From UAE to Your Pocket: The Journey of Our Dokha

From UAE to Your Pocket: The Journey of Our Dokha

It only seems like yesterday when I was first introduced to the world of Dokha. From UAE to Your Pocket: The Journey of Our Dokha Blog dates back in 2010/2011 when I travelled frequently to Dubai on business, totally unrelated to the smoking industry.  It was during nearly two years of working there that I became aware of Dokha when socialising with business colleagues and friends.  At that time I was an occasional cigarette and cigar smoker, but I was intrigued by the paraphernalia utilised and the customs and ritual of smoking tobacco through such a slender pipe, known as a Medwakh (sometimes spelled Midwakh).

It was during a conversation one evening with friends about the heritage of Dokha when one of my friends asked if I would like to try some.  Needless to say I jumped at the opportunity out of curiosity, if nothing else, to give it a go…. Much to my personal amazement I enjoyed the unexpected intense ‘buzz‘ I experienced .  Wow I thought, that’s a whole lot different to smoking cigarettes or cigars for that matter.  The overall flavour was much as I expected since my friends had spoken so highly of it, but I was blown away by the psychological difference and that’s what intrigued me the most.

Sourcing Dokha in the UK

When I returned to the UK I tried to source some Dokha for my own personal use but failed dismally – it simply wasn’t available either from traditional tobacconists or online.  That got me thinking – would the traditional Tobacconists on the High Street in the UK be interested in this product?  Putting my thinking cap on, I definitely needed to prepare a feasibility study and put together a business plan before I made contact with any shops.  Dealing with businesses and farmers in the UAE was going to be a completely different ballgame!

The Journey of Our Dokha

Here We Go Again – another trip to Dubai, but this time it was in a personal capacity, so with my feasibility study and business plan at the ready to potentially import the raw product and develop a whole new brand, I invested a great deal of time on the ground researching the best Dokha blends available and which suppliers I should make contact with.

One of the first suppliers on my list was already an established Dokha supplier within the UAE – Scorpion Dokha.  The first contact and subsequent meeting was very difficult, not least because I didn’t speak any Arabic, but secondly they were very sceptical that I could get my plan off the ground and bring their product to the UK – At that time they hadn’t considered selling their product outside of the UAE, so they were intrigued as to how I perceived implementing such an audacious plan to sell their product into the UK market.

After a lot of soul searching and investigation into any potential regulations surrounding the importation of tobacco to the UK, we soon found out that the tobacco had to be tested and certified by a laboratory in the UK before we could legally sell it to established licensed Tobacconists.  That is exactly what we did and were successful in establishing the authenticity of the product and the necessary permissions were granted.

Taking inspiration from this success, I formed a small family concern to take the fledgling business to the next level. We created a basic website to sell our new product online and imported our first batch of pre-packaged Dokha from Scorpion.  It was a very exciting time once the website went live, now the challenge was to  fulfil the orders on time, wherever they came from.

That in turn started us on a journey to find the most reliable and quickest delivery service we could find.  When you start up a new business very few courier companies trust that you will produce enough business in the first six months to make it worthwhile collecting the parcels from your premises.  I had to take a step back and a deep breath before realising that I could do this – even in the knowledge that I was taking such a huge risk that my whole livelihood was dependent on its success. I really needn’t have worried as to our surprise we sold all of the first batch very quickly online and that was the start of a beautiful journey into the unknown world of Dokha in the UK.

The Importance of Brand Identity

Uppermost in my mind was building trust and credibility of the Enjoy Dokha brand, particularly in terms of the authenticity of an unknown product we were going to bring to the UK market.

How the Brand name Enjoy Dokha was born

Simples – the moment I tried Dokha I enjoyed it, so it was obvious to me that ‘Enjoy‘ had to be the primary word!

• Firstly, I had to design packaging that ensured instant brand recognition, as brand identity is what would drive future financial performance.
• Secondly, I had to take into consideration that the final packaging should stand out from our competitors in terms of Logo, style and legal content.
• The quality of the box containing the Dokha had to be made from durable materials without costing the earth..

Getting these little things right was essential, as each component could make or break us if we got it wrong.  Customers are more likely to purchase products from brands they perceive as trustworthy and of course distinguishable brands can also coerce customer loyalty.

Tobacco Industry Reaction to Health Warnings

With the ever changing Government regulation, the tobacco industry as a whole had to innovate to comply with the myriad of the new regulations being forced upon them.  It seems like only yesterday when those awful health warning pictures had to appear on all tobacco related packaging.  Needless to say these sudden changes had major cost implications for small business.

The trust and credibility of our products was tested by these changes, as some customers thought they weren’t getting the authentic product because of the new  health warning pictures.  They had developed an emotional attachment to the original packaging so were suspicious of the changes we had to make.  These enforced changes for all tobacco related products being sold in the UK meant that we had to re-imagine the packaging to hold on to our No. 1 position in the UK market.

Since those ‘heady’ days we have expanded our reach across the EU, the USA and fast forward to 2025, we have recently set up a local business in the UAE to better serve our Middle East customers – https://www.enjoydokha.ae/

Lets look at the Cultural Heritage of Dokha tobacco

It may interest you to know that Dokha tobacco has always been an important part of UAE culture and heritage. Initially, when Dokha was acknowledged by the wealthiest in society as a relaxing leisure-time pursuit,  its use proliferated quickly and nowadays it is enjoyed by peoples of all backgrounds and considered a symbol of hospitality and generosity. It is often shared amongst friends and family and is also considered to reinforce social bonds within communities across the UAE.

The pleasure one gets out of the ritual involved in the preparation of the Dokha tobacco is just as important to the smoker as the flavour of the blend.

Just a note on how Dokha tobacco is cultivated and selected

I’ve put together a short synopsis below of how our Dokha tobacco is cultivated, our selection process and getting our products to market around the world.

Crops are generally grown in tiny subplots called yelba that measure around two to three metres each. This method of cultivation allows the farmers to easily spot if there are any pests or disease in the midst of the plants. The seeds are usually laid in December and the resulting plants are harvested in August and hung up to dry in the open-sided barn-like structures. Once fully dried the leaves are stripped from the stalks and sorted into ‘top leaves’, ‘middle leaves’ and ‘bottom leaves’ as the different strengths of Dokha depend on where the leaves have been picked from the plant.

The variety of leaves are ground in a timely manner and prepared for bottling and onward sale across the world.  Customers can be assured that nothing is added or taken away from this pure tobacco during the sorting process as there are no harsh chemicals such as pesticides or herbicides used on the land – only fresh water to irrigate the plants during the heat of the day to stop the plants from wilting.

Growing the delicate tobacco plants at high altitude brings a unique flavour to the tobacco leaves, as they can rest in the cool of the evening/nights and grow vigorously during the day in the intense sunlight and heat.

Meet the Makers – introducing the farmers, blenders and artisans behind our Dokha blends

The farming community producing Dokha in the mountainous environs of the UAE are ‘small holding’ farmers who don’t use sophisticated Western machinery to sew or harvest their crops. They rely entirely upon their acquired skills, passed down from generation to generation. There is also great community ritual performed to a prescribed order, especially during harvest time, as other small holding farmers will come to help and partake of local delicacies and the odd bowl of Dokha as the sun sets over their prized Yelba.

Because the growing conditions are so beneficial to the tobacco plants, these farmers can often get more than one yield per year.  This is especially helpful in lifting them out of poverty.  Most local farmers grow other crops such as mango, oranges and date palms to supplement their income.  They also have bee hives from which they collect honey.