Ghalia Gharbawi and Ingy Mansour are bringing regional brands closer to the shoppers who want to discover them.
- Curated Playlist connects Dubai shoppers with emerging regional brands.
- Thousands of visitors have already explored its community-led events.
- Returning brands point to lasting value beyond pop-up weekends.
- Ghalia Gharbawi and Ingy Mansour put discovery first.
Scrolling through Instagram can reveal a brilliant jewellery label, a homegrown fashion name or a small food brand within seconds. Finding somewhere to actually experience it is another story. Curated Playlist Dubai is built around closing that gap, bringing independent brands and curious shoppers together in a physical retail setting.
A good shopping day in Dubai often starts without a shopping list. Someone spots an interesting stall, starts chatting with its founder and leaves with something they hadn’t planned to buy. That sense of discovery sits at the centre of Curated Playlist, created by Ghalia Gharbawi and Ingy Mansour as a platform for regional businesses.
Walking through one of its events means moving between different identities rather than identical retail displays. Emerging names sit alongside more established regional brands, with creators and entrepreneurs given space to tell their stories directly. It feels personal. That conversation matters.
For shoppers, the appeal is simple. A product can look good online, but seeing its texture, trying it on or hearing the person behind the business explain how it came together adds another layer. Curated Playlist turns that online discovery into something tangible, with thousands of shoppers already attending its events.
That physical connection matters for the businesses, too. In a UAE market where independent brands are finding new ways to build visibility, pop-ups and community-led retail can give smaller names access to customers without requiring a permanent storefront. Curated Playlist is built around that opportunity.
Then comes the detail that says perhaps the most. Brands keep returning. For Ghalia and Ingy, repeat participation signals that businesses are finding value beyond a busy weekend, whether that’s new customers, conversations or the chance to build familiarity with a wider community.
For the founders, that relationship is the point. Ghalia describes the goal as putting businesses in front of the right people and creating conversations that continue beyond the event itself. Ingy sees returning brands as evidence that the connection keeps growing. Both perspectives place people before transactions.
Dubai has plenty of places to shop. Finding something genuinely new is different. Curated Playlist gives regional businesses a physical stage while giving shoppers another reason to slow down, browse and ask questions. For anyone who enjoys discovering the next local favourite before everyone else does, its next edition is one to watch!
Instagram: @curatedplaylist.dxb
