DUBAI, United Arab Emirates. A Dubai based startup called HealthyGift is betting that the future of gifting in the UAE is not a box at all. The company has built a wellness gifting platform around one simple idea: the giver chooses to give wellbeing, while the recipient chooses the experience that actually suits them.
The concept, according to the company, came from a problem the team kept seeing in gifting. Even when people want to give something thoughtful, they often have to guess what another person will really enjoy. That guessing becomes especially hard with wellness, where one recipient may prefer recovery or fitness while another might choose a massage, a beauty treatment, mindfulness, or simply some time to slow down.
A different answer to the gifting problem
HealthyGift approaches the problem differently by curating wellness experiences while leaving the final choice with the recipient, the company says. Instead of picking a specific treatment for someone else, the giver buys into the idea of wellbeing itself, and the recipient redeems an experience that matches their needs and mood.
The timing may be on the company’s side. A Platinumlist survey reported by Arabian Business found that 74.4 percent of UAE residents now prefer gifting or receiving experiences over physical presents, with 64.1 percent saying experiences create lasting memories and 20.5 percent saying they feel more personal and unique. The same survey valued the UAE gifting market at a projected US$19.7 billion by 2033, while Dubai’s experiential economy has been valued at Dh220 billion.
Younger consumers appear to be driving the shift. Around 55 percent of the MENA population is under the age of 30, according to the survey, and 65 percent of Gen Z respondents favour emotional or experience based gifts over physical items. Concert tickets topped the list of most wanted experience gifts at 63 percent, followed by staycation vouchers at 18.5 percent, with spa vouchers also making the list.
Wellness takes center stage in Dubai gifting
Within that broader shift, wellness is emerging as a gifting category in its own right, the company says. From recovery and fitness sessions to massage, beauty and mindfulness, the range of wellness experiences on offer in Dubai has expanded quickly in recent years, and HealthyGift says its curated network of UAE wellness providers is designed to reflect that breadth.
The model is built on a simple truth about wellness: it is personal. What restores one person may bore another, which is why the platform leaves the final decision with the recipient. That personalisation, the company believes, is changing consumer expectations far beyond gifting, and Dubai is becoming one of the clearest places to watch the change happen.
Building a curated network across the Emirates
Rather than operating as an open directory, HealthyGift says it is building a curated network of wellness providers across the UAE, with the aim that every experience on the platform meets a consistent standard. For providers, the company says, the platform offers a new way to reach customers who discover wellness through gifting rather than booking for themselves.
The team says it is also keen to share what it is learning about gifting behaviour in the Dubai market, from how personalisation is reshaping expectations to the rise of experience led gifting as a category. Founder commentary, company background and images are available for editorial teams covering the story, according to the company.
The company frames its bet in simple terms. Gifting, it says, works best when the thought is personal and the choice is real. By letting givers gift wellbeing and recipients define what wellbeing means to them, HealthyGift is trying to take the guesswork out of one of the most personal purchases people make.
Media contact
Media Contact
Anastasia
HealthyGift
Email: manager@healthygift.ae
Website: healthygift.ae
Disclaimer: All information in this article was shared by HealthyGift (healthygift.ae). UAE Startup Story has not verified or confirmed its accuracy and accepts no responsibility for it.
