Meet the Founder: How One Woman Is Redefining Sustainable Care in Lebanon
By: Rachid Kantar, KAP Middle East Lead
In the heart of Lebanon, where instability often overshadows innovation, one woman-led startup is quietly rewriting the story…
Meet Batoule Hakim, the founder of Savvy Element - a science-driven, eco-conscious brand producing high-performance self-care and home-care products, proudly made in Lebanon.
Founder Batoule Hakim leading Savvy Element’s
mission to make sustainable care a reality in Lebanon.
At a time when the label “Made in Lebanon” is often met with hesitation, Savvy Element is proving that sustainability, science, and style can come together - led by a team of women who refuse to give up on their vision.
From Lab Coat to Leadership
Batoule never set out to become an entrepreneur. A scientist by training, she always imagined her future to be in research, not business. But when she decided to shift towards a more sustainable lifestyle, she realised there were no affordable, truly eco-friendly, local options. Most products on the market were either imported, overpriced, or falsely labeled “green.”
What started as an experiment at home - creating safe cleaning products for herself and her friends - quickly evolved into something larger. After completing a one-month program on green business planning in 2019, she took the leap, leaving a stable job to pursue her idea full-time.
“I didn’t plan this. I quit my job without knowing exactly what I was doing, just that I wanted to create something real, something that makes sense.”
With limited research facilities in Lebanon, she secured research fellowships in Germany and the U.S., developing her prototypes abroad. But her heart, and mission, remained in Lebanon: “I wanted to bring the knowledge back home and build something here.”
Women at the Helm
Savvy Element is proudly women-led, with all four of its full-time team members being women, supported by two part-time male colleagues. Their facility - white, bright, and meticulously organised - mirrors the brand’s philosophy of transparency and precision.
“We wanted the space to reflect our values, calm, clean,
professional, the opposite of the chaos outside.”
Inside Savvy Element’s lab in Lebanon -
where science meets sustainability.
Being a woman in manufacturing hasn’t been easy. From customs officers to government offices, bias and underestimation remain common: “Sometimes people look at you and think, what is this girl doing here?”. But she also notes how community pride has grown: “When people find out our brand is Lebanese and women-led, they’re proud. That pride keeps us going.”
Founder Batoule in the lab, ensuring every Savvy Element
formula meets the brand’s high sustainability standards.
Science Meets Sustainability
At the core of Savvy Element’s philosophy lies a simple truth, eco-friendly should never mean less effective. Each product is developed to match or exceed conventional performance, bridging science and sustainability instead of being forced to choose between the two.
Unlike many “greenwashed” brands that simply switch packaging, Savvy Element goes deeper, auditing every ingredient, using third-party testing, and maintaining ISO standards for manufacturing and quality management. The company currently offers around 20 products across home-care and self-care, including Lebanon’s only full line of sustainable detergents, alongside deodorants and baby-care products.
Savvy Home’s minimalist range of sustainable
home-care essentials, proudly made in Lebanon.
Innovation Spotlight: The Waterless Revolution
Savvy Element’s latest innovation is a partnership with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Notre Dame University (NDU) to develop waterless cleaning products. To raise awareness about why this matters, every current product label displays the percentage of water in its formula - a reminder that most conventional liquids are made up largely of water. Numbers like “82” or “78” printed on their detergents show customers exactly that.
“We wanted people to realise they’re paying for water. By removing it, we can save resources, cut plastic, and create more efficient products.”
Each bottle labelled with its water percentage -
transparency at the heart of the brand.
Their long-term goal is to produce solid or concentrated tablets wrapped in biodegradable film, eliminating the need for plastic containers and preservatives altogether - sustainability through innovation that’s simple, smart, and scalable.
Circular by Design
Savvy Element’s commitment to sustainability extends beyond formulation to packaging and waste reduction:
Self-care: packaged in glass, collected and reused through a loyalty-based return program.
Home-care: sold in refillable 5L containers, lighter and safer than glass.
Recycling: worn-out bottles go to Arcenciel for up-cycling.
Incentives: customers earn points and discounts for returning used packaging.
In a country with limited recycling infrastructure, Savvy Element’s model is both practical and progressive, a small but real step toward a circular economy.
Made in Lebanon and Proud
When Savvy Element first launched, many Lebanese consumers were skeptical about local skincare and cleaning brands. But that’s changing. During the 2019 crisis, the revolution, and the COVID-19 pandemic, consumer trust began to shift. People became curious about what was in their products and proud to support homegrown innovation.
Savvy Element’s self-care collection blends
science and simplicity for everyday wellness.
Today, Savvy Element’s products are sold via its website, Instagram, and WhatsApp, as well as through 15 health-focused retailers and two pharmacies. Their next step: expanding to the GCC markets - especially the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar, where awareness of sustainable products is growing but options remain limited.
The Real Challenges Behind the Success
Running a startup in Lebanon is not for the faint-hearted. From navigating permits to dealing with constant power cuts, Batoule and her team have learned to adapt and plan for the unpredictable.
“After five years, I finally know what papers I need [she laughs]. There’s no manual here. You learn by doing and redoing.”
One major gap, she says, is technical infrastructure for industrial startups. While many incubators focus on business skills, access to equipment and prototyping facilities remains scarce. Her idea? Create a shared industrial lab where entrepreneurs can rent machinery short-term for testing and small-scale production. A simple, high-impact model for Lebanon’s next generation of makers.
Innovation in progress: developing high-performance,
sustainable formulations.
Purpose Over Profit
Despite constant uncertainty, Batoule stays anchored by her purpose, and the community’s support:
“When I feel stuck, I get a message from a customer saying they’re proud this is Lebanese-made. That one message changes everything.”
Her advice to other founders is simple and sincere:
“Don’t do it for the title. Do it because you love it, because you believe in what you’re creating. The journey is hard, but if it’s meaningful - it’s worth every challenge.”
Looking Ahead
Through a combination of small grants and personal investment from family and friends, Savvy Element has already achieved what few could in such conditions: a licensed manufacturing facility, ISO certification underway, third-party testing, 20+ products, and growing regional recognition.
Now, with support and partnerships, the brand is ready to scale its innovation beyond Lebanon’s borders - showcasing what women-led, science-based entrepreneurship in the Middle East can look like when given the chance to thrive.
“We’ve built something real in one of the hardest places to do it, imagine what we could achieve with more stability and support.”
