Clean Cosmetics and Bath Enhancers Dominate Post-IBE NY 2018 Retail Buyer Survey

Retail buyers attending Indie Beauty Expo New York picked color cosmetics and bath-enhancing brands as their favorite finds from the trade show put on by Indie Beauty Media Group at Pier 26 last month.

Representing a wide array of retailers from single-door operations like the Westport, Conn., shop Organachs Farm To Skin to national chains such as Whole Foods, the buyers relayed their brand choices in a post-IBE NY 2018 survey. At the show, 500 of them scoped out 250 independent beauty and wellness exhibitors to scoop up their next bestsellers.

Survey results reveal clean makeup brands Saint Cosmetics, Elate Cosmetics, Noyah and RealHer to be four of the 10 most popular brands on the show floor. The remaining six brands are a diverse collection and include Terra Beauty Bars, which offers everything from shampoo bars to pillow sprays, herbal bath brewer Moon Bath and, fresh off of topping the buyer and consumer surveys at IBE Dallas in May, affordable and natural skincare and body care line Honey Belle. Two haircare brands, Innersense and Ikoo, and menstrual cup maker OrganiCup round out the top ten.

The group of buyer favorites is split between new and returning exhibitors. Elate Cosmetics, Noyah, Terra Beauty Bars, OrganiCup and Ikoo made their IBE debuts in New York. Saint Cosmetics, a veteran exhibitor, has learned how to make the most of the platform the expo provides over several shows: The makeup brand joined IBE initially in 2016 and exhibited at all three domestic shows this year. IBE takes place annually in Los Angeles in addition to Dallas and New York in the U.S.

Raman Sekhon, Senior Executive, Brand Development and Global Partnerships at Saint Cosmetics
Raman Sekhon, senior executive, brand development and global partnerships at Saint Cosmetics, on the floor at Indie Beauty Expo New York 2018.

“Over the years, we have exclusively met buyers and loyal Saint customers at IBE shows whose support has meant the world to us in each step of our growth,” says Raman Sekhon, senior executive, brand development and global partnerships at Sait Cosmetics. “When it came to debuting our new skincare makeup foundations and concealers with IBE in NY this year, the choice was an easy one — we couldn’t be more thrilled.” Saint was a buyer favorite at IBE LA 2018, too.

Two other returning exhibitors, Innersense, which exhibited at the first-ever IBE in New York in 2015, and Honey Belle also received a number of callouts on IBMG’s consumer survey, which polls beauty enthusiasts flocking to the consumer portion of IBE called SHOP INDIE. At IBE NY, over 1,000 consumers poured into the event venue to try and buy the latest in indie beauty. “It is an honor to be recognized as an emerging clean brand,” enthuses Innersense co-founder Greg Starkman. “More importantly, indie brands are being recognized and taken seriously for bringing innovation to market by buyers looking to expand there beauty collections.”

“NYC is our largest event and to stand out among such a strong roster of brands is an important accomplishment,” says Jillian Wright, co-founder of Indie Beauty Media Group. “We are especially happy to see a strong mix of returning and first-time exhibitors making it to the top, demonstrating that new and existing independent innovators are driving this market forward.”

“It is an honor to be recognized as an emerging clean brand. More importantly, indie brands are being recognized and taken seriously for bringing innovation to market by buyers looking to expand there beauty collections.”

OrganiCup, Innersense and Ikoo have a shot at a buyers’ favorite multi-show streak. The three brands will be returning to IBE to exhibit at IBE London, IBMG’s fourth and final exposition of 2018 running from Oct. 24 to 25 at The Old Truman Brewery.