Mitchelle D’Souza, Sub-editor/Reporter

Sometimes all it takes is a spark to ignite a whole fire, and that’s what Waseem Sendi from Saudi Arabia experienced while establishing his men’s beard grooming company Diggn'It.

Co-founded by Sendi, his wife Samya Fetyani and business partner Layal Ismail, the trio launched Diggn’It with the aim of changing the way the world sees the Arabian beard, and to revolutionise Middle Eastern men’s approach to self-care.

The brand, which recently launched in the UAE, is all-natural, bringing a vast array of male grooming products, from oils, brushes, kits, beard soaps and balms, to keep beards looking freshly kept.

Waseem Sendi, owner of the beard care line.

Taking root
It all began in the year 2014/15 when Waseem started growing his beard and chanced upon a beard oil from Australia. The product had an instant fan in him, and he noticed the lack of beard grooming products in the Arab world.

This got the former stakeholder manager thinking and before he knew it, his wife and him were drawing up varied names for Middle East’s only beard grooming company.

While the entrepreneur floated the beard care company sensing a huge gap for male grooming products in the market, he didn’t just want his brand to be the “only one” in the Middle East.

His aim was for it to be “the highest quality beard product in the world.”

Diggn'It is rooted in the philosophy that Arab men need to embrace and be proud of their beards, more so since long beards are often mistakenly associated with terrorism.

“When I started growing my beard, I was inundated with comments such as, ‘How I should shave before going to the airport?’ Bearded Arabs had been associated with terrorism and Arab men with beards were used to being profiled in this way.

“In a way, I wanted to take back the beard by owning that accessory and wearing it proudly,” stated Waseem.

A beard grooming set.

Leap of faith
While the company, which was born out of a small a kitchen with the support of family and friends (including packaging parties that involved labelling, sealing and filling bottles) has grown manifold, Waseem’s road to success hasn’t been a cakewalk.

He had to give up his job in an educational consultancy to realise his passion project.

On taking the leap of faith, Waseem affirmed, “I am grateful for the experience of pushing an idea through from conception to actualisation and learning how to build every aspect of a business.

“The unique challenges in developing the company in KSA actually made the business stronger, and it is the challenges that we rub up against that provided the structure for us to grow into.”

On coining the name Diggn'It, Waseem recalled an anecdote that led to it.

“My wife and business partner were thinking about names and someone sent her an Instagram message on a picture of us with my beard, asking ‘How do you handle such a beard?’ She responded with ‘Why?’ ‘I am Digging it’ was the reply.

“It felt like we struck gold there, because Diggn’It worked on so many levels. It was an English/Arabic word, and we just knew with a name like this we had to move forward with the idea. We owed it to the name.”

The brand offers a range of Arabic scented beard oils.

Hair to stay
The USP of Diggn’It’s products is that they are traditionally inspired by the knowledge and care of Arabian ancestors.

The company uses a mixture of oils known for their benefits in fostering healthy hair growth and thickness, such as castor, cactus, and sweet almond.

The products also boast of being 100 per cent free of any preservatives and chemical materials, making it eco-friendly and non-harmful to the body.

Further keeping it arabesque, the beard care line is replete with classic Arabian scents like misk, oud and rose.

The creation of Diggn’It was not only to make these products accessible to the Arab man, but to change the narrative and perspective of Middle Eastern beards worldwide, and most importantly, promote self-care amongst men in the region. 

“We have too long been told that the measure of manhood is the lack of emotion, which shuts down our emotional development. At 12 years old, we’re told to man up, not cry, and then we grow up having nowhere for these emotions to go,” explains Sendi.

“By using cosmetics and encouraging men to ‘live their vibe’ we give room for men to be themselves.”

 

Groomed for success
Diggn'It recently catapulted to fame when it appeared on the hit TV show ''Shark Tank Arabia.''

This got the brand much-needed recognition and opened up the conversation about grooming beards among Arabs.

With increased sales and new exposure, Diggn’It’s online and physical presence received a fillip, with plans to move into new markets across the Middle East and Africa, with delivery locations expanding to 25 different countries. 

While the company is a flourishing success, the owners have not forgotten the cornerstone of their brand — to empower and transform the way men think, feel and style their beards.

“Our entrepreneurial journey blows me away, bootstrapping our way up from 5k SAR to where we are today,” Waseem fondly reminisced about his struggle to success.

Revealing his plan for the future of Diggn’It, he stated: “I want this brand to be one of the first home-grown, authentic, local brands that competes with grooming companies on the world stage.”

Diggn’It products are available in-store across KSA and worldwide on diggn.it.com and amazon.ae