From investment banking to fighting food waste: Meet the brothers behind Dubai startup Peekabox

Three weeks ago, few people had heard of Peekabox. Today, the UAE startup has recorded more than 50,000 downloads, reached the top spot on the App Store 's food category within days of launch, and is helping residents rescue surplus food from some of the country 's best-known food outlets. Behind the app are British brothers Hasan Sarwar and Omair Sarwar, aged 25 and 24, who grew up in Dubai, followed almost identical career paths, and walked away from investment banking to build their first startup. “We 've grown up in Dubai, we lived here for about 20 years. We then went back to London for university and then returned to Dubai to start our careers in investment banking. But we wanted to do something a bit more meaningful,” Hasan said. That search for something bigger led them to their startup idea – a food-tech platform that connects food outlets to consumers, while helping them sell surplus food at the end of each day. The idea that started with a bakery shelf The inspiration for Peekabox came from a simple observation. In the evenings, when Hasan would be siting at a café or visiting a supermarket, he would see shelves filled with perfectly good food. "You go into most cafes and their shelves are still full," he said. "I can 't remember the last time I was in a grocery store and saw a clean bakery section, a shelf that was emptied at the end of the day." The brothers realised that food businesses were throwing away perfectly edible products every day, while customers were increasingly looking for affordable options. The solution became Peekabox, an app that allows users to buy surprise boxes offered by outlets at 50-70% discount, with unsold food that would otherwise go to waste. "It became a win-win," Hasan said. "The brands generate revenue from products they 're throwing away, customers get discounted food, and we 're helping reduce food waste." How the app works Users who download the Peekabox app can browse through the listing of participating restaurants, bakeries and grocery stores offering discounted ‘surprise boxes’ of surplus food. Each listing provides details about the outlet, the collection window and the type of items customers can expect to receive, although the exact contents remain a surprise. Once a box is reserved and paid for through the app, users simply collect it during the designated pickup time. The boxes typically contain fresh food that would otherwise remain unsold at the end of the day, allowing customers to enjoy meals and baked goods at a reduced price while helping businesses cut food waste and even win over new customers. A year of groundwork before a single download Although the app launched only weeks ago, the work behind it began more than a year earlier. The brothers spent months convincing restaurant groups, cafes and grocery chains to join a platform that did not yet exist. "It takes a lot of groundwork because we wanted customers to open the app and see all their favourite brands on day one," Hasan said. Those conversations were not always easy. At the time, Peekabox had no customers, no launch date and no proven track record. "Convincing brands to be part of a platform that hadn 't launched yet was difficult," Omair said. "Convincing investors to invest in a platform that hadn 't launched was difficult too." The pair experimented with every outreach strategy they could think of, from LinkedIn messages and emails to cold calls. Commenting on which strategy worked best for the brother duo in getting clients on board, Omair said: "The most effective way was to pick up the phone. You get one shot." Once they had perfected their pitch and were able to convince food outlets that the app would offer incremental value and potentially new customers, the responses started coming in. By launch, Peekabox had agreements with nearly 1,000 stores, with an initial rollout involving around 250 locations across the UAE. Despite its rapid growth, Peekabox has a modest team of less than 10 members, including the two founders, a small operations team, a business development manager and an advisory board. Building a business as brothers Starting the company together came almost as a natural step for the two brothers, who went to the same school and university, before joining the same industry. When Hasan began working on his start-up idea, Omair became an immediate choice for someone he wanted to work with. "I found very quickly that it was difficult to do by yourself," Hasan said. "Who better to trust than your brother?" Today, their responsibilities are split. Hasan focuses on operations and technology, while Omair oversees partnerships, growth and expansion. The arrangement, they say, works because each brings a different skill set to the table. "It 's a really good mix between us," Omair said. Dubai 's startup advantage Another advantage that worked in the brothers’ favour was building the company in Dubai 's startup ecosystem, one they say offers the kind of support not many pla