At Formula Botanica, we are constantly exploring the latest beauty trends and sharing them with our community. The Indie Beauty expo returned for a second year running, to London at the Old Truman Brewery in October and the Formula Botanica team travelled down to enjoy the show. Indie Beauty Expo is an international trade show organised by the Indie Beauty media group. Indie Beauty Expo and Indie Beauty Media group was founded by celebrity aesthetician, Jillian Wright, and entrepreneur, Nader Naeymi-Rad. It was established to help the fast-growing category of indie brands connect to buyers, press, consumers and investors. Unsatisfied with the options available, Jillian and Nader formed Indie Beauty group to cater specifically to indie brands.
Trade shows can be a fantastic way for indie beauty entrepreneurs to gain exposure for their brands and to make contacts. We recommend that you research and plan which trade shows could be most beneficial for your brand. You have to think about several factors, such as location, cost and footfall. These events are time consuming, but can be worth the investment if you choose wisely.
Listen to our podcast on this topic – Episode 19: Why Beauty Trade shows are good for business
Meeting Formula Botanica Graduates
Although skincare was the largest represented category at the show, there was a significant increase in colour cosmetic brands attending. Independent make up brands still represent a very small percentage of the overall market share, but is a sector showing impressive growth. Skincare was obviously well represented at the show, but a significant percentage of the brands present also classed themselves as natural or organic, which reflects the current industry.
There were a number of brands with products that blurred the lines between beauty and health & wellbeing categories. This is a trend that we identified in our podcast on the contentious topic of clean beauty – Episode 44: What is Clean Beauty: A Redefinition. Customers seeking out products that improve their wellbeing or with an added feel good factor to them.
We were very excited to find several Formula Botanica graduates amongst the exhibitors this year and loved chatting to them about their brands:
Formula Botanica Graduate: Mittee
Mittee – A brand based around sacred beauty rituals. We just love the stunning blue packaging of our graduate Yashica and her whole stand was beautifully presented and thought out. Each Mittee product pays homage to a Goddess from a different area of the world, which is a lovely touch. The collection itself consists of four products, available together as a the Age-Defence Night time ritual or as individual products. This luxurious four step ritual stood out, with its inspiring branding. Yashica is a wonderful member of our community and it was wonfantasticerful to meet her and see what she has achieved. The warm welcome to her stand was worth the long trip to London in itself.
Formula Botanica Graduate: Pura Vida Organics
Pura Vida Organics – CBD oil and cannabinoids were a big trend at Indie Beauty Expo London 2019, so we were delighted to explore Jennifer’s stand with her Cosmos-certified CBD-infused skincare. Jennifer is a current Formula Botanica student and we loved chatting to her to her about her brand. She had a full range of skincare on display on the stand, including speciality products such as a CBD infused tattoo balm and a baby balm.
Beauty Trends at Indie Beauty Expo London 2019
CBD and other Cannabinoids
CBD was everywhere at the Indie Beauty Expo, proving that this trend is showing no signs of slowing down. There were CBD-infused edibles and plenty of skincare options. The market for CBD has grown rapidly in the last couple of years, but there still seems to be scope for increased growth, especially as it is expanding across several markets, with beauty and personal care being the strongest. CBD is one of the stronger beauty trends that has emerged in the last few years and we look forward to seeing how it evolves.
The Merging of Beauty and Wellness
This year’s exhibitors went beyond the beauty category and many crossed over in to the health and wellbeing space. There was also a strong environmental stance, with reusable items such as menstrual cups having a large presence at the expo. Sustainability is currently the word on everyone’s lips and that was seen across the expo, with brands really making an effort to communicate their environmental stance to consumers.
We saw some very strong stands providing plastic free products such as tooth paste in glass jars and wooden toothbrushes. There were also stands dedicated to refills, this was a large theme on the Faith in Nature stand. The UK brand was one of the first to offer large five litre refill bottles of its products and this was a prominent part of their display, with popularity increasing due to the demand for less packaging waste.
British Beauty
Although there were a diverse range of brands at the expo from around the world, British beauty was extremely well represented at the Indie Beauty Expo London 2019. Pioneering natural brands Inlight and Aeos were two prime examples of independent British beauty brands that were exhibiting, but there were many more.
Listen to our podcast on the topic – Episode 27: Reviewing Indie Beauty Trends and events
Several brands also launched at the expo and retail partner FeelUnique’s team created a physical space on the show floor where they invited select influencers to create content using product from their Future of Beauty selection, which is curated in partnership with Indie Beauty Media Group. The atmosphere at the show was busy and there was plenty of interesting brands to explore. We look forward to visiting again next year. Which of these beauty trends interests you the most? Leave us a comment below and let us know.
Are you launching your own skincare brand and want the very best information to help you on your journey? Then why not take the Formula Botanica Diploma in Beauty Brand Business Management. Part online training course, part web summit, the course covers everything you need to know to become a successful Indie Beauty Entrepreneur!
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Ana is the Education Manager at Formula Botanica she has over ten years of experience in the natural and organic beauty industry and keeps up to date with all the trends and industry changes. Learn more about the Formula Botanica team here.
