Dr Taniyaa Bakshhi, Managing Director, Bakson Group, and Brand Lead, Sunny Herbals Middle East, explains why heritage wellness brands must adapt formulations, pricing and education to meet the distinct skin and hair needs of Gulf consumers.

Herbal wellness brands often speak proudly about heritage. They highlight ingredients used for generations, long-standing family knowledge and formulations rooted in traditional systems of care.

But heritage alone is not enough to succeed in a new market.

When a wellness brand enters the Gulf, it cannot simply take products developed for another geography, place them on a local shelf and expect consumers to respond in the same way. The region’s climate, water quality, lifestyles, skin concerns and retail environment demand a more thoughtful approach.

Traditional knowledge may provide the foundation, but relevance must be rebuilt for the market being served.

START WITH THE CONSUMER, NOT THE PRODUCT

My own understanding of herbal care began long before I entered the healthcare profession. I grew up in a family where herbal remedies formed part of everyday life and where healthcare had been a central part of the family business for more than three decades.

Later, as a homeopathic doctor specialising in hair and scalp health, I worked with thousands of patients experiencing concerns ranging from hair loss and scalp sensitivity to dryness and barrier damage.

That clinical exposure reinforced an important lesson: effective product development should begin with a genuine consumer need, rather than an ingredient trend or marketing opportunity.

This becomes particularly important when entering a diverse market such as the UAE.

Many beauty and wellness products available in the region were originally designed for climates and lifestyles that differ significantly from those experienced by consumers in the Gulf. High temperatures, prolonged sun exposure, hard water and constant movement between outdoor heat and air-conditioned environments can affect the skin and hair in distinctive ways.

Consumers may experience skin that feels dehydrated but still produces excess oil, weakened skin barriers, persistent hair fall, scalp discomfort and visible signs of fatigue.

These are not necessarily problems that can be addressed effectively by importing an existing formula unchanged.

Before launching products in the UAE, we held consumer insight sessions with women living in the country. The objective was not simply to ask which products they preferred, but to understand how their daily environment affected their routines and concerns.

Those conversations highlighted the importance of lightweight textures, multifunctional products and formulations that could perform without feeling heavy, sticky or overly aggressive.

HERITAGE MUST BE SUPPORTED BY MODERN RIGOUR

Traditional systems of care offer valuable knowledge, particularly when it comes to ingredients such as aloe vera, calendula and other botanicals that have been used across generations.

However, heritage should not become an excuse to resist testing, quality control or modern formulation practices.

The most credible approach is to combine traditional knowledge with contemporary scientific discipline. That means carefully sourcing botanical ingredients, using extraction methods that help preserve their properties, maintaining consistent batch-quality checks and developing formulations suited to real-life conditions.

It also means recognising that more ingredients do not automatically produce better products.

Consumers are increasingly questioning complicated routines built around numerous steps and aggressive active ingredients. In harsh climates, using too many products can sometimes leave the skin more irritated, sensitive or difficult to manage.

There is therefore a growing opportunity for simpler products that serve multiple purposes and support the skin or scalp without overwhelming them.

Climate-conscious care should not be understood only in environmental terms. It should also mean creating products that acknowledge the conditions in which people actually live.

A cream or serum may perform well in a controlled laboratory environment, but the more relevant question is how it behaves when applied during a humid Gulf summer, after exposure to hard water or before a consumer moves between extreme heat and strong indoor air conditioning.

TRUST CANNOT BE IMPORTED

For any heritage brand entering a new market, the greatest challenge is trust.

A company may have decades of experience in its home country, but consumers in another market are unlikely to recognise that history immediately. Credibility must be established gradually through product performance, transparency and education.

This is especially true for herbal products, which are often surrounded by competing claims and inconsistent definitions. Some consumers associate herbal care with gentleness and tradition, while others may question its effectiveness or assume it lacks scientific rigour.

Brands therefore have a responsibility to explain what their ingredients are intended to do, how products should be used and what consumers can realistically expect.

Education should not become disguised advertising. It should help people make informed decisions about their skin, hair and overall wellbeing, including understanding when a product may not be suitable or when professional medical advice is required.

Trust is also shaped by pricing.

In many wellness categories, consumers are presented with two extremes: inexpensive mass-market products of inconsistent quality or premium products priced beyond the reach of many households. The middle of the market remains comparatively underserved.

Building an accessible brand does not mean competing only on price. It means ensuring that quality, performance and affordability are considered together.

DIGITAL RETAIL IS CHANGING HOW BRANDS EXPAND

The UAE’s digital retail ecosystem gives emerging brands an opportunity to test demand before committing to an extensive physical retail network.

An e-commerce-first model allows companies to observe purchasing patterns, study reviews and improve their understanding of customer needs. It can also reduce the pressure to scale too quickly.

For heritage brands, this gradual approach is valuable. Expansion into pharmacies, salons, spas and traditional retail should follow evidence of consumer demand rather than precede it.

The early response to products such as our aloe vera and calendula cream suggested that consumers were actively looking for accessible, multifunctional herbal options. However, one successful product does not establish long-term trust.

Sustained growth requires consistent quality, responsive customer service and the discipline to adapt as the market evolves.

BUILDING A MODERN HERBAL LEGACY

The wider Middle East presents considerable potential for wellness companies, but expansion across the region should not be treated as a single exercise.

Consumer expectations, regulations, distribution systems and cultural habits differ across GCC markets. Brands must be prepared to localise their approach while maintaining consistent standards.

For Sunny Herbals Middle East, the long-term ambition is to expand the UAE-specific portfolio, develop stronger retail and e-commerce partnerships and gradually establish a wider regional presence.

Yet the larger opportunity goes beyond commercial expansion.

As the first woman in decades of my family’s healthcare business to lead an international expansion, I see this journey as an opportunity to reinterpret what heritage can mean.

Heritage should not remain frozen in the past. It should evolve through research, listening and responsible innovation.

The future of herbal wellness in the Gulf will not be built by choosing between tradition and science. It will be built by combining the two, and ensuring that the result remains relevant, credible and accessible to the people it is intended to serve.

The views expressed in this column are her own and do not represent the editorial position of Global Leaders Today.