The Road to Success, Stability, and Sophistication

Top Stories

A diverse range of Beauty products has given Sterling Perfumes Industries LLC a strong foothold in the Industry

By Shilpa Chandran

  • Follow us on
  • google-news
  • whatsapp
  • telegram

Published: Tue 7 Dec 2021, 2:39 PM

Last updated: Tue 7 Dec 2021, 2:40 PM

With close to a quarter of a century in the manufacturing field in this region, Sterling Perfumes is no stranger to the UAE. The company is best known around the region for its extensive range of beauty products including the popular cosmetics brands - Cosmo, Cornells Wellness, Bioluxe, and Estiara Passion as well as the French Oriental non-alcoholic fragrances – Hamidi.

Ali Asgar Fakhruddin, Chairman,  Sterling Perfumes Industries LLC
Ali Asgar Fakhruddin, Chairman, Sterling Perfumes Industries LLC

“Twenty-three years ago, the Fakhruddin family planted a small seed in the ground of the manufacturing world with the blessings of His Holiness Dr. Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin RA. Furthermore, today, blessings & guidance of his successor His Holiness Dr. Syedna Mufaddal SaifuddinTUS, strong roots of hard work and the contributions of each employee have helped this tree grow. The water of loyalty and honesty nourished it and today I am proud to say that seed has turned into a full-grown, fruit-bearing tree which is touching the skies of triumph in the cosmetic world,” said the company’s owner Ali Asgar Fakhruddin.


Most notable, however, is when the company made a timely and dedicated contribution realizing its social responsibility to the Covid-19 crisis that gripped the world in 2020. During the pandemic, the company diverted all its resources and operations towards the production and supply of sanitizers. “At the time when the UAE and the world were in need, we had the right support from the government and adequate infrastructure to supply large quantities of sanitizers,” says AliFakhruddin. The company’s facility is also one of the only units in the GCC with FDA certifications for sanitizer brands that export to the US.

The Legacy


Fakhruddin joined his father in this business when he was 17, over 35 years ago. Since its inception, Sterling Perfumes has built an enviable reputation as one of the largest and leading perfume companies in the Middle East, supplying its products globally.

Zainab Fakhruddin, COO, Fakhruddin General Trading
Zainab Fakhruddin, COO, Fakhruddin General Trading

Sterling Perfumes operates under Fakhruddin Holdings - a leading conglomerate in the Middle East that was started by his father - late Fakhruddin Ebrahimji more than 50 years ago in 1963.

Husainy Fakhruddin, Group Chairman, Fakhruddin Holdings
Husainy Fakhruddin, Group Chairman, Fakhruddin Holdings

Fakhruddin Holdings has a diverse portfolio of successful businesses that includes trading, beauty & personal care, cosmetics, baby products, perfumes, property development, plastics, and joint ventures.

Premium Cosmetics

What started as a setup for contract manufacturing turned into a more profitable business venture when the company decided to launch its own brand of lifestyle products which escalated the company into a global arena.

“We first gained all the knowledge that this country could provide us the beauty industry through trading these products. After which, with the support that the UAE has given entrepreneurs like us, we took the logical step of backward integration from trading to manufacturing to start a factory to produce MADE IN UAE products. That is when we decided to open the Sterling Perfumes factory,” said Ali Fakhruddin.

Mohammed Husain Fakhruddin, Chairman, Fakhruddin Trading
Mohammed Husain Fakhruddin, Chairman, Fakhruddin Trading

Since its creation, Cosmo Cosmetics has swiftly carved a place for itself in the world of cosmetics and is revered as one of the trusted brands in the UAE. With an array of premium grade and affordably priced products, Cosmo Cosmetics offers an extensive range of haircare, skincare, personal care, and men’s grooming products, ideal for everyday use by both men and women.

Meanwhile, Sea Pearl is the region’s specialist in the manufacture and distribution of the finest cosmetic cotton and personal care prodcts across Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East.

