AÏZA is the Homegrown Brand of the Year at the Beautyworld Dubai Awards 2026, and this pioneer of Arab Beauty, often called A-Beauty, deserves a big cheer! Parent company Amaani launched the brand in December 2024, and former venture capitalist Shubham Poddar founded Amaani. AÏZA modernizes ancient Middle Eastern beauty rituals into high performance formulations. The name draws from the Arabic words Izzah, meaning honor, and Aziz, meaning precious.
The mission is bold. The Middle East has long been one of the world's most lucrative luxury markets for beauty brands from the West and East Asia, and AÏZA turns the tables by taking 5,000 years of regional Arab beauty heritage and growing it into a global powerhouse brand. It harvests premium regional superfoods and traditional ingredients, then formulates them in world class cosmetics laboratories in Korea and Japan, as well as Italy, alongside clinically proven actives such as peptides and biotin.
Dubai Crowns a Homegrown Hero
The Beautyworld Dubai Awards gala took place on 7 October 2026 at Le Méridien Dubai Hotel and Conference Centre, as the seventh edition of the awards. A total of 85 finalists competed in 17 categories, and an independent panel of 20 international industry professionals judged the field. The Homegrown Brand of the Year honor celebrates brands conceived and launched in the Middle East, so this trophy belongs to a Dubai born success story. Beautyworld Dubai celebrates its 30th edition this year at Dubai World Trade Centre from 6 to 8 October, and AÏZA took the crown on a milestone stage.
Few brands launch in December 2024 and win a trophy in October 2026. That is a stunning pace, and every cheer is deserved. Organizers call the awards a benchmark for excellence in beauty, and the people who lead the industry were there to witness this triumph. A Dubai based brand proud of its Arab roots now holds one of the most exciting prizes of the evening, and the whole Gulf has reason to smile.
AÏZA Honors Arab Beauty Rituals
The brand draws on regional ingredients that Arab beauty traditions have cherished for generations, such as dates, black seed, frankincense and rose. Saffron and sidr masks join the list of treasured traditions. Fragrancing hair using bakhoor, a smoky incense, is one of those traditions, and AÏZA brings it into the modern era. Dates and honey show up in treatments that celebrate beloved regional flavors. Arab beauty deserves global applause. Every formula connects an old ritual to modern science, so a morning routine becomes a small celebration of Arab beauty. Its products span skincare, haircare and targeted beauty treatments, and all of them meet strict alcohol free and cruelty free standards. This is heritage turned into results.
Date Setter Leads the Lineup
Date Setter, the brow and lash serum, is the brand's top seller. It was designed for a region that celebrates thick, bold brows, and it blends castor oil, dates and biotin. Fans adore it, and now a trophy adds to the applause. Sukkar Rush is another star, an intensely hydrating lip mask made from dates and honey that playfully mimics the flavors of a traditional regional dessert. Castor oil and biotin are a hero pair for brows, and dates add a regional signature. Both products show the joyful creativity behind AÏZA, because they turn familiar flavors and ingredients into modern treatments that people love to use every day. Bravo AÏZA, and congratulations to every cheering fan!
AÏZA Scent Storm Perfumes Hair
Scent Storm is a rose infused protective hair mist, and it modernizes the Arab tradition of scenting hair using bakhoor smoke. It also shields hair against extreme weather and humidity, so beauty lovers get fragrance and protection in one bottle. That is a smart idea, and it proves the distance a tradition can travel as science joins the party. Imagine a hair mist that brings centuries of tradition into a modern routine, and you can see why this product earns applause. Every spritz honors the past and welcomes a bright future for Arab beauty.
Growth Worth Celebrating
AÏZA has captured major investor attention. After an initial $3 million seed round, the company secured a $5 million Series A round in September 2026, led by a Gulf venture capital firm and joined by a leading venture backer. The funds will fuel rapid expansion in the Gulf and global markets. Net revenue grew upwards of ninefold year on year in the first half of 2026. In 2026, AÏZA also became the first and only Middle Eastern brand named to the NEXT50 list of top emerging beauty and wellness companies leading the future of global beauty. The retail rollout is equally exciting. AÏZA debuted in December 2024 and launched online in May 2025, then expanded from an online first business into physical retail.
Saudi Arabia is the next priority market for the expansion, and total funding for Amaani now reaches $8 million. Amaani plans to grow AÏZA in the region and globally, both online and in stores, and to develop future brands that celebrate Modern Arabia. The brand joined a luxury e-tailer and opened in a premium beauty retailer in the Middle East, including a major flagship at the Dubai Mall, and it quickly shot into the top 10 selling brands overall. Congratulations to Shubham Poddar and the whole AÏZA team on a win that celebrates homegrown talent at its finest!
