The Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO) will be leading a team of local cosmetics manufacturers to participate in the Bronner Brothers International Beauty Show in New Orleans, the United States, from March 30 to April 1.

The annual beauty show, which is one of the largest of its kind in North America, attracts more than 35,000 hairstylists, make-up artists, entrepreneurs, manufacturers, distributors and retailers for networking and to showcase their products and services.

The group will consist of persons and entities producing a wide range of items for the hair, face, and body, including shampoos and conditioners; moisturisers; hair and body oils; hair gels and treatments; facial scrubs, cleansers, masks and washes; and a wide range of soaps.

In an interview with JIS News, Sales and Promotions Manager for Manufacturing, Energy and Mining at JAMPRO, Berletta Henlon-Forrester, said that the show provides an opportunity for manufacturers to showcase and sell their items and meet with distributors to generate long-term business.

She noted that over the three days, the local manufacturers will meet with buyers and visitors, and conduct product demonstrations, sampling and sales.

“So, it involves networking and getting deals with distributors, as we are looking for sustainable business,” she said.

Mrs. Henlon-Forrester said that product sales, while unusual at a trade show, will enable the companies to recoup some of the money spent to participate in the event.

“The fact that they are allowed to sell their products to a salon owner and meet with distributors and retailers who can place orders on an ongoing basis is all part of JAMPRO’s mandate of increasing export in a sustainable way,” she pointed out.

In terms of projections for the show, she informed that a target has been set for 45 export leads to be generated and 25 buyer meetings to be held.

“One of the activities that we engage in when we go on these shows is to take a day to go and visit the trade (floor), meet with retailers and walk through some of the retail outlets to see what the products look like.

“We do the comparison with other similar products, look at price points, packaging, product quality, product ingredients and talk with the retailers as this is a very important element of our mission. This is where the companies gather market intelligence and can come back and apply some of the learning to the products that they are making,” the manager pointed out.

She said that the local cosmetic items have the advantage of being made from natural, home-grown ingredients such as turmeric, charcoal, aloe vera, castor oil, honey, coffee, lemongrass, garlic, rosemary and moringa.

In terms of preparation for the beauty show, Mrs. Henlon-Forrester noted that JAMPRO held a briefing session with all the participating entities on the markets that they are going into, the profile of the show and visitors, how to prepare for the show and display their products, and how to engage people in order to gain maximum results.

“We also prepared a one-page flyer detailing the characteristics of their products, pictures of the products and contact information. We are constantly in communication with them, and, at the show, we will get into the conversation with them and the buyer, if they ask us to help to clarify situations,” the manager noted.

She said that JAMPRO will document all the outcomes from the Show, including the leads generated and orders and reorders, as part of measures to ensure sustainability.

“We are not in this for one-off sales, as we are creating and facilitating exports on a sustainable basis. We rely a lot on the follow-up that the companies will do and the feedback that we get, because this is how we measure the results,” she noted.

She said that JAMPRO creates the environment, facilitates the companies and opportunities for them to interface with the buyers, “but, at the end of the day, it is up to them to follow through and convert the leads”.

JAMPRO led missions to the Bronner Brothers International Beauty Show in Atlanta in 2017 and 2018.

Mrs. Henlon-Forrester said that coming out of those events, “we now have some 50 Jamaican cosmetic products in retail stores in Atlanta that were not there prior to 2017… so that has been a huge success and those stores continue to order on a consistent basis”.