São Paulo – Combining a long-standing skin condition, her travels through Mediterranean countries, and a body scrub brought from Paris by her sister during the postpartum period, Daniela Succar Dib created a brand focused on body hydration while also turning bathing into a ritualistic experience. “Since I was young, I’ve always struggled with very dry skin. It was so sensitive that it would sometimes flake,” the entrepreneur says. “And I never had the patience to apply moisturizer. It didn’t seem practical to me to take a shower, dry off, and only then apply the product. I always relied on oils during the shower instead.”
The problem was that, even now in her fifties, she still had not found the ideal oil. It was only after her sister brought her that French scrub—made with coarse salt and oil-based ingredients—when she had just given birth to her third child at age 49, that Daniela came up with the idea of creating her own brand. “When I opened that jar and smelled it, so many scent memories came back, many from a trip I took with a close friend in the 1990s to Mediterranean countries, including Egypt. I thought: why not create the perfect product for my skin myself?” she recalls.
That was how Habibah was born in September 2024. Dib invited Andrea Saad, a long-term friend who works in the financial sector, to help develop the business plan and join her as a partner in the venture. She then immersed herself in the world of perfumery—researching several French fragrance houses, and disappointed with all of them, eventually finding her favorite in Brazil. From there, it took a year and a half to develop the products (which she designed herself), create the packaging (featuring an old apothecary look in amber glass, which helps protect the contents), and launch the e-commerce website. Habibah officially debuted in April of this year.
As a second-generation owner of Depósito de Meias São Jorge, a traditional underwear store on São Paulo’s Rua 25 de Março, Dib was the one who transformed the local shop into an online business in 2001. Drawing on her extensive e-commerce experience, she personally created Habibah’s sales platform. Production is handled by a full-service outsourced manufacturer located in the countryside of São Paulo state. Everything else—logo, marketing, content, and more—was created by what she calls “human hands,” professionals she met throughout her journey. “I didn’t want to hire companies, but people.”
Today, the catalog includes three products: a scrub, an oil, and a soap. Each is available in two different fragrances. A new scent, blending different lemons, is set to be launched soon. One of the scrubs contains argan oil, known as “Morocco’s gold.” Other products are also expected to be introduced shortly, including a two-in-one product that can be used on hair as well.
“Ideas keep coming up, and we test and develop them without rushing, without that urge to have a huge portfolio,” she explains. The brand’s concept is to revive the way people used to bathe in the past: unhurriedly, as a ritual for the soul, much like many Eastern cultures still do today. She cites the Turkish bath as one of her inspirations.
The products are sold through the brand’s online platform and at events. Dib is still trying to better understand her customer base, but she believes it includes people with dry skin like hers, women over 50 dealing with menopause-related dryness, those who enjoy bathing rituals, and consumers who prefer more natural products. Exporting is a goal for the near future.
Of Arab descent—“I’m 75% Syrian and 25% Lebanese,” she says—Dib explains that Habibah reflects her ancestral roots in more ways than just its name. “The brand is completely inspired by the Arab world because sensory experiences are such a strong part of that culture.”
Check it out:
Habibah website–Habibah Instagram
Report by Débora Rubin, in collaboration with ANBA
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
