The organizers of ADF&PCD New York have announced that Jillian Wright, co-founder of the Indie Beauty Media Group (IBMG), will moderate a panel of packaging industry experts and Indie beauty insiders entitled Less and More: Meeting Indie Beauty Brands' Packaging Needs, on September 17, the first day of ADP&PCD New York. The discussion will focus on the packaging needs of small startups and niche brands.
 
A skin health expert, Wright owned and operated Jillian Wright Clinical Skin Spa prior to founding IBMG in 2015. During her tenure there she also launched her eponymous skincare line. IBMG is producer of Indie Beauty Expo/Uplink Live, Beauty Independent and BeautyX Summit.
 
ADF&PCD New York recently interviewed Wright about her involvement in the conference and her perspective on the future of the indie beauty movement:
 
ADF&PCD New York: What do you hope attendees come away with from your Indie Beauty Packaging session at ADF&PCD New York?
Jillian Wright: Packaging suppliers and brands have a fundamental responsibility to choose and create packaging that will have little to no impact on our environment. As an industry, we have to make important decisions that will have a positive effect as to where this packaging ends up. The beauty industry is being watched carefully as a primary environmental polluter, so we have to stay ahead and solve these problems in real time as a collective in order to push the industry forward responsibly.
 
ADF&PCD New York: What are the main challenges that indie brands face when it comes to packaging?
Jillian Wright: The main challenge is quantity. Some of the more desirable packaging can only be ordered in large quantities which doesn’t do anyone any good. Indie beauty is driving the industry forward in many positive ways. It’s important for packaging suppliers to realize this and meet us halfway. Suppliers should want to work with us and provide options that are beautiful, different and sustainable but in lower quantities.
 
ADF&PCD New York: What advice do you have for indie brands when they talk to larger packaging companies about collaboration?
Jillian Wright: Don’t be afraid to ask. Many ingredient suppliers, manufacturers and packaging companies are seeing the value of working with indie brands and looking to invest here. You may strike up conversations with someone who has a genuine interest in your company that goes beyond filling a P.O. You will never know unless you ask. We are all here to do well. We are all here to forge ahead financially. But sometimes, you have to be flexible in order to do this. The old way of doing business is just that, the old way. We all need to have an open mind and the best way to have these conversations is to manifest it and ask.
 
ADF&PCD New York: Why do corporations want to work with Indie brands?
Jillian Wright: Indie beauty entrepreneurs bring newness, quality, ingenuity to an industry that, in the past, has been a bit cookie cutter. Working with an indie brand is about relationship building and supporting those who are consciously trying to “do good,” or better one way or the other. Most are mission driven. If they are not, they are working on other initiatives like supporting local community members or farmers, for example. The vibrational effect of partnering with an indie brand positively affects all of us one way or another. They provide the soul to a sometimes soul-less industry. Increasingly, consumers want to know where they are spending their money and with whom. They want to be able to follow the story or journey in a way that resonates with them before they part with the dollars. Corporations see this and understand that this is the future of the beauty industry especially with the aspirational generation. This generation is going to hold business accountable for their actions. This is true especially when it comes to making choices based on their social and environmental beliefs. So purchasing power will be belief driven.
 
ADF&PCD New York will feature more than 120 suppliers sharing their latest packaging innovations.