(New York, NY, April 2007) – HBA’s Midyear Technical Conference on Anti-Aging and Natural Beauty, March 21-22, 2007 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in New York, attracted over 300 participants and 30 table-top exhibitors. More than 90% of the attendees said the conference topics and content presented were pertinent to their business, based on a recently conducted post-conference survey.

“The HBA Midyear Conference exceeded my expectations. The speakers were really great and I enjoyed the very broad and interesting topics ranging from high-tech anti-aging to newest technologies to natural ingredients and the latest developments. Having both the marketing side of the business presented along with the latest scientific and technical findings provided a complete and encompassing perspective of what is happening in anti-aging and natural beauty,” said Daniel Rachmanis, CEO, ChemAid Laboratories, Inc.

The conference attracted delegates from a diverse roster of international companies including Astral Brands, Avon, BASF, Bath & Body Works, Blistex, Burt’s Bees, Clinique, Colgate-Palmolive, Coty, Del Labs, Dow Chemical, Dupont, Estee Lauder, Garnier, Guthy-Renker, Hain Celestial, Johnson & Johnson, KAO Brands, Kimberly-Clark, LORAC, L’Oreal, Maybelline, Murad, Nioxin, Ole Henriksen, Origins, Procter & Gamble, Ralph Lauren Beauty, Tarte Cosmetics, Unilever, and Victoria Secret’s Beauty.

The two-day event also was appealing to a wide range of job titles with chemists, formulators, R&D professionals, scientists, as well as marketing professionals, brand managers and product development teams in attendance.

The HBA MidYear Conference has been fantastic and the caliber of the attendees has been excellent. By participating in this event, and exhibiting, we have a better understanding of what marketing and technical professionals are looking for in anti-aging and natural beauty innovations,” said Angela Walter, Market Development Manager, Dietary Specialities & Lactoferrin, DMV International

Well-received keynote addresses kicked off each morning of the conference. Trend watcher and marketing expert, Wendy Lewis was the opening Anti-Aging keynote speaker and she shared her insight on current and future developments in anti-aging skin care and treatments, and the convergence of beauty and medical services. She also highlighted key innovations in the skin care, personal care, cosmetics, and nutraceuticals sectors, and shared creative branding strategies that will keep existing customers loyal as well as help reach new customers. The Wednesday morning Anti-Aging Keynote was JuE Wong, Sr. Vice President, Global Business, N.V. Perricone, M.D. Cosmeceuticals, discussing “The Science Of Aging: Cosmeceuticals Leading Role.” In her address she covered the growing trend of cosmeceuticals, the key parameters needed to ride the momentum, and the challenges facing the cosmeceuticals market in retaining its unique footprint in the anti-aging category.

HBA’s Natural Beauty Conference opening keynote speaker was Julia McNamara, VP Marketing, Consumer Markets, Datamonitor, addressing the “Hot Trends in the Natural Personal Care Market.” She presented information on naturals beauty U.S. growth and global market opportunities, identified leading consumer drivers, and showcased new product development trends from around the world. The second day Natural Beauty keynote speaker was Melanie Smith, Director of Product Development, Mary Kay Inc., discussing “Formulating With Botanicals,” and their important role in providing product benefits and claims. Ms. Smith also identified some of the challenges of formulating with botanicals and offered solutions to address these challenges.

“The audience was of high caliber. And the questions raised showed that they were really engaged. I felt tremendous energy from the crowd,” said Jay Gorga, event director of HBA Global Events.

The next HBA event will be the 15th Annual HBA Global Expo trade show and educational conference, taking place September 18-20, 2007 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York. HBA Global Expo will focus on three important interactive areas of the business of personal care and cosmetic products: Marketing, Technical and Naturals. Each of these key areas will have a dedicated educational track that will empower attendees from all areas of the industry to learn new methodologies, technologies and trends. The conference program has been re-designed to allow marketing and technical professionals to attend any of the session tracks in order to facilitate the cross fertilization of ideas based on both “market pull’ and “technology push.” HBA Global Expo will continue to provide an expanded exhibit floor, with more than 650 exhibitors, generating the most comprehensive view of the industry--from formula to finish. For more information about HBA go to HBA Expo Web Site or call 1-212-600-3351.