The country’s first-ever two-day exhibition on cosmetics, personal care and hygiene products kicked off on Friday at the International Convention City Bashundhara (ICCB) in the capital’s Kuril area.

Apart from Bangladesh, renowned cosmetic brands, manufacturers, suppliers, retailers and health experts from different countries, including Korea and Thailand, are participating in the event.

The event titled ‘Cosmetica: Personal Care and Hygiene Show 2025’ was inaugurated by Park Young-sik, ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Bangladesh, this morning.

The exhibition features over a hundred stalls from leading local and international brands, live demonstrations, beauty consultations, discussions with skincare experts and networking opportunities for entrepreneurs.

The event is supported by the Embassy of the Republic of Korea, Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) and Thailand’s Department of International Trade Promotion (DITP).

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Ambassador Park said, “In 2024, Korea exported cosmetics worth $10 billion. Bangladesh is a major market in this sector. Korea is interested in investing here and we hope to gain new insights about the market from this expo.”

SM Faisal Munim, CEO of the organising company Squad Mind Global Limited, said this event aims to bring all stakeholders in the sector together.

The exhibition will highlight proper product use, attract foreign investment, create employment and discuss ways to prevent counterfeit and black market products, he added.

With this growing market, organisers are hopeful that the event will open new opportunities for investment, technology and international partnerships in the country’s personal care sector.

According to research by the Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission (BTTC), the current cosmetics and hygiene market in the country is worth over Tk 34,000cr, including colour cosmetics, both regular and medicated skincare products.

Data from the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) shows that the country has around 2.73 crore women aged between 20 and 39, about 70 percent of whom regularly use cosmetics.

Square Toiletries Limited is the title sponsor of the event, with Cute as the gold sponsor and Ingenious Resources as the platinum sponsor.

Square Toiletries Limited CEO Malik Mohammad Saeed, ACI Consumer Brands Chief Business Officer Md Kamrul Hasan, Fakhrul Alam of Ingenious Resources, Sacheerome Chairman Manoj Arora and DIAA President AKM Azad also spoke at the opening ceremony.

The exhibition will remain open to visitors from 10:00 am to 8:00 pm for the visitors.