Entrepreneur of the Month: Shaikha Eissa, Founder, She Burger

From on-demand service to a dine-in venue at Dar Al Wasl Mall in Al Safa, Emirati home-grown brand She Burger has come a long way. Brainchild of Shaikha Eissa, She Burger literally started from her kitchen and went on to become a rage on Instagram, which listed Eissa burgers as a local, best-kept secret back in 2013.

Shaikha Eissa, Founder, She Burger

The idea was simple; Eissa enjoys mixing up ingredients to cook up a storm and wanted to be her own boss. She was also keen to add more flavours to the home-grown burger landscape. “There was a time when the UAE market didn’t have so many burger brands,” she stated. “I wanted to introduce different global flavours to the home market – like Buffalo Burger from the US. At home, I would create new flavours and use different fillings to make various types of burgers for family and friends. They liked the burgers and would ask me to make more for them.”

From friends and family, the circle increased. The number of orders, via Instagram and WhatsApp, kept rising. At a certain point, Eissa would deliver 600 orders a day, all made in her home kitchen. People had to place orders almost a day in advance to get a burger. A journey that started with AED1,500 from a home kitchen soon required more investment to build a commercial kitchen.

Fast forward to 2018, Eissa set up the She Burger restaurant at Dar Wasl with a personal loan and a business partner. But Eissa isn’t stopping here; she has bigger plans, including opening She Burger in The Dubai Mall for more brand exposure. Immediate next stop, however, is Saudi Arabia, with Riyadh being the entry point. “After Riyadh, we are keen to enter Jeddah as well,” Eissa revealed.

She is also thinking beyond She Burger, possibly launch something totally opposite of a burger brand – may be tap into the healthy food space.

Read the full article in the March edition of RetailME