ROSE HALL, St James – The organisers of the recently concluded Jamaica International Beauty Expo (JIBE) say participation and sponsorship interest in the next staging of the annual expo is already gaining momentum.

The highly successful second expo drew record participation and attendance at the Montego Bay Convention Centre in Rose Hall, St James, where the expo was held.

“To put things into perspective the facilities at the convention centre are the largest in the English-speaking Caribbean and we were able to utilise the exhibition halls — the largest space at the venue.

“We had over 100 exhibitors and some 6,000 people over the three days of the expo. Coming from this we have received calls from several international and local companies looking to participate in the next staging, either through title sponsorship or exhibiting. More importantly for us though, we would like to thank all our sponsors, exhibitors, and attendees for making the event the success it was,” said Suzette Brown, coordinator of JIBE.

The expo is a platform that was created to build on the gains being made by Jamaican manufacturers and distributors of beauty and wellness products through features of the expo that includes and seminars, panel discussions, vibrant networking on the expo floor.

“We have made advances in the industry and stakeholders are now recognising that we are putting in the work. Our production and marketing of the event show that we are consistent and that we are always looking to improve the product. Already, we have plans to do more industry-building events throughout the year, and we have some exciting and groundbreaking initiatives to come, and the expo will be a culmination of all the projects during the year,” Brown explained.

“We will be reaching out to industry players, linked stakeholders in other sectors and industries, and of course government agencies in short order, to deliver and build on the successes of this year. Feedback from participants has been extremely good. One of the key takeaways from the expo has always been the partnerships that have been created. We had Jamaicans from the diaspora with overseas brands that were able to secure distribution deals locally, and local manufacturers were able to connect with international players and get insight on how to break into overseas markets,” Brown added further.

“We can’t say thank you enough and we are grateful for all the support we have received especially from our sponsors, including Fontana Pharmacy, they have been phenomenal, SSMC Xpress-International, Sagicor Bank, The Jamaica Observer, Icon Distributors and Access Financial Services.

“We are looking forward to building with all our stakeholders and to roll out the exciting projects planned for this year, culminating with an even bigger expo next year,” Brown concluded.