DUBAI: As the COVID pandemic in 2020 forced lockdowns, work from home mandates were introduced, and social distancing measures came into play, people found themselves with more leisure time than usual. With extra free time at their disposal, many decided to nurture the hobbies and passions they had and, in turn, transformed them into lucrative home businesses.
That’s when four, Emirati millennials noticed the need for a service that would act as a one-stop shop for all those home businesses and as an intermediary between customers wanting to shop locally and home-run brands seeking more exposure. Shortly thereafter in early 2022, Gathrd, an app that brands itself as a “Community For Home Businesses”, was born. The app is designed to host products from the Fashion, Food and Beverage, and Lifestyle categories and acts as a directory through which home businesses from across the board can be found.
“We noticed that many new businesses set up profiles on Instagram and take orders through WhatsApp; however, they tend to get lost in the clutter due to low brand awareness and the high costs of extensive marketing. So, our goal was to create a platform that grants those hidden gems the exposure they deserve by grouping them under one roof, where they are easily accessible” said Noor Alyousuf, CEO of Gathrd.
As part of its services, the Gathrd Platform also markets its participating brands and businesses by featuring their products on their social media platforms (Instagram and most recently Tiktok) and even schedules periodic ads with popular influencers to help expose the businesses to a larger audience. The founders recognized how costly it is for businesses, especially smaller ones, to use influencer marketing as a promotional tool; therefore, Gathrd, strives to do that on their behalf.
What sets Gathrd apart from other shopping apps and e-commerce websites is that it’s commission-free. The Gathrd Platform is a subscription-based service where during their first month on the app, participating businesses pay a total of 1 AED only. Starting from the second month and onwards, the subscription price is 149 AED/month. Gathrd will also offer product photography services to businesses as an add-on this summer. Since home businesses operate at a smaller scale, they sometimes release one product at a time; therefore, booking a whole photography session does not make financial sense for them, leaving them without professional, product photos nor any means to showcase their latest release. Gathrd, however, plans to solve this lingering issue with the launch of this new service.
When asked what their main goal was from launching this startup, the founders of Gathrd unwaveringly said that seeing individuals, who got their start on Gathrd, transition from home-business owners to store owners with national, or even international presence, one day would be their ultimate aspiration. “If Gathrd’s services played a role in such a feat, we could not ask for a better accomplishment than that,” they agreed in unison.
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About Gathrd
Gathrd is an app that groups home businesses from the fashion, lifestyle, and food and beverage categories under one convenient platform making them easily accessible to customers. Gathrd curates the best line of products for people to discover and enjoy. Each business on the app goes through a simple yet thorough registration process ensuring quality brands and offerings. Gathrd treats people as the foundation of its platform and, thus, aims to create a community that is built upon synergy, goodwill, appreciation for the craft – thriving together – gathered as one.
To learn more about Gathrd, kindly visit:
Website: www.gathrd.ae
Instagram: @gathrd.ae
Tiktok: @gathrd.ae
Donwload Gathrd on the App Store and Google Play.
