Secret Skin

Secret Skin is a Dubai-based online platform for clean and sustainable beauty and personal care products, connecting global and local "conscious" brands in the women's health and wellness sector with consumers in the Middle East. The platform vets the ingredients and eco and safety credentials of every product before listing it, requiring brands to be cruelty-free and made from nature-derived or organic ingredients, and to have a distinct pricing and positioning proposition. It launched in October 2020 with seven brands and carried roughly 50 brands by 2023.

Beyond direct e-commerce, the company has added a subscription service offering personalised beauty routines, a Virtual Beauty Concierge providing one-on-one consultations, and a business-to-business distribution arm serving spas, wellness destinations, hotels and retail concepts such as Bulgari Hotels and That Concept Store. It has also established partnerships with value-based communities in the region and stated plans to develop a private label and to launch female intimate health and wellness categories via alliances with local pharmacies.

Founding story

Founder Anisha Oberoi studied literature, theatre and economics before entering hospitality, later moving into global marketing at Ermenegildo Zegna. In her early twenties she was diagnosed with breast cancer, deferring her INSEAD MBA by a year through surgery and chemotherapy; she graduated in 2012 and was recruited by Amazon, where she worked as a beauty editor and head of content creative and led Amazon India Fashion Week, launching fashion and beauty categories in India and Australia over almost five years, followed by a period with Bloomingdale's in the Middle East. After treatment she removed harsh chemicals from her own beauty and hygiene routine, and upon relocating to the UAE in 2019 found no comparable clean beauty assortment available locally. She began building Secret Skin in the week global lockdowns began in 2020, curating initial brands through Instagram and LinkedIn outreach, and went live in October 2020. Co-founder Mayank Chauhan, like Oberoi, is a former Amazon executive.

Business model

Hybrid model combining a direct-to-consumer online marketplace for curated clean beauty brands with a B2B2C/wholesale distribution offering to spas, hotels, wellness destinations and retail concepts, plus a consumer subscription service for personalised beauty routines. Private label development was cited as a use of proceeds from its pre-seed round.

Revenue is generated from online retail sales of curated third-party clean beauty and personal care brands, a subscription service, and B2B distribution to spas, hotels and concept stores.

Traction

Launched in October 2020 with seven brands and grew to approximately 50 brands by 2023. Over its first 24 months the company added international and local clean beauty brands, launched a subscription service and formed regional partnerships. In 2023 it reported 15% month-on-month growth, a team of five including the founder, acceptance into Techstars, and B2B relationships with Bulgari Hotels and That Concept Store, alongside a stated ongoing fundraise.

Latest developments

In December 2022 the company closed a $765,000 angel/pre-seed round to expand its brand portfolio, B2B2C proposition, GCC market share and private label. In 2023 it was accepted into Techstars, reported additional investment associated with Saudi Arabia, expanded into B2B distribution, and said it was undertaking a further fundraise.