To mark the end of summer and celebrate a new era for Beautynova, more than 1,100 hairstylists and beauty pros from across Europe and North America travelled to the iconic island of Ibiza to celebrate Hairtopia 2025.
The three-day event was held on September 28 to October 1 at the five-star Hard Rock Hotel resort and kicked off with interactive brand experiences to showcase Beautynova’s brands: milk_shake, Medavita and Depot – The Male Tools Co.
“It’s a way to bring customers and cultures together,” says John Moroney, senior vice president of global education for Beautynova. “Each of the brands occupy such a different space—milk_shake is mid-range-priced products with a broad consumer appeal for fun, feel good and healthy hair; Medavita is more elevated with premium packaging, and the products are exquisite with a whole different sensory experience; and Depot in the male grooming world. There is room for all three brands in any given salon.”
Hairtopia’s main attraction was the high-energy, music-festival-inspired education sessions, which were held outdoors at the resort’s main stage and featured artists and educators from across Beautynova’s brands.
With looks inspired by the overarching theme of “a tribe from another planet,” the artists and educators showcased techniques ranging from avant-garde styling and innovative colour placement to editorial-focused looks and curly-texture techniques.
In addition to the on-stage hair jams, live DJs took the education to the next level, transforming the sessions into a lively party with attendees gathered around the stage for a truly unique and fun learning experience.
“The shows are artist-led and not brand-led because we wanted to make this about creativity, not product,” says Moroney. “Pros are the centre of our universe. They’re vital to what we do because they validate and credential to everything we do. We’re continuing to invest in education and do more with media and partnerships to show up for pros because we really want them to know we’re pro first.”
Among the educators were Contessa Award finalists for International Colourist, Andrew Smith and Gianluca Grechi, who are U.K. ambassadors and global artistic ambassadors for milk_shake.
“We do a lot of shows, but this one was different,” says Smith. “It was bringing all the brands together. For anyone in the audience, it ticked the boxes for all of them.”
“The festival vibe was something different,” adds Grechi. “With the live DJ set, it was very cool, and I think the crowd was very into it.”
The event also included a party at the renowned Ushuaïa Ibiza Beach Hotel for a special DJ set by David Guetta.
The next day featured lots of time to network before the “Be a Rock Star” closing party, which featured a buffet dinner and night of dancing.
Among the attendees were Stefano Banfo, CEO and founder of Beautynova Group, Cory Couts, president of Beautynova Americas, Aubrey Schutté, vice president of marketing, and Scott Guinter, senior vice president of sales.
“We’re very happy to have a pretty large contingent for us from North America, and it’s part of that buzz we’ve been generating for the past year,” says Couts. “We’ve been on a very high growth trajectory for the last year and this just helps cement that.”
“We’re trying to communicate with people, not just through our words but the actual sensorial portion of the event,” he adds. “The way our products come across to hairdressers and clients is that it’s so much more about feeling and not all based solely on technique and science. There’s definitely an emotional element to it that you don’t find in a lot of brands.”
Fun Fact: The company recently opened a 10,000-square-foot academy in Italy, just outside of Milan. As it continues to grow and expand its brands across North America, be on the lookout for more regional events in the future that help expand on Beautynova’s success in Italy and Spain.
Browse a gallery of photos from the event.
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