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Layla Akuri explains how authentic engagement, premium positioning, and customer-centric innovation drive sustainable growth and loyalty in competitive markets.
Beauty, perhaps more than any other category, exposes the gap between what brands promise and what customers actually experience.
In a region like the Middle East, where trends move quickly and competition is relentless, building a premium label demands more than visibility. It requires trust, consistency, and a sharply defined point of view. For emerging brands, the challenge is not just standing out, but staying relevant without diluting identity.
Against this backdrop, a new playbook is taking shape—one that favours community over campaigns, experience over discounts, and long-term relationships over short-term wins.
“I would say that keeping it raw and real, keeping the message simple, and don’t go into really paying people to do your content. Create a nice community where people can basically speak about your brand. Word of mouth today is so much more precious than really putting an ad out,” says Layal Akuri, Partner & CEO, Nadine Njeim Beauty.
At last year’s Festival Dubai, hosted by SAP Engagement Cloud, Layla Akuri shared how brands can balance rapid growth with long-term customer value by focusing on authenticity, operational excellence, and personalised engagement.
Top insights Martechvibe learned from Layal Akuri;
1. Authenticity and community outperform traditional advertising
Modern consumers are moving away from overly polished, unrealistic marketing. Instead, they value raw, relatable content and genuine brand experiences. Building a strong community that advocates organically creates more trust and impact than paid promotions or influencer-heavy campaigns alone.
2. Loyalty is built through exclusivity and meaningful experiences
Discounts may drive short-term conversions, but they rarely create lasting loyalty. Brands that offer personalised experiences, exclusive access, and emotional value build deeper connections, encouraging customers to stay engaged and progress through long-term loyalty journeys.
3. Personalisation must be relevant, not intrusive
Retention depends on delivering communication that truly reflects customer behaviour and preferences. Leveraging data and AI to tailor interactions—based on real engagement signals—ensures messages feel meaningful, increasing conversion while avoiding fatigue from generic, repetitive outreach.
