Not long ago, brand impact in the Middle East was all about size and visibility—big billboards, prime retail spots, and attention-grabbing campaigns. Now, leaders of top brands in the region are changing the meaning of impact. 

They say impact isn’t about how loudly a brand speaks, but how thoughtfully it acts. As consumers become more vocal and values-driven, and less forgiving of friction, brands across industries are starting to agree: real impact comes from being consistent, building trust, and having reliable systems working behind the scenes.

FROM AWARENESS TO ACCOUNTABILITY

The region has one of the youngest and most tech-savvy populations in the world. Over 60% are under 30, and almost everyone in the GCC has a mobile phone. This shift has changed what people expect from brands. Instead of just listening, consumers now choose what brands matter to them.

“The Middle East consumer is evolving fast—more expressive, more values-driven,” says Miruna, Founder and Creative Director of Miruna Studio. “What I’ve noticed most is how intentional customers have become. People are thinking more carefully about what they bring into their lives and why.”

This focus on being intentional has changed how Miruna approaches her brand strategy.

“For us, it meant slowing down and being very clear about what we stand for. Instead of responding to trends, we focus on consistency, quality, and pieces that feel relevant beyond a single season.”

This shift from trend-chasing to having a clear purpose reflects a bigger truth: people are aware of brands, but trust is much harder to earn. 

WHEN GROWTH REDEFINES IMPACT

As brands grow, what impact means changes again. Mira Kulkarni, Founder and Chairperson of Forest Essentials, has seen this evolution firsthand.

“Earlier, impact was about proving that an Indian luxury beauty brand rooted in Ayurveda could belong on the global stage—not as an alternative, but as a benchmark,” she says. “There was a lot of focus on building credibility, consistency, and trust.”

As Forest Essentials grew, impact became more challenging.

“Every choice now carries consequences beyond the product,” Kulkarni says. “For the people we work with, for the ecosystems we depend on, and for how Ayurveda is understood by a global audience. Real impact lies in building something that remains emotionally and ethically grounded as it grows.”

In a region experiencing rapid transformation, leaders are now expected to take on more responsibility.

SCALE WITHOUT DILUTION

When a brand operates at marketplace scale, challenges intensify. For Shibu Tharakan, CEO of Styli at Landmark Group, the main struggle is balancing speed with consistency.

“At marketplace scale, the hardest thing to maintain while moving faster is consistency,” he says. “When you are serving millions of customers across Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, and Bahrain, even small gaps in quality can scale very quickly.”

Styli offers over 150,000 styles, more than 600 brands, and covers everything from fashion and sports to beauty and home. In this setting, speed alone is not a competitive advantage.

“Speed matters, but not at the cost of trust,” Tharakan explains. “That’s why we invest heavily in systems, standards, and clear ownership across product curation, fulfilment, and service. When the foundation is right, scale actually strengthens quality instead of diluting it.”

This way of looking at brand impact is becoming more important. Trust isn’t something you talk about—it is something you build in your operations.

TRADITION, INNOVATION, AND RESTRAINT

For heritage-led brands, impact also depends on how they handle tradition. Kulkarni is clear that Ayurveda, while ancient in its origin, must remain alive and relevant.

“We don’t see Ayurveda as something frozen in time,” she says. “Its core principles, balance, respect for nature, and personalization, are sacred. Where we allow evolution is in expression.”

Innovation, in this context, is not about changing tradition to fit trends.  It’s about building modern systems that make tradition even more relevant.

The same restraint  is needed in storytelling.

“When tradition enters popular culture, it risks becoming decorative,” Kulkarni says. “Over-commercialisation begins when storytelling overtakes sincerity. Whatever we say must always be secondary to what we practice.”

PURPOSE THAT ENDURES PRESSURE

For independent, digital-first brands, purpose plays a different but equally critical role, especially when there’s pressure to show quick results.

“At Miruna, investing in storytelling and purpose has been questioned,” Miruna admits. “Especially in a space where results are expected quickly.”

She has always focused on the long term.

“Purpose guides decisions across design, communication, and growth. Over time, it creates stronger alignment with the customer and reduces the need to rely on constant promotions to drive sales.”

This way of thinking is spreading in the region. Brands that rely on discounts and quick wins might grow quickly, but they don’t often build real loyalty.

LOYALTY IN THE AGE OF GEN Z

That shift is especially visible among younger consumers. Tharakan says Gen Z is completely changing what loyalty means. “For Gen Z, loyalty is not about long-term commitment to a single brand,” he says. “It’s about repeat relevance.”

In this case, brands earn loyalty by making things easy, helping customers discover new things, and being consistent. “If the experience feels intuitive and rewarding each time, loyalty follows naturally.”

Crucially, loyalty is not a one-time win.

“It’s built over time, but re-won in every single session,” Tharakan explains. “A customer may return because of a good experience last week, but what they see today determines whether they convert again.”

Things like same-day delivery, easy returns, and buy-now-pay-later options show customers they can trust the brand.

DESIGNING CHOICE WITHOUT FRICTION

One of the biggest misconceptions about fashion marketplaces, Tharakan notes, is that success comes from offering more choice.

“Choice is only the visible layer,” he says. “Behind it is continuous work across seller onboarding, pricing discipline, logistics coordination, and quality control.”

Offering more choice can also lead to confusion and waste. The answer is to guide customers.

“Choice creates value only when it is guided. We focus on relevance over volume.”

Styli invests heavily in semantic search that understands intent, including colloquial Arabic, as well as recommendation engines tuned to regional preferences.

“When discovery is intuitive, customers decide faster and feel more confident in what they buy.”

Quality is also something the team manages actively.

“We step in whenever customer experience indicators move in the wrong direction,” Tharakan says. “Strong sellers earn greater visibility and scale, which raises the quality of the entire marketplace.”

MEASURING WHAT REALLY MATTERS

As the idea of impact changes, so do the metrics leaders prioritize. Vanity metrics are giving way to indicators of depth and intent.

“I pay close attention to what happens before the purchase,” Miruna says. “Time spent, saves, revisits—those pauses tell you whether you’re creating interest or just passing attention.”

For large enterprises, the same principle applies: trust is built through many small, well-designed moments.

“A brand like ours is built on trust, sensoriality, and emotion,” Kulkarni adds. “Those are not things a dashboard can fully capture.”

WHEN THE LOGO DISAPPEARS

Perhaps the best way to test a brand’s impact is to see what’s left when the branding is gone.

If Forest Essentials were stripped of its logo, Kulkarni believes it would still be recognizable through its conduct.

“There would be respect for nature, for ancient knowledge systems, and for the many hands involved in bringing each formulation to life,” she says. “Even without a label, the intention would be felt.”

More and more leaders feel the same way.

In a region that’s changing fast, the brands that last aren’t always the loudest, but the ones that focus on depth, strong systems, and real responsibility.