It started in New York, then established shows in Dallas and LA, before announcing that it would be crossing the Pond to London in October 2018. Now the Indie Beauty Expo (IBE), the world’s largest exposition of independent beauty brands, has announced the launch of its second European show, this one in Berlin, Germany, March 29-30. In addition, IBE has announced a new partnership with Feelunique, Europe’s largest online retailer, for the France and UK markets.
 
IBE co-founder, Nader Naeymi-Rad, stated: “Europe is a diverse market and German-speaking countries are a discrete opportunity within that market, representing over 100 million consumers spread among some of the best performing economies in the region.  Furthermore, German retailers have been steadily expanding their reach across Europe and now represent some of the most desirable wholesale channels available to brands.  We want to make these markets and channels accessible to more independent brands.”
 
Jillian Wright, IBE co-founder, added, “The practice of going to a trade show once a year to do a buy is becoming obsolete. Consumers can now find new brands online at a click of a button at any time. So buyers are now ‘always buying’.  With five shows across two continents, IBE will offer retailers a continuous stream of new innovations, from around the world, throughout the year to help them maintain their competitive edge.”
 
Feelunique Partnership
IBE has also announced the launch of a collaboration with Feelunique, Europe’s largest online retailer, to showcase an assortment of independent brands across a range of categories from skin care, to hair care and color cosmetics to be launched in July of 2018. The goal of the partnership is to provide millions of beauty devotees the opportunity to discover and shop exceptional products they may not otherwise have access to in the UK and French markets.
 
In the first phase of the partnership, IBE and Feelunique will jointly select approximately 30 brands from the hundreds of market-ready brands that have exhibited or will be exhibiting at IBE.  IBE will guide and support the selected brands through the onboarding process.  Feelunique will help grow these brands and develop localized storytelling curation, raising community awareness, underpinned by Feelunique’s beauty philosophy, ‘Beauty without Boundaries.’