Following the viral fallout of the Barbie Dream Fest in South Florida, local vendors are seeking accountability and refunds after the event failed to deliver on its promises.
Organizers of the event, Mischief Management, recently agreed to refund ticketholders after disappointed fans took to social media to complain they did not get their money's worth. Now, small business owners who paid thousands of dollars to set up shop are speaking out.
WATCH: Small business owner worries about impact on her brand's reputation
Brielle Cenci, owner of the hair accessories business Brielle's Shells, said she signed up because her mission aligns with the Barbie brand.
"The mission of Barbie and the mission of Brielle's Shells are so similar, in you know, inspiring girls that they can be whoever they want to be. So that was a big reason why I wanted to sign up for the event," Cenci said.
Marketing materials for the event touted a life-size Dreamhouse, an 80s-themed disco rink complete with neon lights and a throwback DJ, and a glam bar. None of those features panned out.
Mattel, which licensed the Barbie brand to Mischief Management, addressed the situation.
"We want every fan experience to be an excellent one," Mattel said in a statement.
Cenci said her vendor contract prevents her from sharing exactly how much she paid to be there, but she told me it was in the thousands. She said she did not see a return on her investment.
"Financially? No. It felt more like the volume of a farmer's market and we paid, I don't know, 10 times the amount of a farmer's market," Cenci said.
"It would be nice to get refunded for the vendor fees that we paid, and at the very minimum maybe an apology would be nice," Cenci said.
Beyond the financial hit, Cenci is worried about the impact on her brand's reputation.
"It wasn't a great feeling seeing little girls run up to our booth thinking that we were this free glam bar and then we had to tell them like, oh sorry, like these products are for sale. It just wasn't a good look for our brands," Cenci said.
Cenci said she was still grateful to network with other business owners at Dream Fest, and noted that the event did deliver on its promise of appearances from celebrity special guests, including Serena Williams.
"Serena and her daughters came to [my] booth and they picked out some mermaid extensions for their hair," Cenci said. "So that was a huge highlight, just seeing the joy that I was able to bring them and then getting to thank Serena for all that she does for women in business. She's a huge inspiration to me."
Mischief Management released a statement when it announced it would refund ticketholders:
Mischief Management is incredibly grateful to everyone who joined Barbie Dream Fest. We appreciate the passion and engagement from the Barbie community. Bringing fans together—alongside Barbie role models, designers, partners, and global icons who embody the true spirit of Barbie—was at the heart of this event. Barbie Dream Fest was created as an intimate fan convention designed to foster meaningful connection, inspiration, and closer access to Barbie and her world.
Mischief Management took all of the event details down from its website and removed mentions of Barbie from its social media accounts. I reached out to Mischief Management to see if they will do anything to make things right for vendors, and am still waiting to hear back.
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