FRÍO SPARKLING WATER

Founded by friends-turned-business partners, DIEGO CENTENO and RASHED AL MULLA, FRÍO SPARKLING WATER is the first homegrown, artisanal sparkling water brand in the region. Handcrafted in Dubai, FRÍO was created when the co-founders noticed a gap in the market.

“The water business is something that I have been interested in for the last 10 years,” says Diego. “Honestly, creating Frío was something we started out of necessity. When I moved to the Gulf in 2013, there weren’t any flavoured sparkling water brands on shelves, so starting the business was really a journey to create something that we liked and wasn’t available locally. As an American, when I go to the supermarket here in the UAE I see every American brand, but when I go to the US, I don’t see a single Dubai-based brand. Why?”

And what inspired the two entrepreneurs to apply to the Local Business Incubator Programme? “Our customers have been waiting to see us somewhere they recognise – they see us at events, they see us at the airport but they’re like, ‘When are you going to be stocked in Spinneys?’”

“Melody [Mok] from Curious Elephant (one of the Spinneys Local Business Incubator 2021 winners) actually encouraged us to try out for this year’s edition. We were quite hesitant, but Mel was like “Do you think you’re going to get picked? What if you don’t? Why are you worried about it?” We then seriously thought about applying and decided we’ve got to do it.”

Frío, which means cold in Spanish, comes in five different fresh flavours – grapefruit, lemon, coconut, strawberry and plain, but what are the founders’ favourite flavour? “All the flavours are amazing, but coconut for sure! And it’s not coconut water, like the water from the coconut – it’s coconut-flavoured water and it’s by far our best seller,” adds Diego.

@friosparklingwater

“Community is how I do business,” says SHONA HIND, owner and founder of Free Me Company, which makes chemical-free mosquito repellent sprays.

Having moved to Dubai from the UK in 2006 “for just a couple of years”, long-term expat Shona was inspired to start her business in 2016 after the unfortunate passing of her father. The mumtrepreneur quit her banking job and started to explore and develop the ideas she had for what was to become the FREE ME COMPANY. “Someone started off with a drawing and the idea for the Burj Khalifa, right?”

“I thought we have a big issue with mosquitoes in Dubai, yet none of the mosquito repellents available are natural and nothing was working properly. I was inspired by many natural remedies out there on the market, but wanted to make one that I knew would be naturally kind and safe for all ages and produce it here in the UAE.”

After months of market research, Shona took to the community to find out what they were looking for in a repellent. “Our customers are at the heart of what we do. I started asking friends, family and local neighbourhood groups things like – if you were going to buy a mosquito repellent, what would make you purchase one?; What would you want in one?; Would it be a natural one over a non-natural one?; What sort of price would you pay? I needed to ask potential customers and not just go ahead and make a product that I like.”

Free Me Company is the only natural range of mosquito repellents made locally. “It’s a magic potion. I make it here in the UAE, it’s natural, it’s sustainable... The products are free from nasties and they also free you from nasties, so that’s why I called the brand Free Me.”

@freemecompany

At just 22 years old, YARA MERSI is the youngest person to apply and be accepted into the Spinneys Local Business Incubator Programme in 2023. As the saying goes, breakfast is the most important meal of the day and Yara, the brains behind OATFUL, the UAE’s first high-protein, pre-made overnight oats mix, is on a mission to disrupt the breakfast industry with her innovative range of oats.

“I’ve been having overnight oats since I was in middle school. I played a lot of sports growing up and wanted something that could help me