Kayali, the fragrance brand founded in Dubai by Mona Kattan, is entering China through an exclusive partnership with Sephora. The launch covers more than 300 Sephora stores and the retailer's digital platforms, and is set for 15 October 2026, according to Beauty Packaging and Retail Boss. The announcement appeared on 28 September.
It is a new chapter in a long relationship, and the groundwork was long too. According to Beauty Packaging and Happi, the China expansion took two years to prepare. Kayali and Sephora have worked together for eight years, and the brand is now sold across more than 30 countries and about 3,000 doors worldwide.
Retail Boss describes Kayali as a Dubai-founded fragrance brand, and the launch sends a Gulf-born fragrance style to shoppers who may never have encountered it. The brand's approach rests on two ideas that travel well: scents with sweet, edible-sounding notes, and the habit of wearing more than one fragrance at a time.
What goes on the shelves
The launch range has seven fragrances: Vanilla 28, Yum Boujee Marshmallow 81, Musk 12, Freedom Musk Santal 34, Eden Juicy Apple 01, Eden Sparkling Lychee 39 and Fleur Majesty Rose Royale 31. Nine more fragrances are due to arrive in November.
Perfumers call the style gourmand, meaning scents built around notes that suggest vanilla, sugar or fruit rather than flowers or wood. Kayali's names, from Vanilla to Yum Boujee Marshmallow, make the idea plain.
Presentation will vary by location. Beauty Packaging and Retail Boss report that some stores will carry full Kayali backwalls, the large display walls behind the counter, while others will have dedicated shelf space.
Kayali has recent form with this approach elsewhere. Premium Beauty News reported that Eden Sweet Peach 35 and Eden Plush Pear 23 were launched on 20 March 2026 at Sephora and online. Separately, the organiser of Beautyworld Dubai cited data from rAIviews showing that Kayali's Capri in a Bottle Lemon Sugar took 7.2% of all perfume reviews on Sephora US in 2025, as an example of how far a Dubai-born fragrance brand can reach.
Layering, and a campaign to match
Layering is central to the pitch. Mona Kattan, the founder and CEO, said Kayali wants Chinese consumers to experiment with it, according to Beauty Packaging. In practice, that means combining two or more scents to make a personal blend, a habit familiar in the Gulf, where it is often done with oud and other rich notes.
The China campaign is called "Sweet Overload, Joy Explode". Happi reports that it draws on Kayali's gourmand style and on Kattan's Middle Eastern heritage.
The Kayali Café comes to Shanghai
The brand will also bring its in-store experience. Kayali Café events are due to open at 10 Sephora locations in major Chinese cities, starting with the Shanghai NJW flagship in October. Earlier stops for the concept, according to Happi, included Dubai, New York, Miami, Mumbai, San Francisco and Paris.
Kattan has a busy schedule in the city. She is due to host a Scent Lab event in Shanghai on 21 October and to join SEPHORiA Shanghai, the retailer's beauty event, from 23 to 25 October, with a masterclass on 23 October.
A note on timing: Happi's report, published on 30 September, speaks of October in-store activity without giving the 15 October launch date, which comes from Beauty Packaging and Retail Boss. The date is therefore best read as the planned one.
Where shoppers will find it first
Kayali names Rednote and WeChat as its key discovery channels in China. Both are social platforms, which suggests that many shoppers will meet the brand on a phone before they smell it in a store.
That is also the risk. Retail Boss notes that the plan depends on whether online interest turns into repeat in-store purchases. A fragrance is bought by smell, and the stores, the cafés and the masterclasses are there to move shoppers from curiosity to a second purchase.
What it means for the region
The story is bigger than one brand. A fragrance house built in Dubai is taking its identity to a market of very different tastes, with a retailer that has known it for eight years. If the launch works, it will be a reference point for other founders in the Gulf who think in global terms.
For readers here, the most immediate date is 15 October, when the doors are due to open. Two years of preparation lie behind a launch that will test whether online interest becomes repeat purchases in store. The first answer will come from Shanghai, where the Kayali Café opens in the same month.
Sources: Beauty Packaging, Happi, Retail Boss, Beautyworld Dubai, Premium Beauty News