The concept of clean beauty is still relatively new in the global beauty industry, and it’s even more of a novelty in the Middle East.
Noticing this gap in the regional market, OKTA was born. The brainchild of Emirati entrepreneur Alia Al Khafajy, the concept goes beyond just beauty.
“We are beginning to build a beauty and wellness platform for the region, where we are able to support our consumers and communities beyond just the purchase of beauty products,” she tells GRAZIA.
While still in its early stages, OKTA is already the exclusive distributor in the Middle East for a number of brands including Indie Lee, Khus+Khus, Verso and more.
As part of GRAZIA’s Career Edit, Alia shares with us her career journey and aspirations for OKTA.
My current role is…
AAK: Founder and CEO of OKTA, a GCC clean and conscious beauty distribution company. We exclusively distribute global brands across the categories of skincare, body care, haircare (coming soon), fragrance and wellness to bring niche clean beauty to the region. We exclusively distribute clean and conscious brands across categories. I also am acting CEO of ALKHAFAJY TRADING LLC.
When I was younger, I wanted to be…
AAK: I never had a clear knowing of what I wanted to be. At some point during my A-levels I wanted to become a lawyer and chose my subjects based on that..but that didn’t end up happening. My earliest memory was wanting to have the job of Richard Gere after the first time I watched ‘Pretty Woman’, I was intrigued by Mergers & Acquisitions, although I didn’t have an understanding what that is at the time!
My favourite subject at school was…
AAK: History comes first, then I’d say Arabic literature and English literature. I also did enjoy geography, and certain modules in physics.
My first job was…
AAK: Part of the ‘Design Mangement’ as a Junior Design Manager at a Development Company.
My career path so far has been…
AAK: Completely unexpected! Each role or job I had just sort of happened. It was never an intentional choice; except for when I joined the family business back in 2015.
The role the UAE has played in my career is…
AAK: Being an Emirati, my personal experience throughout my career has been rather positive overall. I positively experienced support from family, peers, bosses, friends and so on. I have witnessed and experienced progressive support towards Emirati women, realizing their talent and supporting them to grow and allowing them the opportunities to realise their potential. I consider myself lucky and grateful to have had such an experience.
The story of OKTA is…
AAK: Something that started unexpectedly and unpremeditated. When I look back, I see how the dots connected and how OKTA came into being. It has been a journey. I believe it was a series of decisions and events that eventually gave birth to OKTA.
I was inspired to enter into the beauty space because…
AAK: Beauty plays such a huge role in our lives, especially for us women without us even realising it. I believe being a consumer who enjoyed the discovery of new indie brands was the culprit which helped make matters more intriguing and explorative during the time it all started. I was fascinated, and still am, by getting to know more about the beauty industry. Having the opportunity to meet brand founders, and some of the industry’s specialists and expertise. Learning more about ingredients in skincare and fragrance for example. Being exposed to the industry’s knowledge on manufacturing, efficacy and the list goes on.
My daily routine consists of…
AAK: I give myself time in the morning to mentally prep for the day. During this time, I’d either workout (if I miss it in the AM I’ll try and swap in for the PM) or tend to some emails or reading with no disruptions. I try not to check my phone or communicate with anyone (social/text/etc) before 9am. When the weather gets better, I tend to go horse riding super early in the mornings. Typically, I’d go into the office, unless I have meetings outside of office. I don’t necessarily have “after-work” hours because I sometimes would break that in the afternoons and continue some work/emails/calls in the evenings. I do spend time with my family each day. The later evenings are for unwinding and watching shows.
My role as Founder & CEO entails…
AAK: Each day is a placement of a building block towards OKTA’s growth with that are the learnings from the trials and tribulations. However, in order to achieve that, I believe that, ultimately my role is to lead my team towards our vision in the best way possible. Building strategies, decision making, ideas and creativity can only go so far without the support of my team.
The biggest hurdle I have experienced in my career…
AAK: I feel that with every year, or every few months there’s new challenge or hurdle. Sometimes its several at the same time, just with different intensity levels. I am a firm believer though that every hurdle is a learning opportunity despite its length of time or outcome. You’ll either learn something about yourself, or about how to deal with a situation for the future.
The biggest milestone I have achieved is…
AAK: This is a tricky one. There are personal ones, and professional ones, and ones related to activities. Overall, I’m most comfortable saying that, where I am today, and the person that I am today.
A quote I live by is…
AAK: It is a verse from the Holy Qu’ran that reads: “{فإن مع العسر يسر}” – [For indeed ,with hardship, will be ease] . I had read these words all my life and never truly grasped their true meaning. With every hardship, adversity, heartache, misery, grief; there is always is without a doubt a positive. The understanding of the verse is that they come together and not one after the other – sort of like seeing the silver lining in everything. They come in pairs, a ying and yang, it depends on us, which to focus on.
What I hope for 2023 is…
AAK: We have been working on something for some time. We hope to have it launched by year end. We’ll keep you posted!
