Dr Taniyaa Bakshhi has been reaching for the same jar of aloe vera and calendula cream since 1998. For acne. For cuts. For irritation after long flights. As a makeup base before early morning television appearances.
Twenty-eight years of loyalty to a single skincare product.
Now, as managing director of the Bakson Group and brand lead for Sunny Herbals, she’s betting that UAE consumers will develop the same attachment. In May, the 33-year-old Indian herbal wellness brand made its Middle East debut with that exact formulation: a multipurpose moisturiser designed for skin battling air conditioning, desert heat, and the constant temperature swings that characterise life in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
The launch follows months of unexpected organic sales on regional ecommerce platforms, where Sunny Herbals products gained traction without paid advertising. No influencer campaigns. No sponsored posts. Just steady orders that suggested an appetite for something the market wasn’t quite providing.
“At Sunny Herbals, we don’t believe skincare needs to be complicated or intimidating,” Dr Bakshhi explained. “Skincare should feel safe, simple, and trustworthy. Long-term consistency, not aggressive actives or endless steps, is what truly changes the skin.”
That philosophy places the brand squarely between two extremes dominating UAE beauty retail. At the top end, international clean beauty brands command premium prices—often AED 200 or more for a single moisturiser. At the bottom, mass-market options flood pharmacy shelves but struggle with trust and transparency around ingredients. Sunny Herbals is aiming for the gap: products priced between AED 30 and AED 50, a range the brand believes allows for daily, long-term use without financial strain.
The timing matters. Clean beauty has surged across the Gulf in recent years, driven by growing ingredient awareness and demand for transparency. Yet affordability remains a barrier. By positioning herbal formulations at accessible price points, Sunny Herbals is testing whether heritage and simplicity can compete with marketing budgets and Instagram aesthetics.
The Aloe Vera & Calendula Cream wasn’t a random choice for the UAE rollout. Dryness underpins most skincare complaints in the region, even if residents don’t immediately recognise it. UAE winters may seem mild compared to northern climates, but constant indoor air conditioning and heating create relentless dehydration. Skin barriers weaken. Sensitivity flares. Even acne-prone skin often stems from an impaired moisture barrier trying to overcompensate.
Aloe vera brings cooling hydration and barrier support. Calendula, a botanical with centuries of traditional use, calms redness and supports healing. The cream works as a daily moisturiser, a makeup prep base, an overnight repair treatment, and a soothing layer after minor skin injuries—designed to collapse multiple steps into one.
“I’ve personally used this cream for over 28 years, for acne care, minor cuts, irritation, night-time repair, and even makeup removal,” Dr Bakshhi said. “It represents everything Sunny Herbals stands for: one thoughtfully formulated product that can replace many.”
That claim—28 years of personal use—anchors the brand’s credibility in a market saturated with new launches and fleeting trends. It’s a risky admission, too. Skincare brands typically rotate through products, test innovations, chase ingredient fads. Admitting decades of loyalty to a single formulation suggests either remarkable consistency or a lack of evolution, depending on perspective.
For now, Sunny Herbals is banking on the former. The brand’s three decades in India have built a customer base that spans generations, a foundation that the company hopes will translate across borders. “We are not here to be a passing trend,” Dr Bakshhi added. “We are here to build long-term trust. When skincare works for generations, it works everywhere.”
The initial rollout remains modest. Sunny Herbals launched exclusively on Amazon.ae, with plans to expand to additional ecommerce platforms and selected wellness-focused retail partners later this year. The digital-first approach mirrors the strategy that generated those early organic sales—low overhead, direct access to consumers, and the ability to gather feedback before committing to brick-and-mortar distribution.
What comes next will test the appetite for simplicity. Following the cream, Sunny Herbals plans to introduce herbal haircare products, sunscreen, gel moisturisers, and supplement-led beauty solutions. All will adhere to what the brand calls a “less is more” philosophy: fewer products, fewer steps, longer-term results.
Whether that philosophy resonates in a market accustomed to 10-step routines and serum layering remains uncertain. The UAE beauty consumer is sophisticated, well-travelled, and exposed to global trends through social media and international retail. Convincing that audience to simplify—and to trust a heritage Indian brand over established European or Korean names—will require more than competitive pricing.
Yet the brand carries advantages that newer entrants lack. Thirty-three years in operation provides formulation expertise and supply chain stability. The backing of the Bakson Group, a homeopathic and wellness company with deep roots in plant-based medicine, offers credibility in a sector where ingredient sourcing and ethical production increasingly matter to buyers.
And then there’s that 28-year testimonial. Personal use by the brand’s own leadership isn’t common in an industry where executives often delegate product testing to labs and focus groups. It’s a detail that cuts through marketing noise—either because it’s genuine, or because it’s such an unusual claim that it demands attention.
The broader question is whether “homeopathic-inspired skincare,” as Sunny Herbals describes its approach, can carve out a distinct category in the Middle East. Ayurvedic beauty has gained recognition globally, but homeopathic principles in skincare remain less defined for most consumers. The brand will need to clarify what that means in practice—whether it’s about dilution, holistic treatment, or simply a commitment to gentle, plant-derived ingredients.
For now, the cream sits on Amazon.ae, priced at the lower end of the clean beauty spectrum, waiting to see if UAE consumers will make the same 28-year commitment that Dr Bakshhi has. Or even just a second purchase.
By year’s end, the answer will be clearer. Either the brand will have secured distribution partnerships and begun building the kind of repeat customer base it enjoys in India, or it will join the long list of international beauty brands that misjudged the Gulf market’s complexity. The difference may come down to whether trust, at AED 30 a jar, can compete with aspiration at AED 200.