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2024 Taliah Waajid World Natural Hair Show
Taliah Waajid’s World Natural Hair show (the “Taliah Waajid Show”) was held April 26-28 at the Georgia International Center. Taliah Waajid Show has been leading the beauty trends inspired by natural hair, health, and beauty. This year, with the slogan, “It’s not a hair show, It’s a movement,” the show also delivered a social message and advocated a paradigm shift in the beauty industry. In about 300 booths over a 50,000 sq ft space, the Taliah Waajid show brought dynamic energy, and we will take a look at the highlights of the Show, followed by an interview with the show’s founder, Taliah Waajid and the executive producer, Khalifa Waajid to hear about the show’s purpose and vision.
Show sketch
More lively hair demos than any others
Taliah Waajid:
The show’s founder, Taliah Waajid, ran one of the biggest demonstrations with her own brand. The demo was also live streamed on the media.
Pure O natural products:
Promoted their new men’s care line and received an overwhelming response from attendees wanting to participate in the demo.
Queen B:
It set up a large booth near the entrance of the show floor and showcased styles made with braid products.
Hair in Peace (Beauty Salon):
It’s a beauty salon located in Atlanta. The attendees got hair done in trendy styles on the spot.
Hawaiian Silky:
With a wide variety of product lines for men, women, and children, the booth was a favorite of many.
Korean companies brought diverse marketing to the show
Loc N & Crown Pacific:
Loc N, whose entire wall was decorated with product images, highlighted its popular braid gels as well as its braid products in collaboration with Crown Pacific.
Universal Beauty Products:
Images of the company’s best-selling products were displayed in pillars to create visual grandeur for effective advertisement.
UOG:
Employees wore uniforms printed with QR codes to promote products.
KISS:
Located right next to the lecture hall, Kiss focused on hair care products.
Supreme Hair:
Supreme, which produces most of its products in Africa, focused on its long-selling TZ braid.
Other notable brands
MIELLE
Uncle Funky’s Daughter
RA Cosmetics
Uncle Jimmy
Smokkin
A show with the kids
The proportion of products aimed at children was higher than other shows, and the kid products ranged from hair and accessories to general merchandise. It was also impressive to see child entrepreneurs, along with their parents, taking the initiative to decorate the booth, hand out pamphlets, and explain their business. At the back of the show floor, an area was set up for kids to play and have fun.
Multiple platforms for education
Panels of influencers and young innovators hosted a variety of professional courses, and competitions were held to share new styles and techniques. The barber competition boasted awards of $10,000, and the loc and braiding competitions were $5,000 each. Walmart has been one of the main sponsors of the event for the past five years, and other retailers such as Target and CBS have sponsored the event.
Fashionistas at the show
With a higher percentage of black attendees than other shows, we saw a lot of fashionistas wearing African print fabrics in primary colors and exotic jewelry for a unique look.
Interview – Taliah Waajid
Brand Owner and Founder of The Show
Taliah Waajid
Please briefly explain the “movement” mentioned in the show’s slogan.
The beauty industry continues to grow. With growth, we believe that the beauty industry should become more professional. It’s a movement toward a professional beauty industry that includes healthy hair products and expert services for natural hair.
Do you have a particular strategy for bringing vendors to the show?
It’s been going on for 24 years, so we have a long reputation for putting on a great show. It’s mainly word of mouth. We are honored to be able to contribute to our community through this event and are excited to see the beauty industry continue to grow.
Why do you put so much emphasis on educational programs?
We welcome newcomers every day, such as young stylists and barbers, and so on. It’s important that they understand the process of appropriate haircare for maintaining healthy hair along with the best available techniques. Training is the only way to achieve it.
Interview – Khalifa Waajid
Executive Producer
Khalifah Waajid (far left) with his staff
What’s the vibe of the show?
It’s great. This is the 24th year of the show, and for many consumers, life is completely back to normal post-COVID, and we’re all happy to be a part of it.
What makes your show different from others?
The show’s highlights include the “Influencer Panel,” featuring well-known celebrities, and the “Young Innovators Panel,” featuring entrepreneurial kids 10 and under. I think it’s a great opportunity to showcase trends and help the next generation contribute to this society. We also focus on consumer behavior, how they engage with brands, and how they communicate by giving vendors an effective platform to engage with consumers, and designing the show to be fun for everyone who attends.
I hear you’re planning a big show for the 25th anniversary next year. Do you have a message for beauty companies looking to get involved?
The Taliah Waajid Show covers all categories: beauty, health, jewelry, bags, accessories, lashes, and more. It’s the consumer who shapes the show, the retail landscape, and the business. As a brand and as an organizer of the Taliah Waajid Show, we want to partner with all businesses that are looking for ways to serve consumers better. We believe it’s our job to help vendors get the best results, and we mean it with our sincere hearts.
