The brand launched with much fanfare in Kuala Lumpur at KL Gateway.
Al-Hur Beauty is currently available through five stockists, independent sales people, as well as their own internal sales team.
The company explains that it chose not to open its own boutique or sell through an e-commerce platform as they wanted to launch the brand without incurring too much cost, instead choosing to focus their resources on brand awareness.
However, the team is working on making Al-Hur Beauty available online early next year and the company already has its sights set on expanding around the region.
“We believe that Al-Hur Beauty will grow not just in Malaysia but in Asia-Pacific because of our unique ingredient and our international certification,” said founder Siti Farahana Khairuddin. “Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei and Thailand – it’s in our pipeline, we see a bright future for Al-Hur Beauty.”
Middle-eastern ‘Super oil’
What makes Al-Hur Beauty stand out from the saturated beauty landscape is their star ingredient, Opuntia oil, which is derived from the prickly pear cactus.
The company firmly believes Opuntia oil is superior to Argan oil, as it contains 150% more linoleic acid than the popular Moroccan export.
“[Opuntia oil] is barely noticed by public and there are no such products championing this ingredient so we seized the advantage to work with a team of scientists in Dubai to formulate a skincare that offers the goodness of it,” shared Farahana.
Other than Opuntia oil, the products also contains 100% natural ingredients such as cocoa butter and Moroccan olive oil. The brand deliberately sources all its ingredients from within the UAE.
“We want people to enjoy the benefit of natural products and to stay away from products which contain harmful chemicals that will affect their health in the long run,” said Farahana.
Made in the UAE
As a Malaysian who is based in Dubai, Farahana had first-hand insight on the rising demand in Islamic societies for halal cosmetics and products made in the UAE.
“There is an increase in the market demanding for Halal products, and especially for cosmetics, but only products from UAE are considered top-notch,” explained Farahana. “Our research into the Malaysia market found that there is a high demand of products from UEA and the rest of the Arab world.”
Getting Al-Hur Beauty products certified halal in Dubai were by no means an accident either. Unlike a certification from Malaysia, a Halal (Dubai) accreditation is internationally recognised.
Understanding that many consumers may have concerns over dubious claims, the company wanted Muslim consumers to be ensured they were using products that meet the international halal standards.
Trust and transparency
With efficacy and safety being the top priorities, Al-Hur Beauty said it spared no expense in research and development to produce reliable products.
Aware of how technologically savvy today’s consumers are, the company made sure to display test results proudly on their site to convey how seriously it takes safety and health.
“We don’t over-promise and we provide them transparency to show them they can trust our brand,” said Farahana.
Despite being a brand that caters to a niched demographic, the company hopes all women can experience the remarkable benefit of Opuntia oil, said Farahana. “We strongly believe that Al-Hur Beauty is for every women, regardless of nationality, race, religion and belief – beauty is a universal language and Al-Hur Beauty is the voice for it.”