As part of its commitment towards supporting Small and Medium Enterprises (SME), the Expo 2020 Dubai’s licensee programme identifies individuals who have started homegrown brands and have nurtured them sustainably. In a two-part feature, Friday meets two expats who saw the opportunity in the UAE’s local products and turned them into success stories with passion and hard work.
Read the other half of the feature: Sri Lankan Yousuf Saleem of The Dates Bar Company.
Seventeen years ago, when South African expat Stevi Lowmass arrived in Dubai, she had no idea that camel milk would one day become a part of her life. But the opportunity she saw in camel milk gave her the idea to launch a home-grown business and then grow it into a successful SME with a factory in Dubai Silicon Oasis, as well as a presence in markets across the UAE and the region.
Today, The Camel Soap Factory produces 10,000kg of hand-crafted soap (around 100,000 bars) per month and she plans to scale this up to 50 metric tons of quality naturally milled soaps per month by installing modern equipment at the facility.
In those early Dubai days, when Stevi was selling software to banks, little did she know what life had in store for her. Her job was not one that got her enthused to wake up and rush off to office, so when her daughter was born, it gave her a reason to quit her nine-to-five schedule almost immediately. ‘If you’ve ever sold software to banks, you’ll know what I mean,’ she says, with a twinkle in her eyes.
The eureka moment
Camel milk soap was not something that was right on top of Stevi’s mind, though. ‘I was always fascinated with natural soaps,’ she says. ‘But it was while on a holiday to Australia that I came across an olive oil soap factory and that was like a Eureka moment for me. I thought, this is exactly what Dubai needs. If countries like Palestine and Jordan can make natural soaps, we could do that here as well.’
Stevi wanted to take her thoughts a step further; she decided to replace laurel oil, which was conventionally used in natural soaps in the Levant region, with camel milk. ‘Camel milk is such an important part of Emirati life and that would make the soaps uniquely [of this country],’ she explains.
Not wanting to trim corners, Stevi signed up for a professional course in London and soon started experimenting by making the soaps at home. ‘I had a trade licence that let me manufacture from home,’ she explains. ‘I started small in my husband’s workshop in 2012 with little moulds and some good quality camel milk from Carrefour and the Union Cooperative. I gifted them to my friends to try out and later that year we took our products to a Christmas fair – and they all got sold out.’ That convinced her that there was a market here for such products.
‘In 2013 I got my first licence that allowed me to manufacture and sell, and in 2014 I got an industrial license to start the factory in Al Quoz.’
Looking back, Stevi laughs at her own bravado. ‘When I started making the soaps, a few friends said, “Stevi, you are mad”. But I was so passionate about the product. And I love the UAE so much that I think I wanted to create something that people would pick up, smell and take home with them. And it would feel like they were taking home a part of the UAE.’
Handmade and sustainable
The bars of camel milk soap that Stevi manufactures in her factory are chemical-free, sustainable and handmade. Waste generated is zero, little plastic is used, while the power bills are comparable to that of a modest villa.
‘We are manufacturing something that is completely environment friendly. We don’t have any water waste, and even the packaging is eco-friendly. I started out by wrapping the soaps in coloured tissue but eventually found these little jute and linen bags that are reusable. We do not add any colourants and avoid artificial fragrances as much as we can. It’s mainly essential oils such as lavender that go into the soaps. Also, importantly, we never use palm oil, the base for most soaps. Instead we use olive oil, coconut oil or shea butter.’
For Stevi, the most important learning curve has been understanding the soap manufacturing process. ‘It is the most wonderful creative process. If you follow the rules and you keep yourself lean you can do a lot,’ she says. ‘I learnt so many things while at the job. The soaps are made in natural temperature. The milk is a delicate part of the process, so we work with frozen camel milk. Also, while the actual making of the soap might just take a day, the time from procuring the raw materials to having the soap on the shelves takes two to three months. Every hand-made soap has a curing time, so it sits quietly in the dark for at least four weeks before it hits the shelves. The longer it sits the better. We have to cure the soaps and then hand package them.’
Expo licensee
From retailing her products at Arte, a platform for local art and craft and fashion in the UAE, and the Ripe organic market, Stevi now has the world as her stage – she is an Expo 2020 Dubai licensee who will get a chance to introduce her camel milk products to millions around the world.
She launched her first range of Expo 2020 licensed products in March in the form of five scented bars that reflect the fragrances of the region. Two of these, Mokhalat and Musk, reflect the brand’s love for Emirati culture and tradition, while the Mandarin and Pepper bars contain a mixture of spices. In addition to these there are also soap with fragrances of jasmine, milk and honey.
‘When we started out, we had the Al Jaber Gallery as a wonderful partner company. They took a chance with us and then we grew to have our products in Carrefour, Spinneys, Waitrose and Dubai Duty Free. The idea was people who lived in Dubai would buy a bunch of these soaps and gift it to friends and family when they travelled. At Dubai Duty Free we hoped that visitors would pick it up as something that had the authentic UAE feel,’ says Stevi.
Shared synergy
‘When the Expo 2020 Dubai was announced in 2013, I saw the Expo’s commitment to the SMEs and to sustainability and I realised we shared a synergy here. We represent all the things that are important to the region and to Expo – be it camel milk or the sustainable way we do business. And like Expo 2020, we also try and educate people on sustainability when they visit our factory. We talk about why this kind of eco-friendly manufacturing is so important in the world today and why we need to care about ourselves and the environment by using the right products.
‘Being a licensee is a massive opportunity, but it’s also a huge responsibility. We will be selling our special expo-branded products all through Expo 2020 Dubai through different retailers and this in turn will build business for us. It also will be a privilege to have the product on the Expo retail site.’
Heritage collection
This year, the Camel Soap Factory has taken its operations a notch higher with products that tell a story about Dubai’s heritage. ‘Under the Heritage Collection, we have the Majlis, Souq, Sea and Oasis soap bars and each of these have a story to tell about Dubai’s heritage,’ says Stevi. A variant on The Heritage Collection will also be at the Expo 2020.
For Stevi, the Expo 2020 Dubai is the right platform to start conversations across the world about the UAE’s rich culture. ‘I want to represent ourselves in the best possible way through these healthy ingredients and captivating scents. The UAE provides exciting opportunities for those who are brave enough to go out and get it and our journey from a home business to a successful SME proves that.’
