Right now, supporting locally-founded brands isn’t just a feel-good gesture, but a quiet form of solidarity. As tensions escalate across the region, the economic ripple effects are already being felt, and smaller, independent businesses are often the first to take the hit. These are the brands we claim to love, the ones that shape our taste, our culture, and our sense of identity, yet they’re also the most vulnerable when uncertainty sets in.
Of course, buying from them is the most direct way to help. But support doesn’t have to come with a price tag. At a time when many are navigating layoffs, instability, or simply tightening their spending, even small actions matter. A follow, a share, a saved post all carry weight.
So if we want the brands that define our communities to make it through this moment, now’s the time to show up for them in whatever way we can. Here are some homegrown labels we love and believe are worth backing right now.
Homegrown Cafe’s and Restaurants
To the Moon and Back
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Tucked away near the Dubai Canal, To The Moon & Back Coffee feels like a quiet little escape you almost don’t want to share. Founded by Emirati entrepreneur Zainab Al Mousawi, the space blends Melbourne-style specialty coffee culture with a distinctly local sensibility. It’s equal parts laid-back hangout and thoughtfully designed hideaway.
Rascals
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What started as a scrappy pop-up between three friends—Talal Hizami, Ramez Mikhail, and Tarek Roumie— has grown into a full-blown cult sandwich shop built on the kind of word-of-mouth hype you can’t manufacture.
A Normal Day
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Despite the name, there’s nothing particularly “normal” about this Dar Wasl bistro. The restaurant leans into the idea of everyday dining, then quietly elevates it—turning familiar comfort dishes into something a little more considered, a little more intentional. Designed to feel personal and familiar, it’s the kind of place that brings people together over long, unhurried meals, whether it’s a casual breakfast or a drawn-out dinner.
Middle Child
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Founded by Beirut-born Lynn Hazim, the concept leans into the idea of doing simple things exceptionally well. There’s no gimmicks or overworked plates here, just comfort food that’s been thought through down to the last detail. The menu is tight and familiar, featuring dishes you recognize, but executed with enough precision to keep things interesting.
Amongst Few
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What started as a streetwear label by two friends has grown into one of Dubai’s most fully realized cultural spaces, housed inside a repurposed villa on Al Wasl Road. Step inside and it unfolds in a concept store stocked with the brand’s signature pieces, a café that extends its aesthetic into food and coffee, a stripped-back barbershop upstairs, and, tucked quietly behind it all, a private recording studio
Mirzam Chocolate
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Tucked inside Alserkal Avenue’s warehouse-lined streets, the space doubles as a working factory, café, and storytelling hub, where everything is made in-house, from bean to bar. It was the first of its kind in the UAE, part of a new wave of craft chocolatiers focused on flavor, transparency, and process rather than mass production.
Bkry
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Designed as an “experimental bakespace,” bkry moves beyond the idea of grab-and-go pastries. Through glass walls and open kitchens, you watch dough become something else entirely—folded, proofed, baked—turning the act of ordering a croissant into something closer to witnessing a craft in motion.
Honeycomb HiFi
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The concept, brought to life by co-founders Varun Khemaney and Khalil Dahmash, pulls from Japanese listening bars and izakayas, blending vinyl culture with food, art, and design. Expect a rotating selection of records, shelves of music books, and walls that double as exhibition space—everything curated with the same level of intention.
Homegrown Fashion and Beauty
Ashri Skin
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In a saturated beauty market that thrives on more, faster, and louder, Ashri Skin does the opposite. Founded by Sudanese pharmacist Latifa Elnour and developed between Nubian heritage and Korean innovation, the brand is built on the simple idea that skincare shouldn’t feel like a 12-step obligation.
Illi
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Launched by Emirati designer Rawdha Salem Thani in 2020, the brand quickly carved out its own lane with pieces that feel instantly recognizable: candy-colored palettes, celestial-inspired embroidery, unexpected textures, and silhouettes that move away from the expected all-black formula.
Shabab Intl
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Shabab Intl isn’t just a streetwear and lifestyle label. It’s one of the brands that helped build the region’s scene from the ground up. Helmed by Iraqi-born photographer and creative Cheb Moha alongside his twin sister Zainab Hasoon, the Dubai-based brand emerged at a time when streetwear in the Middle East barely existed. What started as a side project in the Tumblr era has since grown into a cornerstone of Gulf youth culture.
Coccellato
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Founded by French-Tunisian-Sicilian designer Iman Coccellato, the Dubai-based label sits somewhere between couture discipline and everyday wearability, bringing a distinctly architectural approach to womenswear. In 2025, Coccellato was named a finalist for the Fashion Trust Arabia Prize in the ready-to-wear category.
One of More
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Formerly known as One of Four, Egyptian designer Engy Mahdy’s label is the kind of brand that makes “basics” feel anything but basic. Launched initially in 2017 and later rebranded with a sharper focus on on engineered essentials and everyday wear that actually works with the body, not against it, the brand has mastered the art of creating pieces that feel intentional but never overdesigned.
Arcadia
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Born and bred in Dubai, Arcadia by Amna Al Habtoor, is a fragrance brand built around one central idea: scent as memory. Each fragrance is crafted using high-quality ingredients, with a focus on being cruelty-free and free from parabens and harsh chemicals.
