply chain chaos," Espinosa said, recalling the perfect storm of post-Covid demand surges and raw material shortages. "Now, we're shifting gears: from capacity management to value creation through innovation."

Rewriting the rules of innovation

With manufacturing hubs across the U.S., Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, Germany, Indonesia, the Czech Republic, and China, Schwan Cosmetics has built what Espinosa called a "robust, regionalized supply chain."

"We try to source regionally and supply regionally. This makes us more agile and sustainable," he explained.

That agility is paying off: with lead times as short as three weeks for repeat orders, Schwan is among the fastest players in the game. "We inject our products in-house, which means we're not dependent form third-party supply chains," Espinosa highlighted. But he was also quick to acknowledge the next frontier: "Now, the challenge is to reduce our time-to-market for new projects—by 50%, ideally. That's what fast-moving and emerging brands are demanding."

Espinosa breaks down Schwan's clientele into two major archetypes: heritage brands and indie disruptors. "While the luxury segment continues to grow, access and indie brands stand out for their agility and strong consumer connections," he noted. "Each market segment faces its own distinct challenges, and with them significant opportunities."

According to Espinosa, Schwan has found itself uniquely positioned to serve both ends of this spectrum, thanks to a combination of formulation know-how, tailored packaging, and proprietary processes. "The magic happens when you align all three," he said.

Clean beauty, done right

Perhaps the most impressive evolution at Schwan is their leap forward in clean, high-performance formulas. "Four years of R&D were needed to develop clean formulations that perform without compromise," Espinosa revealed. "We've co-developed applicators with a Japanese partner to ensure the best quality and experience for the consumer."

Packaging innovations complement the formulations: glossy PET containers that are styrene-free, ABS-free pencils that protect even the most volatile formulations. And these sustainable designs don't hike up the price. "It's our job to make sustainability affordable, scalable, and competitive," claimed the manager.

The future is diverse

However, sustainability is just one part of Schwan's broader mission. Diversity, equity, and inclusion are also front and center. "These aren't buzzwords. They are business imperatives. Innovation doesn't happen without diverse perspectives," Espinosa said.

Schwan's global footprint gives it a unique perspective on beauty's regional nuances. In Asia, the bar is highest for product performance and aesthetics. In Europe, clean ingredients matter most. In North America, the market splits sharply between prestige and mass. And in South America, it's all about price. "There's no one-size-fits-all in beauty anymore," Espinosa concluded. "Our job is to help brands navigate these differences and deliver value across markets."

From : Premium Beauty