SCENT OF SUCCESS

Mona Kattan, CEO and Founder of KAYALI, is redefining perfume as a form of self-love. Following a world tour of her signature collection, the beauty mogul is now launching scents that venture outside of her comfort zone, continuing to innovate while tapping into the Middle East's lucrative love of fragrance.

- JAMILA GANDHI

Few people are as captivated by the art of fragrance as Mona Kattan. The Iraqi-American CEO and founder of KAYALI perfumes boasts a treasure trove of over 4,500 fragrances in her fragrance library, and since establishing her own brand in 2018 she's created and launched five collections and 26 new scents of her own. Over a career in beauty spanning more than a decade, she's cultivated an expertise that aims to redefine the emotional power of fragrance.

Her approach has led to rapid growth over the last three years. KAYALI launched eight new fragrances in 2023 and seven in 2024. By the end of 2024, KAYALI was sold in 30 countries and 2,690 retail stores. Last year also saw the brand embark on a world tour in April and May spanning seven countries and 10 cities over six weeks, including Milan, New York, and Paris, to launch the 'Vanilla Candy Rock Sugar | 42' fragrance, with Dubai and Jeddah serving as the regional stops. The tour featured influencer and press events, retailer training, and public appearances. In September 2024, reports surfaced that KAYALI was weighing a potential sale, though Kattan has declined to comment on the matter.