An organization based mostly in Newport, Wales, which invented the world’s first interactive prayer mat has set its sights on vital international enlargement, with help from the Welsh Authorities, after seeing its merchandise go viral within the Center East.
Based by dad of two Kamal Ali, My Salah Mat is the agency behind progressive prayer mats designed to assist youngsters and adults discover ways to carry out Salah – the day by day prayer practiced by Muslims.
Because it was arrange 4 years in the past, the enterprise has made a worldwide identify for its one-of-a-kind mats and has developed an in depth worldwide portfolio, with merchandise now bought in over 25 international locations throughout 4 continents.
The corporate has seen gross sales rise by 15% within the Center East over the past three years after its youngsters’s mat went viral throughout social media within the area, resulting in it securing offers with main worldwide retailers together with Virgin Megastores within the UAE and Dabdoob, one of many largest children’ retailers in Kuwait.
My Salah Mat is now trying to enhance international exports by 15% over the subsequent three years by increasing its distributor networks throughout the globe and specializing in driving gross sales in Australia and India – that are key goal markets for the corporate.
Wales’ Financial system Minister, Vaughan Gething visited the corporate’s Newport base to congratulate them on their success.
Kamal Ali, founder and inventor of My Salah Mat, stated:
“Exporting is a big a part of our enterprise and has performed a key position in our progress over the previous few years. International demand for our merchandise has been enormous, with Muslim dad and mom all around the world searching for assist instructing their youngsters the suitable methods to hope, which opens up a whole lot of alternatives for us to extend our worldwide gross sales.
“Australia and India are key goal markets for us as our worldwide presence continues to develop with rising Muslim populations in each international locations, alongside extra youngsters and adults trying to study the proper praying method. Having spoken with potential new prospects and retailers in each areas, we all know there’s demand for our merchandise, so discovering routes to entry is a major focus for us proper now.”
The Welsh firm was initially arrange by Kamal after he observed his son struggling together with his praying method. With a background in product design, Kamal set about creating an answer – a contact activated interactive prayer mat instructing youngsters the totally different positions in Salah together with the place to put their toes, knees, arms and head, in addition to what to say throughout totally different positions. After two years of creating prototypes, Kamal launched his first product in 2018 to rave opinions.
The success prompted My Salah Mat to develop an grownup’s model of the mat shortly after, following 1000’s of requests in gentle of the product’s spike in recognition on social media.
Since then, the corporate has operated with a world agenda with exports accounting for 40% of its enterprise. The corporate has over 75 distributors and retailers worldwide, in addition to a subsidiary in Germany, My Salah Mat Deutschland, which was established to maintain up with elevated demand for its merchandise within the nation, following attendance on the Nuremberg Worldwide Toy Truthful – one in every of Europe’s largest toy commerce exhibitions.
Key to My Salah Mat’s export progress and success has been help from the Welsh Authorities, together with market analysis on shopper traits inside potential new markets, serving to the corporate to grasp various regional preferences and prompting it to adapt the mat into 20 languages. The forward-thinking agency has additionally carried out an in depth advertising and marketing technique, specializing in platforms like TikTok, the place its movies generate hundreds of thousands of views and engagement, and dealing with influencers from all around the world to construct a robust worldwide model.
Kamal added:
“Having a greater understanding of how our goal markets function and learn how to successfully enter them has performed a big position in our export progress. We now have attended digital commerce journeys funded by the Welsh Authorities in Qatar, the UAE and Malaysia, which have helped us decide the perfect routes of entry into these territories.
“These journeys have additionally allowed us to strengthen our credibility and construct relationships with potential prospects and purchasers, serving to us to get a greater concept of what they’re searching for whereas enabling us to determine new enterprise alternatives.”
The agency has signed a royalty contract with one of many largest Malaysian animated cartoon studios, Omar and Hana, which can assist develop its presence in Southeast Asia – one other key marketplace for the corporate. As a part of the deal, My Salah Mat has partnered with the animation on product design, with choose youngsters’s merchandise that includes the voices of characters from the Omar and Hana programme. The mat has additionally appeared in current episodes.
With lower than 5 years of booming worldwide export success, My Salah Mat is now a Muslim family model identify all over the world due to its recognition and after buying substantial market dominance. The corporate is within the means of creating much more academic merchandise and adaptions to proceed to maintain up with shopper traits and demand.
Financial system Minister, Vaughan Gething stated:
“The Welsh Authorities’s message to enterprise is evident – develop in Wales and promote to the world. We’re working laborious to help companies to do exactly that.
“My Salah Mat is a superb innovation and an ideal instance of creative pondering that can be utilized to ship for therefore many individuals the world over.
“I’m proud to see Muslim youngsters proper throughout the globe having fun with the advantages of the designed-in-Wales My Salah Mat, one thing that helps to show and provides them a chance to study their faith and learn how to pray their Salah.
“These are precisely the sorts of progressive merchandise that showcase the perfect of Welsh entrepreneurship, enterprise and enterprise.
“The Welsh Authorities is proud to have been in a position to help the corporate, serving to it obtain nice success, as a part of the excellent help accessible to companies by the Welsh Authorities’s Export Motion Plan. I want My Salah Mat all the perfect for the longer term.”
