A brand new feminine wellness brand in the Middle East, KETISH is here to empower and excite women all over the world
Monday, July 26th: It’s official, the feminine wellness industry just got sexy! KETISH is a new luxury brand ready to shake up the feminine wellness industry, empowering women through luxurious better-for-you products and thoughtful, expert advice. The first startup to launch out of HB Investment’s seed fund and incubator, this e-commerce lifestyle brand is powered by real life stories and it’s here to help women reclaim the narrative of their own bodies, needs, and desires.
KETISH is made possible by HB Angels, a seed investment fund launched by HB Investments—which is chaired by Huda Kattan—to support female entrepreneurs and mission-based start-ups. Following her struggle to raise funds for and expand her own company, Huda always knew that she wanted to help future founders. So, in 2017 she announced a US $10 million fund—via HB Investments—to help exceptional entrepreneurs bring their dream business to life.
Founder Emaan Abbass is the strong female entrepreneur at the heart of the brand. A former product developer at Huda Beauty, Emaan was born and raised in a conservative Arab-American Muslim home in the U.S., where feminine health and sex education was always taboo. During her very first gynecological exam at age 21, she was diagnosed with cervical cancer, which was caused by undetected HPV. Upon receiving the news, Emaan felt overwhelmed with guilt and shame and feared turning to her family for support and comfort, so she went through the nine year healing process alone. KETISH was born from that isolation, designed to free women from shame or stigma and serve as a reclamation of sexual power and agency.
Abbass recognized a gap in the industry in terms of intimate care and feminine wellness. A lot of products that exist lack credibility or have a stigma of humiliation. Products by KETISH have been thoughtfully created to cater to women’s needs and desires, and are curated with the body’s most delicate parts in mind. The brand is far bigger than its product line. Emaan’s mission is to help women gain a deeper understanding of their own body: health, self-care, arousal, desire and so much more. KETISH believes that with knowledge comes confidence and with confidence comes self-love, the sincerest form of wellness.
“Although some feminine care products have always existed, I found they lacked credibility or were just low-key embarrassing to purchase,”said Emaan Abbass, founder of KETISH.“We want to take feminine and sexual wellness outside of the pharmacy — a place that’s typically associated with something being wrong, or feeling sick. We want to elevate that experience and make it a part of your self-love practice. The products are going to be luxurious and effective, developed with wellness in mind. We’ve transformed feminine care products visually. We’ve made them really beautiful and like your little secret weapon inside your bag, so you never have to feel embarrassed or ashamed when whipping it out on a date or on an outing with some friends.”
Huda Kattan, chairwoman of HB Investments and Founder of Huda Beauty said: “KETISH is a movement. It’s about taking power back and being fully comfortable with yourself. When people start to become part of this community, they’re going to feel liberated. I realized very quickly that this was a topic that so many people had so many issues with. The more I started talking to Emaan, the more I was convinced that she could change the category and make this sexy and empowering. This brand is deep within her. It’s very purposeful. It’s very powerful. It’s very personal.”
Mona Kattan, President of HB Investments and Co-Founder of Huda Beauty said: “I’ve personally always been obsessed with feminine hygiene and wellness but I never found a brand that really spoke to me or made me feel excited. When Emaan pitched her concept and shared her vision, I fell in love! KETISH is not only creating beautiful, sexy products, it’s creating a movement– one that is long overdue! This will be our first investment under HB Angels and I honestly couldn’t be more excited and more proud! I can’t wait to see Emaan flourish!
Ultimately, Emaan’s vision for KETISH is to help women recognize how powerful they are, breaking down the shame and stigma associated with feminine and sexual health—especially in the Arab world. A judgment-free platform where no question will be off-limits, KETISH believes it’s time to make the feminine wellness category sexy, powerful, and, most importantly, free of shame or stigma.
About KETISH:
KETISH is a luxury feminine and sexual wellness brand that aims to empower women to explore their femininity, on their own terms. Founded by former Huda Beauty employee, Emaan Abbass, KETISH was the first brand to launch out of the HB Angels incubator program. The name was derived from “Qetesh,” the ancient Egyptian goddess of sexuality and pleasure—a woman unapologetically free of shame, free of guilt and free to love herself. The KETISH range includes feel-good, multi-beneficial products for her (and her most precious parts), free from stigma and luxurious in every way. More important than the products, the brand aspires to create a safe space for women by women powered by expert advice, personal stories and relatable content.
About HB Investments:
HB Investments (HBI) is the private investment office of the founders of Huda Beauty: Huda (Chairwoman), Mona (President), Alya Kattan, Christopher Goncalo and is led by CEO Karan Wats. HBI invests in visionary entrepreneurs that share a common desire to build world-class consumer brands while creating meaningful impact. We pair our entrepreneurs with a brand building, marketing, PR and distribution ecosystem to help them unleash their magic.
Going beyond traditional investment partnerships, HBI also runs a comprehensive incubator program called HB Angels, which provides seed funding and a brand-building ecosystem to a carefully selected group of in-house entrepreneurs. With a robust team of top marketing, PR, operations and supply chain talent, HBI is co-creating businesses that can change the world for the better.