London, England—In response to the growing demand for natural and organic products, a Natural Cosmetics Masterclass will be hosted by Organic Monitor in San Francisco on January 17thand 18th.  The masterclass will be comprised of seminars and two workshops and will cover information regarding financing, marketing and technical issues that are encountered in the natural and organic personal care market.

Since the U.S. has the largest market in the world for natural and organic personal care products, the masterclass will begin with an overview of the North American market. Along with the largest market existing in the U.S., the presence of over 500 brands also makes it the most competitive. Growth projections will be discussed as well as the challenges faced in the areas of marketing and distribution. Since distribution has been indicated as a major issue, the founder and President of California Baby, Jessica Iclisoy, will share how the company has overcome obstacles regarding the growth of its distribution and how it managed the transition from natural food shops to supermarkets.

The next presenter will be Kari Gran, who will share the most recent findings of its second Green Beauty Barometer survey. Since Millennials have been shown to be a large consumer of natural and organic personal care products, part of the presentation will cover this aspect along with the importance labels and how to avoid unwanted ingredients and chemicals in products. To assist with labels and traceability of raw materials, Dr Bronner’s Magic Soaps will give advice as to how companies can be more transparent in their supply chains.

The technical workshop presentation will begin with standards and certification updates as well as adoption rates of these standards in North America. Also as part of the workshop Christopher Johnson of Kinetik Technologies will be on hand to give instruction as to how to replace unwanted synthetic chemicals in existing products.

The second workshop will focus on ethical financing options available to access capital for business growth.  Crowdfunding, the use of incubators/accelerators and other “alternative sources” of growth financing will be covered as well as other practical guidelines to assist in obtaining capital in regards to natural and organic enterprises. Amarjit Sahota, president of the special research, consulting and training firm states: “Although the natural and organic products market is strengthening, many brands continue to grapple with marketing and formulation issues. A new financing workshop will help guide companies on how to access and utilize capital for business growth.”

Organic Monitor is hosting this class in the hopes that by educating retailers, it will assist in helping to remove obstacles that would otherwise harm the growth of the natural and organic personal care industry.