Interview
curve followed. Notwithstanding the task of my husband and I unloading a 20ft container of 2000 dolls into a storage facility; I hadn’t fully thought through the sales channels and the marketing. What ensued was a frantic period of tough cold calling to all the Islamic book stores I could find in the “Islamic Directory”, trying to get them to place an order. Talking muslim dolls were a new concept and required a lot of convincing. Getting that first order was really tough, but repeat orders soon followed. I always thought I would just create two dolls, and that would be the extent of my creativity! However, once I saw the success of my first toy, my confidence grew and I started coming up with more ideas for toys, as I realised there were so many opportunities to make Islamic learning fun! The Arabic Alphabet sound board came next, followed by an interactive story sound book, then Arabic letter cutters with fun dough buckets, and the list continues … In June 2017, I launched the first bedtime prayer pillow, with lights and sound. A star shaped pillow that would teach prayers to children and comfort them to sleep. My son, Sami, is actually the voiceover for the pillow. The pillows were amazingly an instant hit, selling out before the container even landed on UK shores. We now have a range of over 50 + toys with new lines on the way, and my head is still brimming with more ideas.
Why is it important to teach faith through toys? I have always believed that children learn best through play. So why not have toys that teach faith? For me; my mother had instilled the love
of Islam in me - she was a very spiritual person. I am so grateful for all that she taught me and I equally wanted to teach my own children about their faith. Being a firm believer that children learn best through play, I searched for Islamic toys that would support their learning. I couldn’t find anything - and the very small offering that existed was really not great quality, hence my quest to create my own. There will always be a place for classroom and more formal learning - however our toys will help to consolidate and support what is learnt in different settings.
What developments have you made in the company in the last year? We are scaling up. We have new systems in place to help us control our inventory and stock management, forecasting and ordering. We are investing more in creating a solid Marketing Strategy. We have hired more staff. We established new retail partners in the
Middle East and other parts of the world and are always seeking new markets and opportunities. We have been working on eight new lines launching in time for Ramadan 2022.
“There will always be a place for classroom and more formal learning - however our toys will help to consolidate and support what is learnt in different settings”
Tell us about your recent accolades (Queen’s award for enterprise for international trade 2020) and the 2021 NatWest everywoman awards? In recent years we have been getting a lot of interest and demand for our toys from outside of the UK
eg.France, Belgium, Middle East, USA, South Africa, Australia to name a few. Our export business has grown exponentially and we were awarded The Queens’ Award for Enterprise for International Trade in 2020. The award recognises outstanding achievement and success in creating export markets for our toys. The Queen’s Award is considered to be the most prestigious award for UK businesses - it’s an amazing accolade for our business knowing that we have the Royal seal of approval for our Islamic faith based toys.
I also enjoyed speaking to H.R.H Prince Charles at a reception at Windsor castle celebrating all The Queen’s Award winners. Later this year, we look forward to the formal presentation of The Queen’s Award by the Deputy Lieutenant Simon Ovens at an event hosted by the Mayor of Harrow, in the presence of local MP’s and councillors. On 1st December 2021, I was awarded
Entrepreneur of the year by the Muslim Women Awards, which took place at the Caledonian Club in London. The Muslim Women Awards celebrates the success of muslim women across many categories including Science, Technology, media, sport, and entrepreneurship and I was humbled to have been recognised amongst so many. I’m also a finalist in the 2021 NatWest
Everywoman awards. Out of over 1,000 entries, I’m grateful to be amongst the final 3 in the HERA category – which is awarded
to the most inspirational woman running a business trading for 10 years or more. Everywoman would be an amazing award
to achieve as it represents and celebrates the success of every woman, everywhere, and promotes and supports entrepreneurial women founders.
Are you planning any further launches next year? Yes - I’m planning the launch of 8 new toys over the course of 2022. Not yet public so I can’t say any more, other than that they continue to be unique and fun toys that I hope kids and parents will fall in love with.
What do you see for the future of the Desi Doll Company? We have an exciting year ahead with the launch of many new lines, which we hope we get to showcase at Spielwarenmesse, Nuremberg. We have enjoyed attending Spielwarenmesse over the years, and find it really helps drive our international exposure in new regions, which continues to be important to the growth of the business. Already a leading manufacturer and distributor of just our own in-house designed toys, we are now considering Licensing partnerships with recognised brands. In addition, having seen the success and
demand for Islamic faith based toys, we are now exploring diversifying our range to introduce toys for other major faiths. We believe it’s important for children to learn not only about their own faith, but the faith of their friends, in an effort to promote respect, tolerance and understanding of different beliefs from the youngest of ages.
Jan/Feb 2022 | toy news |11
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