B2B marketplaces: Meet the digital start-ups streamlining beauty sourcing

By Julia Wray | Published: 21-Sep-2021

Digital platforms for beauty sourcing have filled a void during the pandemic lockdown. But with a wide variety of propositions and tools to smooth manufacturers’ routes to market, these start-ups are far more than just traditional marketplaces transplanted online

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The concept of marketplaces has transformed our world as consumers; from Airbnb to Etsy, our lives are made easier by digital one-stop-shops that connect us with a vast array of product or service providers.

The consumer-facing beauty industry has long dabbled in this area, with Treatwell and competitors connecting customers with beauty and wellbeing practitioners.

But while beauty has been accelerating its DTC capabilities via innovative tech platforms, it has been quieter on the supply front. Until now.

“This concept of marketplaces is quickly coming to the B2B world,” says Ali Amin-Javaheri, CEO and co-founder of Knowde, the world’s leading digital marketplace for chemistry.

“In our own consumer lives, the concept of marketplaces has taken over… and we firmly believe, because we're very close to all the activity that's happening in Silicon Valley, that it's all coming to B2B now.

“Buyers don't want to have to go to 45 different websites in order to figure out what their potential options are; they want to be able to go to one.”

Knowde is one of several exciting start-ups that are offering alternatives to (or enhancements of) traditional sourcing routes.

But which of these hubs should we be looking out for, and how can both buyers and sellers of materials and services for the beauty sector benefit?

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