Why water specifically? What personally drew you to this?

Honestly, I've lived in Europe, and the difference in how people relate to water between Europe and Dubai really stands out. In Europe, drinking tap water without a second thought is just how things are — it's a long-established habit. Dubai is different: people either order delivery or haul cases of bottles home. I felt this myself long before I ever thought about turning it into a business.

Why go from e-commerce to a physical product?

Eight years in US e-commerce taught me one thing — find the pain point people are already paying to solve, just in the wrong way. People in Dubai are already paying for water delivery; the solution just isn't the right one. It felt like a logical next step for me — not an entirely new industry, more like a new format for the same underlying logic.

Did you ever doubt it would work?

Of course. A physical product is a completely different game — it's about long cycles: manufacturing, certification, logistics, KYC with banks. Everything takes time, and at some point it's tempting to think it'd be easier to stick with a faster, more familiar model.

What was personally the hardest part for you?

Honestly — switching from a "test fast" mindset to a "slow and thorough" one. In e-commerce, you can change an offer in a day. Here, you're making decisions that shape years ahead — choosing a manufacturer, a supplier, a partnership structure. It's a completely different pace of thinking.

If you had to explain to a friend in one minute why Arax exists?

You're paying for water delivery and buying plastic that becomes its own problem. We just remove that cycle — install the system once, and from there you simply live with clean water at home, no deliveries, no plastic.

What water problems are you solving, and what kind of water will I actually get?

Honestly, before we brought anything to the UAE market, we did a deep dive first. We looked at what already existed, what problems it solved and how, and — more importantly — how people here actually feel about drinking water.

Here's what we found. People in Dubai are wary of tap water. Simply because they know it's desalinated. That's exactly why home water delivery is such a big thing here, and why so many people just buy bottled water at the store.

Then there's something we honestly didn't expect to hear so often. We ran in-depth interviews, and people kept bringing up dry skin and brittle hair after spending a long time here.

And a third thing. Plastic bottles. People go through them by the litre, every day, and when stored — especially in the heat — plastic sheds microplastics right into the water. So the thing meant to solve the problem ends up creating its own.

We looked at all three pain points and thought — why not solve them with one solution. So people could just drink clean, tasty, healthy water at home, without thinking about deliveries every week.

Dubai's water is desalinated, and that comes with its own characteristics: a different mineral makeup, a slight chlorine taste from disinfection, and — when stored in bottles or pipes — microparticles that naturally find their way in, like microplastics and trace metals.

We decided to go beyond the basic standard and bring the water up to a premium level. We remove the chlorine and its smell, PFAS, heavy metals, and microplastics. Then we balance the pH and properly structure the water.

What comes out is water that reminds many people of premium spring water from Norway — the same lightness and clean taste.

But that's not all. Water from our Arax systems is also great for home appliances — no scale buildup, no salt clogging, which means your appliances last longer and you save on servicing. On top of that, our filtration comes with a vitamin and mineral complex that looks after your skin and hair — dryness and brittleness become a thing of the past.

We knew we were taking on complex, custom-built solutions. But I believe we got it right, and now we want to share it with you.

How do I know your system actually filters the water properly?

It's simple, really — three things.

First: after installation, our specialist runs a full check with a dedicated device, measuring water quality before and after — you'll see the difference with your own eyes. And you'll taste it too.

Second — our systems show the state of the filters and the whole setup in real time. The moment a filter starts wearing out, you'll see it right there on the display. Then it's simple — a specialist comes out and replaces it for free. You'll never be left without clean water, and you don't need to think about any of it — we handle it all.

Third — we hold all the quality certifications required for local water. And our manufacturing partner has over 20 years of experience, supplying systems to the US, EU, Australia, and Canada. Now the UAE too.

How long will all of this take?

Fast. Submitting a request takes about five minutes. Then you pick a date and time that works for you, and we come and install the system.

What will be required of me?

To start — just 5 to 10 minutes of your time. During that time, you'll choose the setup that fits your needs (our team is happy to help with that) and pick a date for the home installation.