Generation Start-up: Dubai’s Powder a rising star born from the search for clean beauty products

Necessity is the mother of invention, in line with the old proverb.

It is also the foundation of many successful start-ups, and provided the inspiration for Powder, a Dubai-based e-commerce platform selling clean beauty products.

“We started Powder because we were desperate for effective clean cosmetics that could make us feel good about ourselves,” Amina Grimen, 36, Powder's co-founder tells The National.

“After a whole lot of brain-storming and overcoming some initial apprehensions, we put together a selection of products that cure the skin we have problems and enhance, rather than conceal, our natural splendor,” adds Ms Grimen, who's Somali-Norwegian.

The co-founders moved in similar social circles in the UAE for years before bonding over the actual fact that they faced the same problems finding suitable skincare products. Both used clean beauty ranges - ethically-sourced products that are clear of harmful chemicals.

“Locally, we have not a lot of usage of good, clean cosmetics … and consumers battle to find the appropriate guidance and trustworthy reviews,” says 33-year-old Iraqi-Briton Ayat Toufeeq, co-founder of the business.

“Both folks were sharing a strong belief that there is nothing difficult if one wants it. It drove us to begin Powder … now our e-commerce platform is effectively bridging the gap in the clean beauty market in our region,” she adds.

Clean cosmetics include skincare, perfume and make-up that are clear of potentially harmful ingredients such as parabens, sulfates and artificial fragrances.

“The idea is to make sure your skin is free from undesirable chemicals,” says Ms Toufeeq. “It targets enhancing the natural splendor rather than covering it up with the layers of conventional make-up or cosmetics.”

Founded in January 2018, Powder started with a modest investment from its co-founders and their initial clients were based in several parts of the UAE.

Ms Grimen, who was simply working at a worldwide consultancy, and Ms Toufeeq, who was employed at an exclusive security firm, started Powder while pursuing full-time jobs that they left in August last year to fully give attention to the start-up.

Powder entered Saudi Arabia - the Arab world’s biggest economy - last month after completing the first round of angel investment of $150,000, from several undisclosed investors, in July.

The start-up is currently fulfilling orders from over the Gulf and its own co-founders are looking to get more on strengthening their supply chain, marketing the site and growing brand awareness.

“So far, we've grown at a reasonably moderate pace … mainly because we invested our own funds to run the business and didn't raise money from outside through the initial stage. We wanted to test the waters first and prove our products before approaching outside investors,” says Ms Toufeeq, who adds that the business will look to improve a brand new round of funding potentially as soon as mid-next year.

The web beauty and personal care products market is booming. Globally, it really is set to grow by a lot more than 20 % a year to $238.5bn by 2029, up from $35.32 billion this past year, according to Indian general market trends company Prophecy Market Insights.

Currently, Powder is targeted purely on the GCC and its own co-founders have no plan to venture outside.

“There is clearly a huge market to utilize and we are growing systematically. We will establish Powder as a leading, modern clean beauty destination in your community.”

Powder can be creating original content, both in English and Arabic, giving people access to unbiased product critiques.

Besides their own testing and research, the co-founders also take account of what's popular among social media bloggers and celebrity beauty influencers before selecting the merchandise to sell on the platform. Currently, they give ranges from more than 25 global niche and luxury boutique brands from South Korea, the Americas, Australia and Europe.

The pair say the merchandise they give only use quality ingredients and have become increasingly popular in the last few months.

The Covid-19 pandemic upended a few of Powder’s 2020 plans but slowly but surely the start-up saw an uptick running a business and its market share.

“We had just started our first fund-raising journey when Covid-19 hit. There have been extremely limited resources available through the first 90 days of the pandemic but we remained patient and optimistic,” says Ms Grimen.

“Gradually, we saw more persons coming online and showing interest in buying skincare products. Looking at the existing boom, there must be no looking back,” she adds.

Powder, which is indeed far a two-woman show, depends on an outsourcing model to keep overhead costs down. However, it really is likely to hire new talent since it expects a solid upsurge in business both this year and next.

“Except planning and strategising, we are outsourcing most of our work which includes logistics, fulfilling orders and web development … but we do have a strong team of advisers. We will hire fresh talent as our business grows,” says Ms Toufeeq.

The start-up happens to be centered on business growth over making a profit and is seeking to grow the quantity of products and brands under its portfolio rapidly .

“Our focus at this moment is to scale up the business enterprise, gain new market share and set up a strong foundation. We aren't thinking about profitability, it will come automatically as time passes,” says Ms Toufeeq.

“We are investing our profits back into the business enterprise. We are adding new brands monthly - around two monthly,” she adds. The pair didn't disclose earnings figures, or the number of customers currently using the platform.

Customers can place an order on the site and either pay upfront or choose payment-on-delivery. Once the order is placed, it really is fulfilled and delivered by the third-party operator within someone to three days, according to the positioning of the delivery.

“If an order is put in the UAE before 2pm, then it'll be delivered the very next day, unless it’s a remote area. Whereas, it will require 3 to 4 days for the delivery in Saudi Arabia. We will work aggressively to reduce this,” says Ms