Indie Beauty Media Group Announces Move to Pier 94 and Launch of UpLink Live
New York (USA), May 14 2019—Indie Beauty Media Group (IBMG), producer of Indie Beauty Expo (IBE), BeautyX Summit and publisher of Beauty Independent, has announced a major expansion to IBE New York: The creation of “Uplink Live”, a companion event to IBE specifically designed to connect beauty entrepreneurs with qualified solution providers positioned to serve emerging brands. Uplink Live is an extension of Uplink, the online services marketplace launched by IBMG last year on its Beauty Independent digital platform.
Curated to highlight a diverse selection of service providers, Uplink Live is a one-stop shop for brand founders to find specialists they need and can trust. “I know from experience how difficult and time consuming it is to find qualified vendors who are genuinely interested in engaging with indie brands,” says Jillian Wright co-founder of IBMG. “For every brand that shows at IBE, there are several more that are not quite ready to exhibit. This event allows them to discover and begin connecting with the right people to further their journey.”
“Indie brands rely heavily on outsourced solution providers, but, lacking a procurement function, the task of finding the right vendor is daunting and often a major impediment to their growth,” explains IBMG Co-Founder Nader Naeymi-Rad. “At the same time, solution providers clearly view indie brands as a significant growth opportunity, but lack access to a focused channel to meet and present their capabilities to the right indie decision-makers.” UpLink Live will take place over two days, running concurrently with IBE NY on Wednesday, August 21st and Thursday, August 22nd.
“IBMG does a great job connecting the next generation of beauty leaders with the resources they need to successfully launch their products, and with the support they need as they continue to grow and evolve in such a dynamic industry,” says Kevin Cureton, Chief Commercial Officer of Solésence, LLC. The skin care product manufacturer was among the first brands to sign on. “We have enjoyed successful partnerships through BeautyX and Uplink, and look forward to exhibiting at Uplink Live. We see a bright future with the beauty entrepreneurs of today and tomorrow.”
The launch of Uplink Live comes at a time of tremendous growth for IBE, which will be moving to Pier 94 for the upcoming 5th anniversary of IBE New York in August of 2019. “Since launching IBE in 2015, our space needs have doubled each year, necessitating that we move to a larger venue every year. With 133,000 Sq. Ft. of space—exactly ten times the floor space of our launch venue at the Altman Building—we hope that Pier 94 will be our home for at least one or two more years,” added Naeymi-Rad.
IBMG has also announced that due to the prodigious growth of IBE, both in terms of exhibiting brands and attending buyers, and launch of Uplink Live, SHOP INDIE—the consumer-facing portion of IBE—will no longer be a part of the core IBE event. The decision to shift IBE solely to a B2B offering is a direct result of feedback from brands and buyers who expressed that more dedicated time was needed to interact exclusively with business professionals.
According to Wright, “While we can always find more space, finding more time is more challenging. We want to keep IBE as a two-day event for as long as possible. But with all the growth and the launch of Uplink Live, we realized we had to make trade-offs. With most of our B2C activities now happening with our growing roster of retail partners, such as Neiman Marcus, Feelunique and Douglas, we now can confidently say that we are bringing the message of independent beauty to consumers 365 days a year, and doing so in a more impactful way than that of a 2-day event.”
About Indie Beauty Media Group (IBMG)
IBMG’s mission is to recognize, showcase and celebrate independent beauty brands and to support the growth and success of the entrepreneurs behind them. IBMG’s first offering, the Indie Beauty Expo (IBE) was launched in 2015 and is now the largest international exposition of independent beauty brands, and is presented in five strategic international retail markets: New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, London and Berlin. IBMG has also launched a range of services to better support beauty entrepreneurs on their path to success, including BeautyX Summit series, Beauty Independent news, Uplink and Uplink Live and knowledge and retail advisory services.
Contact:
Jane Carlson (IBE)
jane@indiebeautyexpo.com
+1 (702) 325-55713