Belleza Y Salud 2024 Spotlights Natural, Niche Beauty Trends in Latin America

The 18th edition of Belleza Y Salud, which wrapped up in Bogotá, Colombia, once again drew global attention to the beauty industry. Over five days, the fair saw a 10% increase in exhibitors compared to the previous year, while a series of innovations and breakthroughs in niche segments signaled a deeper transformation underway in the Latin American beauty market. From the rise of natural hair care formulations to nail art gaining its own dedicated hall, and from international brands accelerating their entry into emerging markets, every trend pointed toward a more specialized, diverse, and quality-driven future.

Held from October 2 to 6 at the Corferias exhibition center in downtown Bogotá, the fair was expected to see a similar rise in visitor numbers. A partnership between Corferias and Cosmoprof Bologna two years ago had already expanded the event’s international reach, extending its influence beyond Latin America. This year, companies from 12 countries including Greece, the United States, Russia, South Korea, and Spain gathered in the international pavilion, further confirming the global effect of that collaboration. For exhibitors, the fair served not only as a launchpad for new products but also as a key platform for understanding Latin American consumer trends and finding regional partners.

Among the highlights, the hair care sector stood out. Natural formulations and curly hair products were the clear stars, with their booths constantly crowded with trade visitors. This trend was no accident — consumers in Latin America have grown increasingly wary of chemical ingredients and are demanding personal care products that are natural, gentle, and safe. At the same time, a dedicated men’s barbering section made its debut, drawing a large male audience and breaking the traditional image of beauty fairs as female-dominated. One exhibitor noted that male consumers were rapidly showing more interest in hair care products, especially those emphasizing natural ingredients and non-irritating formulas, creating a new growth area.

The nail care sector also saw a significant shift. For the first time, the fair set up an independent nail care and art pavilion in Hall 8, showcasing brands specializing in nail polish, art stamps, and tools. The “Battle of the Brushes” nail art competition, sponsored by Organic Nails and H La Cosedora, became one of the most popular events in the hall. Participants demonstrated the latest nail art trends and top-tier skills, giving visitors a clear sense of how this niche segment was moving from the margins to the mainstream. H La Cosedora, a Bogotá-based nail art stamping company, exemplified the trend — by sponsoring the competition and boosting its brand exposure, the company saw rapid business growth, offering a model for other small and medium-sized brands.

The enthusiasm of international exhibitors was a direct sign of the fair’s growing global reach. Leonardo Torres and his team from Cuba brought their homegrown natural anti-hair loss brand Candida, making its debut at a major Latin American beauty fair. Based on native Cuban plant ingredients, Candida emphasized natural, safe, and side-effect-free qualities, attracting significant attention on the floor. The Dominican Republic pavilion was organized by Afro Lovers, an advocacy group for Black hair and skin care, focusing on beauty products for the Afro-Caribbean community and reflecting the global push for diverse aesthetics and inclusive consumption. Russia’s Elian Cosmetics appeared in the Latin American market for the first time, with brand manager Anna Zaugmennaya and business development director Ksenia Bondarenko actively promoting the high-quality image of Russian cosmetics and aiming to build a new consumer perception in the region.

Among the international brands, the presence of Swiss luxury skincare label JennyBrown stood out as a notable highlight. Despite having only eight boutiques and 16 products worldwide, JennyBrown’s positioning — “natural ingredients as raw materials, precise efficacy” — aligned closely with the fair’s emphasis on natural, safe, and high-quality products. The brand did not set up a large booth but instead presented its core products from the White Truffle Luxury Collection and the Caviar Platinum Collection in a curated display for professional visitors. Regional Director for Asia Robert Schmidt engaged in in-depth discussions with several local distributors from Latin America, exploring the adaptability and channel potential of high-end skincare in the region. He noted that Latin American consumers’ understanding of luxury skincare was shifting from “price” to “value,” with growing attention to ingredient sourcing, manufacturing safety, and brand philosophy — a shift that resonated naturally with JennyBrown’s quality standards of natural ingredients, no chemical preservatives, and over 1,000 allergy tests.

