Global Meetup Week 2025: Celebrating Formula Botanica’s first-ever global meetup!

Last week was Global Meetup Week, and what an incredible few days it’s been! For the first time ever, Formula Botanica students and graduates from all over the world came together in community-hosted meetups in cities and towns all over the world.

Whether you hosted a meetup or joined one, you had the chance to connect with fellow classmates, share your journeys, and form lifelong friendships that will last long after your studies. We couldn’t be prouder of our community. You are truly amazing. And we can’t wait to organise more in-person events!

But before we start looking ahead, let’s take a moment to celebrate everything that happened during our very first Global Meetup Week.

Our biggest meetup yet

Global Meetup Week brought the Formula Botanica community together like never before.

With over 22,000 students in over 194 countries and territories, we’re a wonderfully international school – but we rarely get the chance to meet in person.

That’s why we decided to host our first-ever Global Meetup Week, which took place between Monday, 10th of November, and Sunday, 16th of November, across Europe, Asia, Oceania, North America, and Africa.

For the first time ever, you got to meet other Formula Botanica students and graduates face-to-face. Not online. Not on Zoom. But in real life, in cafés, community spaces, parks, and anywhere that felt welcoming. Over 120 people hosted or attended meetups worldwide, travelling across cities and sometimes even borders just to be there.

Overall, these gatherings were relaxed and friendly. You got to chat with your fellow classmates, share your journey, and connect with people who have the same love of formulation as you.

The Formula Botanica team (including me!) also joined some of the meetups, and it was wonderful meeting you in person. It reminded us exactly why we do what we do.

This was also definitely a milestone for our school – and one we’ll remember for a long time to come.

The idea behind Global Meetup Week

You might be wondering: why did we create Global Meetup Week in the first place? Well, something magical happens when you put like-minded people in the same room. Something that simply can’t be replicated online. And that is connection.

Over the past decade, we’ve taught tens of thousands of students how to formulate and build their own indie beauty brands, and our community has gone on to shape the indie and green beauty industry. But studying or building a brand can sometimes feel lonely, and this is something we often hear in our community.

So we created Global Meetup Week so you could meet other Formula Botanica students and graduates, so you could feel seen, encouraged, supported, and energised. Hopefully, this reminded you that you’re part of a passionate, international community, and most importantly, that you’re not alone on this journey.

What happened at the meetups?

Image credit: Larissa Tudor

During Global Meeup Week, you got to:

• Meet some of the Formula Botanica team
• Connect with fellow students and graduates
• Share your formulation and life journeys with like-minded people
• Exchange ingredient and formulation tips, as well as supplier recommendations
• Bring along your formulations for others to try and receive instant feedback
• Discuss your studies, goals, and plans for the future
• Receive advice, motivation, and encouragement
• Make new friends, and in some cases, future collaborators!

At Formula Botanica, we always say that everyone can formulate, and this week showed us how powerful it is when people who believe in that mission come together in the same room. We couldn’t be any prouder of our community.

Many attendees told us that this was the first time they had ever met another formulator in person, and went on to form friendships. How amazing is that?

Global Meetup Week in numbers & locations

Over 120 people attended local meetups worldwide, and we wanted to share some of the numbers and locations with you:

The numbers

• Total meet-ups hosted: 40
• Attendance: Over 120 students and graduates worldwide
• Biggest meet-up: 35 attendees
• Most common meet-up size: 4–7 people
• Countries: 10 countries in total
• Regions: UK, Europe, Middle East, Asia, Africa, North America, Oceania
• Cities represented: Over 30, from Dubai to Cape Town, Singapore to Toronto, and London to Melbourne.

Locations of meetups

Image credit: Roro Housseyni

Meetups were held in the following locations:

Europe

• United Kingdom: London, Brighton, Oxford, Manchester (Salford), Stourbridge, Islington, Glasgow
• Netherlands: Rotterdam, Breda
• Belgium: Brussels
• Switzerland: Basel
• Middle East

Middle East

• United Arab Emirates: Dubai

Asia

• India: Bengaluru, Chennai, Tamil Nadu (local area meet-up)
• Singapore: Singapore

Oceania/Australia

• Australia: Cronulla (NSW), Mona Vale (NSW), Keilor (VIC), Adelaide

Africa

• South Africa: Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban

North America

• USA: Massachusetts, Orlando (Florida), Oklahoma City, Fort Worth / Dallas (Texas)
• Canada: Oakville, Toronto

Global Meetup Week 2025 highlights

Image credit: Noelani Mei Sturzenegger

Every meetup was unique. Some took place in cosy cafés or tea rooms, others in bright community rooms, and some outdoors in the sun. But the atmosphere was the same everywhere: warm, welcoming, and full of positivity.

