Dubai-based consumer company Amaani raised USD 5 million in a Series A funding round led by BECO Capital for its beauty brand AÏZA. This comes as the company moves into its next phase of expansion across the GCC. The round also saw participation from Homegrown Ventures and Peak XV’s Surge.

The funding will support the brand’s Saudi Arabia launch this month, followed by planned expansion into Kuwait and Qatar in Q4

Why You Should Care

AÏZA’s fundraise comes as regional consumer brands are increasingly moving beyond the UAE to build businesses across multiple GCC markets. For founders and investors, the expansion highlights the next challenge after establishing product-market fit in one market: adapting a consumer brand to different retail environments and customer bases across the region.

For the wider consumer sector, AÏZA’s model also reflects a shift in how Middle Eastern brands are being built. Rather than adapting an established international beauty concept for regional consumers, the company is developing its products around ingredients and cultural references associated with the region while using international laboratories and a technology-led operating model. Its expansion will provide a clearer indication of how far that model can travel across the GCC.

The Details

Founded in 2024 in Dubai by  Shubham Poddar, Amaani is a beauty startup. It is the company behind the Middle Eastern beauty brand AÏZA. 

AÏZA develops skincare and haircare products around ingredients and beauty practices associated with the Arab world. Its product range incorporates ingredients including dates, black seed, frankincense, rose and bakhoor, with formulations developed through laboratories in Korea, Japan and Italy.

Looking ahead, with the new capital, it aims to support AÏZA’s expansion across Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar. It also seeks to invest in product development, talent and the technology infrastructure behind the business. Moreover, its priority expansion market is Saudi Arabi at the end of September, with Kuwait and Qatar expected to follow in Q4.

The Ripple

The funding places AÏZA within a growing regional consumer brand ecosystem that is attracting specialist investors alongside traditional technology focused venture capital.

For AÏZA, the regional expansion will test whether its Middle Eastern positioning can translate across different GCC markets while maintaining the product and retail model it has developed in the UAE.

What to Watch

Saudi Arabia will be the first test of AÏZA’s regional expansion. The company plans to enter the market through Ulta Beauty stores in Riyadh and Jeddah before moving into Kuwait and Qatar in Q4.

Beyond geographic expansion, the new capital will fund product development, hiring and the technology infrastructure supporting the business. The next stage will show whether AÏZA can convert its rapid UAE growth into sustained performance across multiple GCC markets and build a consumer brand with reach beyond the region.