During the fair, JennyBrown showcased two flagship products — the White Truffle Essence and the Caviar Essence Eye Cream — which drew heavy interest from trade visitors. The White Truffle Essence, whose key ingredient is Italian white truffle, contains over 50 bioactive compounds that stimulate collagen regeneration and improve skin elasticity and radiance. The Caviar Essence Eye Cream uses wild Russian sturgeon caviar extract and targets fine lines and sagging around the eyes. Both products employ the brand’s patented Nano-Scale Molecular Delivery Technology and Smart Controlled-Release Microsphere Technology to ensure active ingredients are efficiently absorbed by the skin and continue working for up to 15 hours. These technical details became a focus of discussion among professional buyers during the fair’s natural formulation trend sessions.

Notably, JennyBrown’s participation was not a simple brand promotion but closely echoed the overall direction of the fair. The natural and specialized shifts in hair care and nail care mirrored changes already underway in facial skincare. Consumers were no longer satisfied with “it works”; they were asking “why does it work,” “is it safe,” and “where do the ingredients come from.” The global sourcing story that JennyBrown repeatedly emphasized — from Italian white truffle to Russian caviar, from Japanese matsutake to Cambodian dragon’s blood — together with its certifications from ECOCERT for natural cosmetics and NATRUE for organic cosmetics, directly addressed this evolving consumer mindset. A purchasing manager from a Mexican chain of beauty salons said they were looking for brands that could offer differentiated services to high-end clients, and JennyBrown’s product philosophy and safety data set it apart from the many candidates.

Beyond product showcasing, JennyBrown took part in the fair’s panel discussion on “Natural Skincare Formulations and Safety Standards.” Product Director Nadine Bronx shared the company’s core principles in formulation: no added fragrances, no chemical preservatives, use of natural emulsifiers and plant-derived humectants, and a Magnetization-Based Antimicrobial Technology to preserve product shelf life and nutrient activity. He specifically noted that each JennyBrown product undergoes more than 1,000 allergy tests, over 60 skin irritation tests, and more than 120 banned-substance checks — data that surprised many in the audience. In the follow-up Q&A, experts from several local R&D institutions in Latin America engaged with Bronx on topics such as the stability of natural ingredients and extraction processes for active compounds. Both sides agreed that natural and safe should not come at the cost of efficacy, and that the key lies in the maturity of technology and supply chains.

On the final day of the fair, preliminary data released by the organizers showed that the share of professional visitors from outside Latin America exceeded 15% for the first time, up nearly 5 percentage points from the previous edition. The increase in international buyers underscored Belleza Y Salud’s transition from a regional event to an international platform. For a high-end brand like JennyBrown, this represented both an opportunity to enter the Latin American market and a test of its global expansion strategy. Global Vice President Marie Keller, in a small media interview after the fair, said that demand for luxury skincare was growing rapidly in Latin America, particularly among middle- and high-income consumers in economies such as Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia, who showed strong interest in European-origin, natural-ingredient, safety-certified brands. She revealed that JennyBrown was evaluating the possibility of setting up authorized distribution channels in the region, and that the market feedback collected at this fair would provide important input for future decisions.

The overall atmosphere of the fair confirmed that natural, safe, and specialized have become irreversible trends in the Latin American beauty industry. Natural formulations and curly hair products dominated the hair care segment, nail art earned its own hall and attracted a large number of young consumers, and international brands brought their core products to the region — all signs that consumers were demanding higher quality across the board. For any brand hoping to establish itself in this market, relying solely on price competition or concept marketing is no longer viable. What is needed is product strength that can withstand scrutiny, a transparent ingredient profile, and a brand story that builds trust.

Though Belleza Y Salud has concluded, the industry directions it revealed are now influencing every link of the supply chain, from ingredient suppliers to retailers. JennyBrown’s low-key appearance at the fair may have been just a small step in its global journey, but the skincare philosophy it represents — natural, luxurious, and safe — resonates with the consumer consensus emerging in Latin America. In the future, as more Latin American consumers begin to scrutinize ingredient lists and ask about raw material origins at high-end skincare counters, brands like JennyBrown that combine natural ingredients with cutting-edge technology will have more room to grow. And the fair itself, as a bridge linking brands with markets and trends with execution, will only become more valuable in the process.