Zain started with a small desk in her home and a few skincare products. Today, Zain Beauty has three branches in Basra and a GINI store serving all southern governorates.
In late 2023, Zain was a government employee who sold skincare products to her friends from her family's Baghdad home after work. "I didn't have big dreams then," Zain says. "I just felt the products I picked actually made a difference."
In March 2024, she registered her store on GINI. "I thought let's try it for two months." In the first month she sold to forty customers, most of them outside Basra. "I didn't expect it. Shipping to Dhi Qar, Diwaniya, and Nasiriyah opened a market I couldn't reach on my own."
Zain resisted the temptation to sell everything. "I decided to focus only on Arabic and Turkish skincare. The customer who buys from me once knows she can ask me about any formulation and get an accurate answer."
Six months in, she was averaging 300 orders a month. She rented a small shop on Istiqlal Street as a pickup point, and within two months it became a full branch. Today, Zain Beauty has three branches — two in Basra and one in Zubair — all born from GINI.
"Don't rush expansion. Build your reputation first. One happy customer brings you ten. One angry customer costs you a hundred."
