The story of Rasasi, a “made in UAE” global brand in the perfume industry

It was the year 1986 when Mr Abdul Razzak Kalsekar and his son Siraj Kalsekar were driving to Abu Dhabi and they came across a large billboard on the highway in Jebel Ali, then a large piece of open land a recently formed port, with information indicating the formation of a free zone in Dubai and the ability to set up industries by owning land.

This intriguing piece of advertising promoted them to stop and take down details from that billboard, scribbling down the details on a piece of paper and as soon as they reached their offices back in Dubai, they started making calls to find out what was “Jafza”. Here started the journey of the relationship between Rasasi and Jafza.

A bit of history

Rasasi Perfumes Industry LLC is a family-owned business in Dubai, founded in 1979 in the traditional marketplace of Murshid Bazar in Deira – which it is exists in even to this date, by the visionary Mr Abdul Razzak Kalsekar. Today the company is led by his family and his son, Siraj Kalsekar is the Managing Director of the company.

Mr Abdul Razzak Kalsekar had the vision to create a brand – more than just a perfume and traditional “attar” selling shop in a market. He focused on the creation of a luxury and quality-driven persona. His vision empowered him to invest in the growing city of Dubai.

With a single shop based in a traditional market, Rassai exists today in 60 countries with over 165 stores. It is indeed a UAE grown brand gone global.

Manufacturing at Jafza

Over almost four decades, the company has built a solid foundation of pioneering entrepreneurial vigour, creating some of the best and most exclusive fragrances, which have established a worldwide reputation for quality, luxury, and elegance. 

In 1986, Rasasi started with the setup of its first manufacturing facility by constructing its facilities on a 5,000 sq. m plot of land in Jafza. The success of Rasasi Perfumes has been attributed to their drive, the quality, and the consistency they have offered over the years. The factory was dedicated to the manufacture and distillation of Oud oil perfumes.

This setup grew rapidly with Rasasi extending its operations in Jafza by setting up another factory in 1989 and further extending operations in 1999 by settings up an aerosol only manufacturing unit in Jafza South. Today, Rasasi has a total manufacturing factory size of 12,500 sq. m in Jafza dedicated to the essential brands they manufacture. Rasasi also has a warehousing and distribution unit purchased in 2005.

“Jafza has always gone the extra mile. I clearly remember that in 1989, it was only because of the help of Jafza that helped us secure additional land to grow our operations and extend the factory that gave us the operational excellence we needed. Jafza has always been a key partner in our success”

Siraj Kalsekar, Managing Director, Rasasi Perfumes.

The future of Rasasi

The future is bright and Rasasi aims to grow as consistently as they have with the initiatives of UAE as a country to help businesses grow. Rasasi has always found the ecosystem of Jafza useful as most of its logistics and supply chain is managed through 3PL partners within Jafza. 

The vision of Rasasi is inspired by the vision of the dynamic city of Dubai. The continuity of business and resilience of the country’s leadership has inspired Rasasi to dream bigger. Jafza has always provided a one-window shop to handle all business and government operations as well as providing the ecosystem of trade. Today, Rasasi ranks amongst the UAE’s foremost fragrance companies, driven by a global vision. This vision is indeed the guiding force behind the growth of the company.

The company is involved in growing the brand year on year and there is a growth trajectory in place to onboard more countries to import its products to. Rasasi is positive about the years ahead, aggressively pursuing international expansion to take the ‘Made in the UAE’ tag to more and more countries across the globe. A growing regional and global appetite for brand Rasasi validates its ambition to further strengthen the UAE as the hub of perfume export.