Everyone promised to keep in touch (we can’t count the number of WhatsApp groups that were created!), and we can already see some friendships being formed.

Many of you shared your photos, reels, and stories online – thank you! Below are some of our favourites. If you’d like to see more, have a look at the online classroom, it’s full of inspiring posts!

Melbourne, Australia — Maddalena Ghayyoori

In Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), student Maddalena hosted an Ozzy meetup with two other Formula Botanica graduates at the Lumbar & Co.

She said, “We had a great time and look forward to another catch-up!”. Thank you, Maddalena, for hosting!

Image credit: Maddalena Ghayyoori

Ontario, Canada — Suzanne Soto-Davies

One of our student mentors and Formula Botanica graduate, Suzanne, attended a global meetup in Oakville, Ontario (Canada). So many of the Formula Botanica community attended, and Suzanne said it was “a beautiful time learning from each other, supporting each other’s journeys and connecting in person!” Thanks to all of you for joining in!

Image credit: Julia Poto

Toronto, Canada — Parvin Kashani

We had another meetup in Canada, this time in Toronto. One of our graduates, Parvin, hosted a meetup with two other Formula Botanica students. They exchanged their stories, their successes, and their challenges.

Parvin said, “When someone is willing to drive four hours just to connect with others, you can already see how successful they will be in the future. I am grateful that we found each other, and I am excited for everything we will accomplish together. Thank you to Formula Botanica for this wonderful opportunity.”

Image credit: Parvin Kashani

Dubai, UAE — Hosted by Larisa Tudor

In Dubai, student Larisa Tudor hosted a bright and uplifting morning meetup filled with good food, great conversations, and a welcoming atmosphere. What was meant to be a short gathering quickly turned into hours of connection.

“Good food, great conversations, beautiful people – the perfect way to start your morning! Thank you so much to Kristiane, Jaina, and Sheena for coming today, and to Formula Botanica for making this possible. We were supposed to stay 2 hours but ended up spending 4 … and if I didn’t need to pick up my kid from school, we’d probably have stayed even longer!” – Larissa.

Image credit: Larisa Tudor

Beckenham, UK — Hosted by Tara Crombie

In Beckenham, student Tara Crombie brought her local community together, and she even created a Formula Botanica logo balloon for the occasion! The creativity of our community never ceases to amaze us.

Tara was delighted to meet other formulators near her: “Lovely to meet some new friends at the Global Meetup today in Beckenham. It was so nice to share ideas and try each other’s formulas, and just meet people who do what you do! Thank you to Sujana, Donna, Rufaro, Dami, Dean, and Mercy for coming along – and to those of you who travelled from so far away (Derbyshire!). Looking forward to staying active in our new WhatsApp group  and meeting up again in the new year.”

Image credit: Tara Crombie

Marylebone, London (UK) — Hosted by the Formula Botanica team

One of our biggest meetups yet took place in Marylebone, London, hosted by the amazing Formula Botanica team!

This was our largest gathering to date, attended by our CEO, Lorraine Dallmeier, along with Formula Botanica’s CGO Wayne Moussalli, COO Glen Moussalli, Head of Automation Jack Stirk, and student advisor Cheryl McMillan. The event was met with fantastic feedback from everyone who joined!

Meeting our students face-to-face is always an incredible experience. It allows us to answer your questions in person and helps us continually improve the learning experience for all our students (and stay in touch with our graduates, of course).

Islington, London (UK) — Hosted by Blanca Parra

Another wonderful gathering took place in  London, this time in Islington, where student Blanca Parra hosted a meetup at The Vineyard Café. I had the pleasure of attending this one, and it was such a lovely, relaxed afternoon of conversation, shared experiences, and new friendships forming over tea and coffee.

Here’s what Blanca had to say: “I had a great time at Friday’s meetup. It was lovely to meet everyone, and hopefully we’ll do this again soon, and maybe even more people will join in.” Thank you, Blanca, for hosting!

Image credit: Ariane Triebswetter

Glasgow, UK — Hosted by Lucia Mencarelli

One of our student mentors, Lucia Mencarelli, hosted a meetup in Glasgow, Scotland! She was joined by Formula Botanica’s Head of Education, Robin Cummins, as well as student Joystar Cox, at the Mackintosh at the Willow.

Here’s how Lucia described the day: “It was really lovely meeting Rob and Joy at our Scottish event! Thank you so much to everyone who came along, and a big thank you to the organisers. We should definitely do this more often!”

