Of crisis and opportunity
Public health emergency proves a bonanza for Dubai-based company that makes hand sanitizer and handwash
World Health Organization
Until a few weeks ago, they were widely considered good personal hygiene habits. But now, effective handwashing and use of hand sanitizer in community settings are strongly recommended as two of the most important measures to avoid the transmission of the deadly new coronavirus disease.
For Marssai, Dubai-based company that manufactures hand sanitizer, handwash and shampoo, the public health crisis created by the COVID-19 outbreak has meant sales so brisk as to be beyond its founder’s wildest dreams.
The entrepreneur behind Marssai, which means “my anchor” in Arabic, says her staff have pulled out all the stops to meet the current surge in demand for its personal care products.
Dr. Iman Alashkar, a UAE resident of Syrian origin and a pharmaceutical scientist, says Marssai has sold close to 100,000 bottles of hand sanitizer in a single week.
“I’ve been working 24/7 for the past 10 days,” she told Arab News. “I’m not exaggerating but I worked at least 20 hours, and am running on adrenaline.”
Alashkar, who is in her 40s, said that she now devotes an hour or so a night to rest and spends every waking minute at work.
Just a few days ago, she said, she curled up on a staircase within her factory premises for a nap lasting all of two hours. “When you do your Ph.D. in the US, you get trained to be tortured and to not sleep,” she joked, “but I’m OK.” Alashkar says that she is savoring every moment, no matter how hectic. “I love the fact that we’re making a difference and keeping the quality,” she said. “It’s what keeps me going, and when you see it, it gives you that power. You have a purpose, and it gives you energy and light to keep doing. It’s tiring but fun.”
Marssai products are selling in supermarkets including Choithrams and Carrefour. Pharmacies in the UAE have started asking her to replenish their stocks. Alashkar said that she worked for several years in technology consulting in Boston, before deciding to move back to Syria. It was not a difficult decision: She belonged to a family with a strong connection to the Middle East’s pharmaceuticals industry. “My training and expertise are in the pharmaceuticals domain. I got my Ph.D. in pharmaceutical sciences in Boston,” said Alashkar, who is also a member of the American Society of Cosmetic Chemists. “My grandfather had a factory in Damascus and in Egypt in 1920, so I grew up around pharmaceutical products.”
With the civil war in Syria dragging on, Alashkar relocated to Dubai six years ago to set up her own factory and pursue her passion. “I noticed there wasn’t
a much manufactured here for a place that’s really reputable and is identified for quality, class and lifestyle,” she said.
“I felt it didn’t have enough to represent it, and there wasn’t enough being manufactured here.”
Before the coronavirus struck, Alashkar’s factory in Dubai Science Park produced shampoo and handwash under the brand Marssai. “Dubai became a place that I loved, and I specifically wanted the brand to sound Arabic,” she said. “The products are full of water, at least 80 percent, and for that, shopping for water internationally didn’t
As long as people need something to counter the coronavirus threat, you should do your best to meet the demand.
make sense. So it made sense to source the water locally.” Alashkar describes the products made by Marssai as no less vital than food since both are required on a daily basis.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), thousands of people die every day around the globe from infections acquired while receiving health care. “Hands are the main pathways of germ transmission during health care,” its website says. Alashkar said: “It’s a human right. I wanted to start with what’s essential for us in terms of wellbeing in our life, something we use every day and that should be well made as part of consistent hygiene.”
It was important to manufacture the hygiene products locally.