Yousuf Fakhruddin, CEO, Fakhruddin Properties
Yousuf Fakhruddin, CEO, Fakhruddin Properties

Created in 1998, Sterling Perfumes provides a diverse range of fragrances, aligned to market and client needs in Dubai. From a humble production of 250 pieces per day, the company today produces around 250,000 daily and has become one of the largest industries with a distribution network across 92+ countries around the world.

The company has an annual production capacity of 120 million pieces across beauty and personal care. These are produced in maufacturing facilities that are GMP/AE/2010/219, ISO 9001, Halal and FDA certified, ensuring that all products comply with rigorous quality standards. The facility is also the only UV metalising plant in the UAE with a capacity 1.5 million pieces per month for metalisation. Sterling houses the state-of-the-art Research & Development Perfumery & Cosmetic laboratories as the company is focussed on creating thoroughly researched products, ensuring Quality is met to the highest level and Assurance of premium and reliable products to its consumers.

Furthermore, Sterling Perfumes is an official licensee of Warner Brothers & Sanrio consumer products in the MEA region.

Paving the way forward

For Sterling, UAE exemplifies an unprecedented opportunity as the leading conglomerate showcased its flagship beauty brand COSMO with the cosmetics range and marque brand HAMIDI for the Oriental Fragrances in diverse booths to cater to the respective audience in a customised fashion for each avenue at the 21st Beauty World Middle East and continues to thrive.

All things Beauty

Derived from the word ‘Hamid’, Hamidi Oud and perfumes has decades of expertise in manufacturing some of the most intricate and exquisite oriental fragrances. This brand is dedicated to oriental perfumery and appeals to the modern enthusiast who is deeply intrigued by the mysticism of Arabic perfumery and traditional values.

Armaf is a collection of luxurious fragrances that exude class, style, and sophistication. Created with the help of French connoisseurs and in association with Swarovski, Oros by Armaf, launched in November 2013, is one of its key brands. Oros, ‘Gold’ in Spanish, is developed using absolute oils and special aromatic ingredients.

Beyond Cosmetics

Premier Plastics was created in 2002 to provide an integral support function to other parts of the business that included Sterling Perfumes and Premier Cosmetics.

Since its inception, it has built a level of expertise that extends from the manufacture of cosmetic containers, caps, and closures for perfume bottles and aerosols to becoming specialty manufacture of five-gallon water bottle plastic caps to clients across the Middle East.

Premier Plastics uses state-of-the-art injection moulding machinery. It currently supplies approximately two million water bottle plastic caps per month.

Made and Grown in the UAE

Fakhruddin explained that the UAE has played a vital role in the business’ expertise and reach. “This country has provided us with a great deal of knowledge and experience in trading perfumes and cosmetics. UAE has an extremely strong economy that is continuing to grow and diversify all the time, both of which are naturally very conducive to foreign and domestic businesses.

It has always had a strong tradition of encouraging independent entrepreneurs from a range of disciplines to come here to live and work. The government extends great support to businesses with liberal trade policies, friendly taxation policies, and strong capital flow,” he said.

The UAE’s strategic geographical location makes it easy to import raw materials and export its final products, according to Fakhruddin. “Here we also get the best materials to make Arabic Oud, Eastern Perfumes and Bakhoor which has been our strength. The infrastructure and resources in the UAE are suitable to inculcate the best technologies and equipment allowing us to create products of the highest quality at affordable pricing. Dubai has always been a popular destination for MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions). Hosting and attending such events have helped us expand our network and build corporate relationships that have been highly beneficial and valuable to our business.” All these factors have aided in the exponential growth of the business in the last few years, he added.

Annual production capacity of 120 million pieces across beauty and personal care. These are produced in manufacturing facilities that are GMP/AE/2010/219, ISO 9001, Halal & FDA certified, ensuring that all products comply with rigorous quality standards. The facility is also the only UV metalizing plant in the UAE with a capacity of 1.5million pieces per month for metalization.

Sterling houses the state-of-the-art Research & Development Perfumery & Cosmetic laboratories as the company is focussed on creating thoroughly researched products, ensuring Quality is met to the highest level and Assurance of premium and reliable products to its consumers


More news from