Within three years, Brianna Arps went from being laid off to founding Moodeaux, her own fragrance line.
As the cofounders of Tulsa Beauty Collective, Arps and Kora-Lynah Abelard are bringing their knowledge of the beauty industry directly to Tulsans during The Exchange, a four-day beauty summit featuring a marketplace, community gathering and series of panels.
Running Thursday through Sunday, most of the event is free to attend and will take place at various locations around the Greenwood District.
“We’ve been very inspired by Madam C.J. Walker,” Arps told The Eagle. “She had herself a beauty school, and there was an exchange of knowledge that she was giving to the people local to Tulsa … We’re kind of hoping to do the same here.”
The business of Black beauty
For entrepreneurs like Arps and Abelard, the industry is ripe with opportunity as the global beauty market is expected to grow by 5% annually through 2030. However, Black-owned brands remain underrepresented, accounting for only 2.5% of the industry’s total revenue in 2022.
At the core of The Exchange is The Beauty Shoppe, a pop-up marketplace that will be located on 205 E. Archer St. on Saturday and Sunday. The shop will feature over 20 products from Black-owned brands, with about half coming from local businesses.
Abelard, who owns the Caribbean-inspired beauty brand Orijin, says being able to observe how shoppers interact with your products is helpful for entrepreneurs to understand how to position themselves and pitch to retailers and investors.
“Getting into a retail space, you’re losing a lot of control and competing with a bunch of other brands on the shelf … It’s a dream for a lot of brands to be on retail shelves, but it’s higher stakes,” she said.
Standing out from competitors is especially important as the market becomes more saturated and AI adoption grows. Despite those barriers, Arps and Abelard say there will always be a demand for beauty products.
“Even in a recession, people still want to feel pretty … It’s going to be up to the players to reinvent themselves and go with the tides,” Abelard said.
More than skin deep
The Exchange will bring industry insiders from Glossier, Be Rooted and other global brands to Tulsa for the first time. Although it is geared toward beauty, entrepreneurs across all industries are welcome to attend.
On Saturday, TBC will host an after-hours party at Inheritance Kitchen + Juicery from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. Tickets are required.
“There’s truly something I think that everyone can glean from these events, whether that’s listening to our power panel speakers talking about how to just grow and operate a business in general,” Arps said.
Learn more about The Exchange here or find them on Instagram.