How Betallic and Sempertex Work Together

I've been doing balloons for ten years and I still had questions about how Betallic and Sempertex work together.

Are they the same company? Are they separate? What was Betallatex and why don't I hear that name anymore? Most of us are heads-down in our own businesses and not really plugged into what's happening at the industry level, so when I got the chance to sit down with Andrea and Barry of Betallic live at the International Balloon Convention, I asked everything.

Here's what I learned...

The Betallic and Sempertex Relationship Explained

Betallic started as a foil balloon company. When they needed latex to round out their product line, they eventually connected with Sempertex, a family-owned manufacturer based in Colombia, and began importing their latex under the name Betallatex.

For years, that's how it worked. Betallic was selling Sempertex latex... just under a different name. About two years ago, they dropped Betallatex entirely and went all-in on the Sempertex name, finally being transparent about what the product actually was and where it came from.

Betallic holds the exclusive U.S. distribution rights for Sempertex latex. Sempertex has its own distributors handling other countries. The two companies are closely aligned and that relationship was on full display at IBC, where both brands were very much working together.

So if you ever used Betallatex, you've used Sempertex. Same product, same factory, same family. Just a different name on the label.

On Tariffs and Supply

I asked about tariffs because I think most of us feel the impact without fully understanding where it comes from. Barry was candid: the tariffs themselves are a problem, but the uncertainty around them has been the harder thing to manage. Extensions, reversals, on again and off again... business hates uncertainty and that's exactly what the last few years have looked like for importers.

In the meantime, their focus has been on absorbing as much of the cost as possible to protect decorators from price increases.

On the supply side, things are looking better than they ever have. Sempertex built an entirely new factory to keep up with growing demand. Betallic is holding more warehouse inventory than ever before and hitting shipping fill rates higher than at any point in the company's history. After the shortages and chaos of the COVID years, that stability feels significant.

How COVID Changed the Industry

This came up naturally in our conversation and I found Barry and Andrea's perspective really interesting.

They credited the drive-by birthday trend (cars driving past homes with balloons out the windows) as a genuine turning point for the industry. It brought balloons into a moment of collective grief and worry, and turned them into something that felt essential rather than decorative. People saw what balloons could do when everything else was off limits... and a lot of those people thought: I could do that.

That wave of new decorators that came out of COVID? Betallic sees it as a net positive. More decorators means more demand, more visibility, more people discovering what this industry can offer. And many of those newcomers have stayed, invested in their craft, and become serious professionals.

The Betallic Balloon Club

One of the ways Betallic is trying to support that growing community is through the Betallic Balloon Club: a monthly online subscription that launched at Balloonathon and has been building since.

It's part education, part community forum. Members can post questions, share wins, connect with decorators in other states and join live monthly hangouts with the Betallic and Sempertex teams. The idea is that whether you're feeling stuck, plateaued or just isolated in your solo business, there's a place to plug in and keep growing.

For anyone who's felt the loneliness of being self-employed with no co-workers and no built-in team, that kind of connection is worth more than it might sound.

What Betallic Wants Decorators to Know

I asked Barry what he most wants serious decorators to understand about the brands. His answer was simple: Sempertex is the best latex balloon on the planet, and it's worth building your business on something you can trust.

Making a quality latex balloon is genuinely hard. The consistency, the finish, the performance... that doesn't happen by accident. It's the result of decades of experience and serious investment. And for decorators who are running real businesses and staking their reputation on their product, that foundation matters.

Hear the full conversation with Andrea and Barry on The Bright Balloon podcast, episode 413.