Image credit: Lucia Mencarelli

Cape Town, South Africa — Hosted by Joanna Tymbios Malone

In Cape Town, Joanna Tymbios Malone brought together a wonderful group of local formulators for a morning filled with inspiration, shared stories, and plenty of encouragement. The energy was warm, open, and full of joy.

Here’s what Joanna said: “Such a wonderful morning meeting this amazing group of people today at our Formula Botanica Global Meetup in Cape Town, South Africa! Thank you for your inspiring stories and overall awesomeness.”

Image credit: Joanna Tymbios Malone

Durban, South Africa — Hosted by Courtney Jade Hall

Another meetup took place in South Africa, this time in Durban! Students Courtney Jade Hall and Londiwe got together and had an absolute blast! Here’s what Courtney said:

“Had a lovely time yesterday with Londiwe for the meet-up in Durban, South Africa. Had an absolute blast, and it was amazing talking about all things formulating and business. I’m looking forward to more meet-ups!”

Image credit: Courtney Jade Hall

Basel, Switzerland — Hosted by Noelani Mei Sturzenegger

In Basel, Switzerland, Formula Botanica graduate Noelani Mei Sturzenegger brought local formulators together for a warm and inspiring evening. The group shared their stories, tried each other’s products, and bonded over their shared passion for formulation.

Here’s how Noelani described the event: “We had our Global Meetup in Basel, Switzerland last night! It was a fun and inspiring evening hearing everyone’s stories, trying out their products, and sharing our passion for formulation together. Thank you, Formula Botanica, for giving us an excuse to finally get together!” Thank you, Noelani!

Image credit: Noelani Mei Sturzenegger

Las Vegas, USA — Hosted by Edrice Angry

And finally, a special mention to Edrice and her Las Vegas meetup!

If you attend any of the student support sessions, you will certainly be familiar with Edrice. She attends every single one of our support sessions, even those at 3 am her time! Her passion and commitment to her studies are awe-inspiring.

She and Crystal met in Las Vegas, and this wasn’t the first time. Both regularly get together to support and cheer each other on.

Here’s what Edrice had to say: “We supported and cheered each other on, sharing samples of current formulations, sharing our prototype primary packaging, dreaming of secondary packaging, reviewing local licensing issues, and updating each other on what’s new in our lives since last month.”

Image credit: Edrice Angry 

It doesn’t stop there!

But that’s not all! There have been countless meetups happening all over the world, and while we can’t showcase them all here, each one is special to us.

If you haven’t yet, don’t forget to share your experience, photos and videos of the Global Meetup in the online classroom and on social media and tag us using the hashtag #FBGlobalMeetup. We’d love to see what you got up to.

A heartfelt message from Swati

We received many thank-you messages from our community, and we wanted to share one of them, from Swati, who attended a meetup in India, hosted by Shah:

“Thank you for arranging the meetup. I really had a great time. Previously, I hadn’t anticipated meeting anyone from Formula Botanica in person, so this opportunity gave me motivation to create new formulas, open new doors, and, of course, have friends who share the same passion as you. Would love to have more global meetups or more events in future!”

Messages like this are exactly why we created Global Meetup Week. But we received plenty more! Thank you to all of you who hosted or attended an event and sent us a message. We really appreciate it.

What’s next?

This is just the beginning. So many of you told us how motivating and encouraging these in-person meetups were, especially if you’re studying on your own or building a brand. We hear you, and we’re already working on more in-person events for 2026.

And yes … we’d love more local hosts! If your city or town wasn’t represented this year, perhaps you could be the next person to bring your local formulating community together.  In the meantime:

• You can connect with people near you through the online classroom or your local Formula Botanica Facebook group
• You can host your own local meetup anytime
• You can apply for a study buddy if you need extra support

So many of our students have found the study buddy programme incredibly helpful. If you’d like to join, simply email us at [email protected]. We’re also always open to feedback and suggestions, too, so feel free to email us at [email protected]

And if you do create your own meetup event, don’t forget to share it and to tag us in the online classroom!

Final thoughts & thank you

Global Meetup Week showed just how kind, supportive, and international the Formula Botanica community is (not that we ever doubted it!). It was also a milestone for our school, a celebration of everything we stand for as educators, formulators, and champions of indie green beauty.

To anyone who hosted, attended, or cheered others on: thank you. You made this week incredible and unforgettable. And if you have any more photos, videos, or stories you’d like to share, don’t forget to share them in the online classroom or even on social media, and to tag us using #FBGlobalMeetup.

Here’s to you. Here’s to Formula Botanica. And here’s to many more meetups to come!

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Ariane Triebswetter

Ariane is Formula Botanica’s Content Creator and an active member of the student community. She has worked as a professional journalist, blogger, copywriter and editor before joining Formula Botanica full-time in 2024.