Growth & Jobs | From Kingston to Paris: Creative entrepreneur unlocks global beauty opportunities

Kingston Creative, with funding from The UWI Creative Caribbean programme and support from partner UNESCO, celebrates the successful international engagement of the Go Global Travel Grant awardee Indira Boyd-Mullings, CEO of Naturalista Distributors Ltd. She recently returned from Cosmetagora in Paris, one of Europe’s premier cosmetics innovation events.

In a media release, it notes that Naturalista Distributors met one on one with the French Ambassador, Marianne Ziss, and gained access to European formulators, suppliers, distributors, and emerging product innovation insights critical for brands targeting EU retail channels. Her meetings in France generated leads for private label manufacturing, product reformulation, and potential distribution partnerships, key steps towards expanding their business presence beyond the Caribbean.

Reflecting on her experience, Boyd-Mullings shared: “As a Jamaican small-business owner attending Cosmetagora 2026 for the first time, and my first time in Paris, I wasn’t sure what to expect, especially since I don’t speak French, but I walked away having secured a meeting with a mineral powder supplier and learned that simplicity is a powerful force in cosmetics. I discovered that much like Jamaicans, the French truly appreciate natural products, and I now carry not just new knowledge but the confidence to expand my brand, possibly even into the French and broader European market.”

REMOVING KEY FINANCIAL BARRIERS

The Go Global Travel Grant was designed by Kingston Creative to help Jamaican creatives seize high-value international opportunities and covered expenses, removing key financial barriers that often prevent creative startups from entering export markets. Since 2017, several cohorts of creatives, including visual artists, musicians, and dancers, have received travel grants to help them to export their services.

Executive Director of Kingston Creative Andrea Dempster Chung noted that Boyd-Mullings’s story demonstrates exactly why the Travel Grant was created. “When Jamaican creative entrepreneurs, who hail from a very small market, can connect directly with international buyers, suppliers, and innovators; they return with business leads, insights, and confidence that strengthens not only their own businesses but the entire creative ecosystem.”

While Boyd-Mullings pursued opportunities in Europe, fellow awardee Marlene Adolphus, founder of Adolphus Makeup Artistry, chose to travel to the United States. In 2025, she completed an intensive four-day HD Film Airbrush Makeup Training at the Cosmix School of Makeup Artistry. The certification enhanced her competitiveness in providing makeup and beauty services for the film and television industry.

Both creatives have published reflections on their international learning journeys, including skills gained, contacts made, and next steps for export development, which can be accessed in the Kingston Creative online blog (www.kingstoncreative.org/blog).