Dawsat: The Next Exit in the Middle East

"When I completed my bachelor's degree in nutritional sciences at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, I knew I was going to devote myself to health and wellness," begins Mas Watad, owner of the Dawsat brand, a lecturer and facilitator on the subject of health and digital health. "I realized very quickly that diseases should be prevented before they happen and not be satisfied with a menu of diet[ing?] recommendations".

Wated, a Muslim born in the village of Jatt, understood that there was a gap between what she learned and the food served at the Arab table: "Sambusak, kubbeh, knafeh, vine leaves... Shall I go on?" she asks with a laugh and explains: "Everything is different from the diet accepted in the Western world, so I created a new food measurement unit – Dawsat – proper chewing. The word reflects calories, protein, and fat. I found a word close to people's hearts, their culture, and the education they know, and I set off."

Watad started small. She assembled a weight loss support group of ten women in her home and worked with them using the Dawsat method, which is based on Arabic foods. A short time later, the rumor about the woman who knows how to prevent diseases through proper nutrition adapted to the Arab sector spread, and the group grew to about 100 women. "I realized that group work is more effective than working with individuals, and I continued to research and experiment for 10 years in the Arab villages in Israel until I registered my idea as a trademark, and only then did I break into the world of big business."

A year later, she held the first conference in the field of health in the Arab sector, which hosted about 2,000 women and included lectures by doctors, chefs, leading food companies in the field of health, and more. "The conference was held over the next 10 years. I made connections, led the advertising of diet products, and as soon as the percentage of sales increased, my husband and I realized that it was time to cash in and opened a company that sells health and diet products to leading companies in Israel."

The opera of the Arab sector
Watad pressed on, and in 2003 she published a leaflet on eating during Ramadan, "A year later I received dozens of calls from people who wanted to know what to eat during Ramadan. In this case, too, I realized the potential, expanded the business, and produced a magazine, the first one in the Arab sector, with 30,000 copies distributed once a year throughout the Arab community and to the collaborating companies. The magazine includes menus, health recipes, articles on diabetes, blood pressure, childhood obesity, and more. Later we also started publishing digitally, with more than 100,000 downloads, under the name 'The Special Health Magazine for Ramadan.'"

Over the years, Watad traveled around various villages, from Hurfeish, through Qalansawe, Umm al-Fahm, Kafr Qara to Nazareth, changing the eating culture and cementing the recognition of the word Dawsat in the Arab sector. Her audience saw it as the opera of the Arab sector. "People fell in love with the idea, managed to lose weight, and adopted a proper and healthy diet, and I knew I was on the right track. This success led me to open a company in Israel intended for groups. I am the owner and CEO. I deliver lectures, conduct workshops, collaborate with health funds and universities as well as with the leading food companies in the field of health." In addition, she launched a company that sells health products from Mas Clinics, whose CEO is her husband.

Until the next exit
A few years ago, Watad relocated to Abu Dhabi with her entire family, and today she travels on the Israel-Abu Dhabi line, working with her partner, Tali Singer, an expert on Middle East economics. She also founded Dawsat, a foreign company registered in London, Bahrain, and Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM). "In addition, we moved Dawsat online and developed an application where you can find articles and recipes with Dawsat calculation, food index, and support groups."

"We are the first company to be accepted by the Abu Dhabi government. The app is a model for them that is distributed to government institutions, and I believe that after the first exit, I do in the Middle East, I will become the first media [maven?] that people believe in and lose weight." "In the meantime," she explains, "I want to reach a wide range of startups, government institutions, and many more."

Watad has the right connections, along with proven success and the ability to manage crises and collaborations. Last year, she completed a course for leading directors of government institutions at Jasmine. "My aspiration," she explains, "is to be a conduit for the Ministry of Health that transmits the most correct and reliable knowledge to people everywhere. I see myself more in places of activity of government institutions that will back me up in bringing the health and wellness news to the population."

Following her success, Watad was appointed last September as a special envoy on behalf of the Israeli government for regional cooperation in the fields of innovation in health, obesity, and diabetes, under the auspices of Prof. Itamar Raz. "As part of my job, I went to lecture, participated in a women's panel, and today I'm a member of the Abu Dhabi Business Women's Council. Today, the company value is estimated at about $5 million, with the goal of doubling its value in the next two years and then, as noted, doing an exit.

The Mas Empire
In the meantime, in Israel, Watad cooperates with the Leumit National Health Fund and uses specialized clinical dietitians, facilitators, trainers, and psychologists who run support groups throughout the country, workshops in various organizations, and more. In addition, for the past 20 years, she has been a regular columnist in the field of health and food for several publishers in Israel.

"We have reached all the Arab villages and we have a franchise model, Social Wall, a health and nutrition magazine produced once a year during Ramadan, a best-selling cookbook, a for-pay app, which soared during the coronavirus period when we opened it for free, and many more ideas along the way."

Watad's path is very clear. She works for the long term. "My place in the world is to be the leading company in the field of nutrition, wellness, and weight loss, in every home in the Middle East, to be a board member in several government institutions around the world, to be one of the decision makers who will take the company forward with the right strategy, full credibility, and for the benefit of the public," she concludes.

Address: alkhatem tower hub71 abudabi

Phone: 00971585301675

Website: www.dawsat.com

Mail: mas@dawsat.com

Yifat Nachmani in collaboration with dawsat