Dubai mum builds Bambuyu after failing to find cleaner products at home

Sahar Karoubi launched Bambuyu after a personal search for non-toxic, sustainably produced household tissue products in the UAE came up short. A Dubai resident since 2003 and an American University in Dubai graduate with a two-decade career in marketing, Karoubi turned a parenting-driven concern in 2021 into a consumer packaged goods startup that now sells across the UAE through major retail and e-commerce platforms and appears in hospitality venues, Gulf News reported.

"I started becoming much more conscious about what we were bringing into our home," Karoubi told Gulf News. "I wanted to reduce toxins and make more responsible choices."

Karoubi said that difficulty finding tissue products that combined sustainability, safety and quality prompted her to build Bambuyu. "When I looked for better tissue alternatives in the UAE, I struggled to find options that were non-toxin, sustainable and high quality," she said. With a background in CPG marketing, she felt prepared to create "a brand that was clean, sustainable and exciting at the same time," adding that she wanted "Something that felt like an upgrade and did good at the same time."

Context and early growth

• Career and inspiration: Karoubi moved to the UAE in 2003, built a marketing career and shifted toward entrepreneurship after becoming a mother of two, according to Gulf News.
• Funding path: Bambuyu was "initially self-funded," Karoubi said. The company later raised two rounds of investment from strategic investors who helped expand its capital base and network.
• Market entry: The brand established distribution across the UAE’s leading retail and e-commerce platforms and has gained visibility in restaurants, hotels and travel locations—channels Karoubi highlighted as particularly rewarding when customers report discovering the product while travelling.

Karoubi described Dubai as a natural launchpad. "The UAE has been my home for over 20 years, so building Bambuyu here was a natural choice," she said, noting the city's diverse, globally minded consumers and supportive logistics infrastructure. "From infrastructure to access to regional markets, it provides an ideal base to scale across the GCC and beyond."

Rapid demand exposed operational challenges. "One of our biggest challenges has been managing supply chain and forecasting while scaling at pace," Karoubi said, noting that Bambuyu sometimes sold out as demand rose. The experience prompted investments in better systems and stronger supplier relationships: "We have invested heavily in better systems, tighter planning and stronger supply chain relationships," she said, adding that "Brand and vision may open doors, but operational excellence sustains growth."

Outlook

• Expansion goals: Karoubi aims to take Bambuyu beyond the UAE to compete with international brands and become a UAE-born brand recognised in homes worldwide. "We’re used to seeing international brands enter the UAE and succeed," she said. "I want Bambuyu to be the UAE-born brand that scales globally and is recognised in homes around the world."
• Founder's perspective: Calling entrepreneurship "the MBA I never formally did," Karoubi said the work continues to fuel her creativity and purpose. "Bambuyu gives me purpose, fuels my creativity and challenges me to keep learning," she said. "If I had to do it all again, I’d choose Bambuyu 1,000 times over."

This account is based on an interview published by Gulf News and reported by assistant business editor Nivetha Dayanand.