Showing Up Is Half the Battle
Last-minute decisions are either disasters or defining moments. For Staribee International, our presence at London’s Tones of Beauty exhibition turned out to be the latter.
When we committed to exhibiting, the timeline was tight, uncomfortably tight. The booth was modest. The setup was lean. But what we brought to that floor was something no budget can manufacture: genuine love for what we do, the brands we carry, and the people we serve. And that, as it turns out, is everything.
This is my honest account of what happened, what we learned, and why I’ll be taking those lessons into every business move we make going forward.
We Brought Dubai’s Finest to the UK Stage
Staribee’s mission has always been to bridge the gap between the extraordinary world of Arabian fragrance and the UK and European wholesale market. At Tones of Beauty, we did exactly that, launching three powerhouse brands from the UAE onto a British audience for the first time in a serious, face-to-face commercial setting.
Anfar 1950 (Oudh Al Anfar). A house of heritage, known for its rich lasting complex compositions built on decades of craftsmanship in the Gulf.
Adyan. A contemporary Arabian fragrance brand from Anfar 1950, that fuses eastern depth with modern sensibility, instantly accessible yet unmistakably luxurious.
Sapil by Swiss Arabian. A globally recognised name with serious pedigree, delivering quality niche fragrance at exceptional wholesale price points for UK retailers.
The reception was beyond what we projected. There was genuine buzz. Buyers were stopping, sampling, coming back. The brands spoke for themselves, and we spoke for the brands. That combination is powerful.
The Small Booth That Attracted the Biggest Crowds
Here is something nobody tells you about trade exhibitions: square footage does not equal interest.
We watched booths with significant footprints, elaborate displays and premium signage sit relatively quiet. Meanwhile, our modest setup drew a consistent stream of visitors throughout the event — and many of them stayed for real conversations, not just a quick look.
Why? Because personality, human energy and genuine passion for what you’re presenting will always outperform glitz. People can feel authenticity. When a buyer walks up to a stand and the person behind it actually loves what they’re selling — not performing love, but genuinely feeling it — that energy transfers. It builds instant trust. It makes the conversation easy.
We were not there to pitch. We were there to share something we genuinely believe in. And buyers felt that difference.
If there is one thing I want every entrepreneur in the room to carry from this: invest in your people’s conviction before you invest in your stand design.
Partnerships, Influencers and Connections That Became Friendships
One of the most valuable outcomes of Tones of Beauty was not a sale. It was the relationships.
We aligned with partners and social media influencers throughout the event — not in a transactional, “here’s the product, post about it” way, but on a genuinely human level. We talked about business, about life, about where we all want to get to. We shared ideas. We laughed. We ate together.
Those conversations became the foundation of real friendships that extend well beyond business. And those friendships will quietly become the most commercially valuable assets we hold — because people buy from people they trust, and trust is built in the margins of business, not in the pitch itself.
If you are going to events purely to sell, you are leaving the best part on the table.
The Moment That Meant the Most: My Father with us side by side
I want to be honest about this one, because it caught me off guard in the best possible way.
My father is the founder of the company. He is the reason Staribee exists. And like all founders who have built something serious, he is extraordinarily busy — as am I. We operate at different levels of the business, across different countries, and time together that is actually present, not distracted, is rare.
At Tones of Beauty, I got to watch him work the floor.
I got to see the way people respond to him. The respect. The warmth. The authority of someone who has decades of genuine commercial experience and has built something meaningful from nothing. It was a masterclass that no YouTube video or business book can replicate.
For any entrepreneur who has a parent in the game — whether that is a father, mother, mentor — do not take those moments for granted. Watch them. Learn from them. What they carry in their posture, their tone and their timing is the compressed wisdom of experience. That is priceless.
It Was a Team and Family Effort. Full Stop
Nobody wins a trade event alone. Every member of the Staribee team that day played to their strengths, supported the collective goal, and showed up fully.
That is the thing about family businesses done right — when everyone understands the mission and genuinely cares about the outcome, the roles become self-organising. There is no ego in the way. There is just work, done well, by people who are invested.
I am deeply proud of everyone who showed up that day and made Staribee look and feel exactly how it should: professional, warm, credible and real.
Speed Beats Perfection. Always.
I will be candid: this event was booked and executed last minute. We did not have months of planning behind us. We did not have a polished production run or a perfectly rehearsed strategy.
And we delivered anyway.
The lesson I am cementing into everything I do going forward: speed always beats perfection in business. Done is better than flawless-on-paper-but-never-executed. The market rewards action. It does not reward deliberation.
If we had waited until everything was “ready,” we would have missed it entirely. Instead, we showed up — and we won the room.
This is not an invitation to be sloppy. Preparation matters. But do not let the pursuit of perfect become the enemy of presence. Get in the room. Figure it out. Move.
The Real Foundation: Passion Is the Strategy
If I strip everything back — the brands, the booth, the relationships, the results — there is one thing underneath all of it that made it work.
We love what we sell.
That is not a marketing line. It is the actual operating principle. When you are genuinely passionate about your products, that love radiates without effort. It does not need to be scripted into a sales deck or manufactured through a campaign. It comes through in the way you talk about a fragrance note, the way your face changes when someone picks up a bottle, the energy you bring to a room at 4pm when your feet are tired.
Buyers sense it. Partners sense it. Influencers sense it. Everyone in that room can tell the difference between someone who is trying to sell them something and someone who genuinely wants them to experience something.
Money is a byproduct of passion and human connection. Get those two things right, and the commercial outcomes follow.
Watch the Exhibition: See our short clip Yourself
We captured the energy of the day on video. If you want to see how Staribee showed up at Tones of Beauty, watch below:
If You Want to Partner with Staribee
We are actively expanding our UK and European wholesale distribution network for Anfar 1950, Adyan and Sapil by Swiss Arabian. If you are a retailer, wholesaler, buyer or brand agent who wants to stock elite Arabian fragrances with genuine commercial margins — I want to hear from you.
Get in touch with my team directly: [email protected]
And if you want to follow the Staribee journey, the wins, the lessons, the behind-the-scenes of building a serious wholesale fragrance business, follow me here and on social. I document what I actually learn, not what looks good on paper.
Let’s build something.
Afzol Ali, Staribee International Ltd
