The viral on TikTok beauty brand Kosas is betting big that the Middle East is ready for a cleaner beauty routine.
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The company revealed it will be rolling out across 85 Sephora stores and online in the Middle East on Monday. Kosas founder Sheena Zadeh sees the Middle East as a natural next step for the brand, which bills itself as “makeup for skin care freaks.”
“Our products provide payoff, coverage, pigment, glow — all the things you need for makeup to be effective, while also being active skin care and clean,” Zadeh told WWD.
Zadeh attributes the success in the U.S. to market readiness and drew parallels to the current Middle Eastern beauty landscape. “We went through this here in the U.S. in 2015 and 2016 when it was the end of the era of super Instagram makeup that was very heavy and multistep. In came Kosas, which was not the polar opposite, but an alternative,” she said.
The company is projecting to close this year with $150 million in retail sales, up 20 percent from 2023.
Zadeh believes the Middle East, known for its love of bold makeup, is ripe for Kosas’ promise of delivering high performance makeup that improves skin. “I can sense the region’s readiness to move away from the hyper-extreme coverage products, as people’s skin has started to look so beautiful from great skin care.”
Zadeh, who is Iranian-American, embraces her Middle Eastern heritage, which played a crucial role in her brand’s development 10 years ago. “I grew up culturally Middle Eastern,” Zadeh said, adding that, “Inclusivity has been really important to me from Day One” she said.
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This commitment to inclusivity is reflected in Kosas’ hero products, which Zadeh believes will resonate strongly in the Middle East. The brand’s complexion offerings — from the concealer, which was a top 10 makeup collection at Sephora in the U.S. last year, to its brow, eyeliner and lip collections — the company’s focus has been on creating shades and formulas that flatter a wide range of skin tones and undertones.
The Middle East isn’t Kosas’ first international market, but it’s a significant one. Zadeh explained the brand’s careful approach to global expansion: “We have been very slowly and carefully expanding internationally into markets that feel like the right next step.” She emphasized the importance of leveraging social media presence in English-speaking territories as a springboard for growth. Based on data on searches and social media engagement with the brand, the Middle East has shown high interest in Kosas for several years.
Central to the brand’s Middle Eastern growth strategy is its partnership with Sephora. “We’ve developed a deeper relationship with Sephora over the last five or six years,” Zadeh said. She highlighted Sephora’s ability to provide insights into regional brand resonance being key to their decision to grow their retail partnership together.
“We believe that Kosas will resonate with our customers who seek high-performance makeup that honors their well-being, while embracing the unique elegance and vibrancy of the GCC beauty traditions,” said Hasmik Panossian, managing director of Sephora Middle East.
Kosas will continue to grow the brand’s audience and engage closely with new audiences on social media channels. “I believe content needs to be localized by region.” She said they plan to work closely with local content creators to connect authentically in Arabic and English. Zadeh also will be visiting Dubai at the end of the month to launch the brand and meet customers. “I can’t wait to get back there,” she said.
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