“Community is how I do business,” says SHONA HIND, owner and founder of Free Me Company, which makes chemical-free mosquito repellent sprays.
Having moved to Dubai from the UK in 2006 “for just a couple of years”, long-term expat Shona was inspired to start her business in 2016 after the unfortunate passing of her father. The mumtrepreneur quit her banking job and started to explore and develop the ideas she had for what was to become the FREE ME COMPANY. “Someone started off with a drawing and the idea for the Burj Khalifa, right?”
“I thought we have a big issue with mosquitoes in Dubai, yet none of the mosquito repellents available are natural and nothing was working properly. I was inspired by many natural remedies out there on the market, but wanted to make one that I knew would be naturally kind and safe for all ages and produce it here in the UAE.”
After months of market research, Shona took to the community to find out what they were looking for in a repellent. “Our customers are at the heart of what we do. I started asking friends, family and local neighbourhood groups things like – if you were going to buy a mosquito repellent, what would make you purchase one?; What would you want in one?; Would it be a natural one over a non-natural one?; What sort of price would you pay? I needed to ask potential customers and not just go ahead and make a product that I like.”
Free Me Company is the only natural range of mosquito repellents made locally. “It’s a magic potion. I make it here in the UAE, it’s natural, it’s sustainable... The products are free from nasties and they also free you from nasties, so that’s why I called the brand Free Me.”
@freemecompany