Izil
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The brainchild of Moroccan entrepreneur Mouna Abbassy, the label is rooted in centuries-old beauty rituals such as hammam traditions, argan oil, rhassoul clay, reimagined through a more modern, science-backed lens.
Bouguessa
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What started with a reimagined “global abaya,” Algerian designer Faiza Bouguessa’s homegrown label has since evolved into a full ready-to-wear wardrobe of tailored coats, fluid trousers, sharp shirting all defined by clean lines, soft neutrals, and a kind of understated confidence. It’s not trend-driven, and that’s exactly the point.
Bil Arabi
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Few brands have managed to turn language into something you can wear quite like Bil Arabi. Founded in 2006 by Lebanese designer Nadine Kanso, the Dubai-based jewelry label was born out of a desire to reclaim and celebrate Arab identity, transforming Arabic letters, words, and poetry into bold, contemporary pieces that feel both deeply personal and instantly recognizable.
By Karen Wazen
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Launched in 2018 by Dubai-based Lebanese entrepreneur and content creator Karen Wazen, the eyewear label was built on a simple gap: sunglasses that felt premium but still accessible, designed with the Middle Eastern woman in mind. Today, By Karen Wazen has grown into a regional powerhouse, stocked across the Middle East and beyond, with a loyal following that mirrors her own.
Sister’s Beauty Lounge
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Sisters Beauty Lounge is one of those homegrown names that quietly set the standard before the city became saturated with salons. Founded in 2003 by Emirati entrepreneur Shirin Abulrazak, the concept was simple but ahead of its time: a high-end, all-in-one beauty destination designed for women who didn’t have time to bounce between appointments.
Sculp
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The UAE-born activewear brands was founded in Dubai by Emirati designer Aisha Abdulaziz. Built on years of research into fabric, fit, and form, the label had one clear goal to create pieces that sculpt and support without ever feeling restrictive.
SN3 Studio
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Founded by Ahmed Shareef, Abdallah Abbas, and Mahdi Jali, the UAE-based Sudanese collective moves across fashion, film, art, and design. Visually, the brand sits at the intersection of African and Arab influences, filtered through a contemporary streetwear lens. Whether through charity capsules supporting communities back home or long-term ambitions to produce entirely within Sudan, the studio is building something that feels both cultural and infrastructural.
House Janolo
Founded by sisters Oloof and Dujanah Jarrar, the UAE-based fine jewelry label takes a design-led approach to pieces that feel both contemporary and enduring, without leaning into excess. Working exclusively with 18k gold and natural gemstones, the brand focuses on form as much as material.
Culture and Music
Cinema Akil
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The GCC’s first independent art house cinema started as a series of nomadic pop-ups across Dubai before finding a permanent home in Alserkal Avenue in 2018. More than just a theater, it’s a platform. Founded by Butheina Kazim, Cinema Akil was built to screen the films you wouldn’t normally see here, such as independent, regional, and international works that exist outside the commercial circuit.
Vinyl Souk
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What began as pop-up record fairs has grown into a recurring cultural fixture, taking over spaces across the city with crates of vinyl spanning genres, eras, and geographies and connecting collectors, artists, and listeners in a way that feels organic rather than curated for optics.
Jamjar
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Part studio, part community hub, Jamjar—founded in Dubai in 2005 by Hetal Pawani— has become a go-to for hands-on creativity—offering everything from open studio sessions and workshops to curated exhibitions and private events. You can walk in with zero experience, pick up a brush, and just start.
Bayt al Mamzar
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Tucked away in Al Mamzar, the villa-turned-creative hub founded by a collective of creatives brings together art, music, food, and community under one roof, blurring the line between public and private in a way that feels intentional rather than curated. Its programming shifts between intimate dinners, live performances, film screenings, and exhibitions, often centering regional voices and underrepresented narratives.
Habibi Skate Shop
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A cornerstone of Dubai’s skate scene, Habibi Skate Shop was founded by skater and creative Maysam Faraj out of a real need for a space for local skaters to gather, share, and grow a community that, for a long time, existed on the margins.
Frame
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Founded by Korean-born, Dubai-based Peter Ahn, the d3 space has been quietly shaping the city’s retail landscape since 2017—long before “concept store” became a buzzword. The edit pulls from across worlds—Japanese streetwear, technical outdoor gear, niche fashion labels, skate culture, collectible objects—brought together under one roof.
The Flip Side
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Widely considered the UAE’s first independent record store, DJ and producer Shadi Megallaa built Flip Side in 2017, a time when vinyl culture in the region was almost non-existent. Inside, crates of carefully-curated records span everything from jazz and funk to Arabic classics and underground electronic. Meanwhile, regular in-store sessions, listening events, and conversations turn the space into something alive.
Campy Chronicles
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Founded in 2024 by Dubai-based creative Sophia Khalifeh, it started as an intimate gathering around a candlelit table—friends, food, and a shared love of books—before quickly growing into one of the city’s most talked-about literary communities. Often centering female voices with members voting on each month’s pick, the book club keeps the experience collaborative rather than top-down.
