Global Beauty Group and Twist New Brand Venture have announced a joint venture called BFF Ventures, LLC, and will launch a new merchandising concept, bff Approved by bff Beauty on June 8, 2010. To add excitement in the marketplace and leverage the “bff” concept, the entry is timed to coincide with National Best Friends Day. The partnership comes in recognition that the opinions of family and friends are primary motivators for consumer cosmetics purchases, and it will include a digital media platform designed to influence consumers’ engagement with brands or products previously validated by friends’ recommendations.

“We are very excited to be working with BFF ventures whose years of experience will add so much to this licensing opportunity for BFF,” said Meryl Poster, BFF Entertainment.

Under the auspices of the newly created bff Beauty brand with its bff Approved seal, Twist and Global Beauty Group will feature existing brands’ beauty products and offer limited edition bff Approved “one 4 u, one 4 me” deals. The online bff Beauty site will feature video content, bff expert beauty bloggers and hand-picked products to further support the idea of sharing and connecting on multiple levels. The first two brands to meet the company’s bff Approved standards are ModelCo and Sampar, with the following products: Lip Lights Lip Gloss, Tan Airbrush In a Can, Ultra Lip Gloss, and the Prodigal Pen Acne Stick. The bff Approved product line is not only about beauty, but also about the interactive experience of sharing a special purchase, which ultimately strengthens the connection between friends and the products they use.

“The opportunity to leverage the bff digital media show is all about friends’ connecting, and using an energetic, youthful community to create an integrated retail platform for existing brands based on like-minded recommendations. It allows us to organically tap into the primary motivation for beauty purchases – the suggestion of friends,” says Tina Hedges, co-president of Twist. Hedges added that the company has additional plans to launch bff-developed and branded beauty products in the near future.