Chalhoub Group, Instagram collaborate to support female-led beauty start-ups

The Greenhouse – Chalhoub Group’s space for innovation and entrepreneurship – and Instagram, continue supporting start-ups in the region with the second programme of the Beauty Lab that selected five uprising female entrepreneurs. This marks the continuation of the Group’s partnership with Instagram to empower and support local start-ups, after the successful Fashion Lab programme last year. The collaboration includes hands-on mentorship to support up-and-coming innovators in beauty and skincare throughout the early stages of their entrepreneurship journey.

The five selected brands include Rena Roots, Palma De Salus, Alam Health & Beauty, Nood and Salma. The start-ups had the chance to test and market their brands in-store and online through FACES, Chalhoub Group’s beauty retail concept in the Middle East, and Beauty Nation the Group’s online beauty platform.

The Beauty Lab incubator is designed to unearth emerging and unique beauty & wellness start-ups with an aim to accelerate the growth of the indie beauty category in the MENA region. Building on the success of the inaugural Beauty Lab Program launched in 2019 the 2022 edition is going bolder by expanding into the wellness, clean beauty and new innovative categories.

Commenting on the partnership Rafi Dikranian, Senior Innovation & New Ventures Manager at The Greenhouse said, “At Chalhoub Group, we are always looking for ways to stay ahead of the curve – curating and cultivating brands with the potential to innovate and excite. With The Greenhouse and through this partnership with Instagram we are committed to empowering regional start-ups in the beauty and skincare space, supporting those entrepreneurs building sustainable brands that we believe can deliver the products and solutions that regional customers want.”

“People have always come to Instagram to connect with brands and people they love. With a vibrant community of more than one billion people, a business presence on Instagram is like being on one of the busiest street corners in the world. In fact, 90% of people follow a business on the platform today. We are excited to announce our second partnership with Chalhoub Group to celebrate and support female entrepreneurs in an emerging sector such as clean beauty and help them take their brands to the next level. At Instagram, we will continue to constantly evolve our tools, introduce new features and embark on new initiatives to support small businesses and help people discover them to further drive their growth,” added Mansour Salameh, Head of Retail & Ecommerce, for MENA, at Meta.

With this second Beauty Lab cohort, Chalhoub Group is reiterating its commitment to start-ups, women empowerment, innovation and clean beauty. The Group is supporting brands with the potential to make an impact on the global beauty business, driving economic growth and creating jobs and opportunities for the region.