From homemade soap to home-grown success: The story of Emirati entrepreneur Naila Alremeithi

Dubai: From home to the world. The story of how Emirati entrepreneur Naila Alremeithi turned traditional home wellness routines into a successful business is an inspiring journey rooted in family, learning and perseverance. For Naila Alremeithi, beauty and wellbeing were never separate from everyday life. Growing up in Abu Dhabi, she was surrounded by family traditions that relied on natural ingredients for skincare, haircare and personal wellness. Long before natural beauty products became fashionable, they were simply part of how her family cared for themselves. "We grew up using ingredients from our surroundings to prepare face masks, homemade hair treatments and different home remedies," she recalls. These rituals were passed down through generations and became part of daily life. They taught her to pay close attention to what she applied to her skin and hair, and to value simple ingredients that had long been trusted within the local environment. As she grew older, familiarity turned into curiosity. Naila began asking why certain ingredients were traditionally used, what benefits they offered and how they could be transformed into products suited to modern lifestyles. Those early experiences also sparked another passion: creating things by hand. Some of her strongest childhood memories involve preparing homemade face masks and hair treatments with family members. Beyond the ingredients themselves, she became fascinated by the process of making something from scratch. "There is something meaningful about a handmade product because it carries the attention, effort and personal choices of the person creating it," she says. That belief would later become the foundation of a business. A mother-daughter beginning The person who had the greatest influence on Naila's entrepreneurial journey was her mother. Soapbar did not begin as a carefully crafted business plan or a calculated market opportunity. It began as a shared hobby between a mother and daughter who enjoyed making soap for their own use. "We initially started making soap for ourselves," Naila says. "We enjoyed both the creative process and the experience of using something we had made with our own hands." What started as a personal craft gradually evolved into something bigger. After enjoying the products themselves, the pair began to wonder whether others would appreciate them too. Her mother's encouragement proved invaluable. Starting a business meant stepping into unfamiliar territory that extended far beyond soap-making. It involved learning about formulation, sourcing, packaging, customer service and business management. Having someone who believed in the idea from the beginning gave Naila the confidence to pursue it seriously. Learning beyond the classroom Naila's academic background had little connection to skincare or cosmetics. She studied International Relations at university, developing skills in research, communication and analytical thinking. However, the technical knowledge needed to create skincare products came through a completely different route. Recognising the gaps in her expertise, she pursued specialised education in formulation, learning from internationally recognised experts and educators in the field. She was determined not to rely solely on recipes or informal experimentation. "Once you begin creating products for customers rather than only for yourself, you have a responsibility to understand what you are making and why each ingredient is included," she says. The transition from making products at home to producing them for customers brought one of the steepest learning curves of her journey. Homemade products could be adjusted from batch to batch, but commercial products required consistency, reliability and quality control. As Soapbar expanded beyond solid soaps into shampoos, creams, scrubs and other personal care products, each new category demanded deeper knowledge and increasingly advanced formulation skills. Building Soapbar Soapbar officially launched in 2019. At the time, Naila felt there were relatively few locally made natural personal care brands in the market. She wanted to contribute to that space while encouraging people to become more aware of what they used in their daily routines. "The business did not begin with a large commercial plan," she says. "It began with a product we genuinely enjoyed and believed was worth sharing." The company started with solid soaps, allowing the team to focus on a single category and refine its approach. As knowledge, experience and customer demand grew, Soapbar gradually expanded its product range. Today, the brand offers shampoos, soaps, creams and scrubs, but growth remains deliberate and purposeful. "We do not want to introduce a product simply to make the collection appear larger," Naila explains. "Each product should have a clear purpose." Earning customers' trust One of the biggest challenges in the early years was building trust. As a new local brand operating prima