Exhibition spaces sold through at The Altman building in New York City’s Chelsea neighbourhood, where the expo will be held. IBE secured a second space, and now, over one month before the event, that has sold out as well, with eager brands piling up on a wait list.
Business ideology
The indie beauty category reliably innovates lucrative business models and industry disrupting ideas.
Bio-identical ingredients, for instance, could be the way forward in an age when sourcing natural ingredients can tax the environment and those naturals can come with agricultural additives; and at the same time, consumers expect brands to help preserve the environment and provide safe, effective products that are formulated with ingredients derived from naturally occurring plants, minerals, etc.
Indie beauty also drives the industry’s M&A market, as Cosmetics Design reports. “Large strategics need to fill the gap between the industry’s expected annual 3.4% growth and Wall Street standards. And they do this through acquisition,” Vennette Ho, managing director of Financo, explained during her keynote at a recent CEW event on the relevance of independent beauty brands today.
Making ideas happen
Inspiration for the IBE event comes, in part, from Jillian Wright’s own experience as a personal care entrepreneur. "When I started my skincare business, I was frustrated by the lack of true beauty incubators," she tells the press. Wright, a beauty industry insider, cofounded IBE and owns and works as a master aesthetician at Jillian Wright Clinical Skin Spa, and heads up Jillian Wright Skin Care.
The demand for such an event is well demonstrated by the volume of exhibitors getting involved. "Indie brands are one of the top growth drivers in the overall beauty market," says event co-founder Nader Naeymi-Rad, who is also CEO of the Vesture fashion company. "A professionally curated and scalable indie-focused expo has been long overdue and this has been validated by the overwhelmingly positive response we have received."
The main event
IBE will take place on August 27 and will get underway with a press breakfast, where exhibiting brands can engage with national beauty media. Throughout the day there will be panels on the business of indie beauty, and brands and buyers will have the chance to get acquainted.
A consumer-facing event will begin at 5 that evening, with shoppers coming in to discover the niche brands. Attendees pay $59 for this portion of the day and will enjoy discounted shopping, panel presentations, cocktails, and receive a gift bag.
The roster of exhibitors includes emerging brands like Pour Le Monde (natural fragrances), Kesh Beauty (argan oil), and Hynt Beauty (color cosmetics and skin care). To learn more about IBE, click here.