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Djolis Cosmeceuticals
How Did CorpLex Help Djolis Cosmetics Brand to Enter the UAE Market?
Case Study By
Rana Amine
Consultant
Djolis Cosmeceuticals
How Did CorpLex Help Djolis Cosmetics Brand to Enter the UAE Market?
Case Study By
Rana Amine
Corporate Services Consultant
About the Company
“Djolis” a Korean cosmetic brand registered in South Korea, Uzbekistan & Kazakhstan, mainly offering cosmetic products as beauty solution for personal and skin care including a huge variety of creams, sunscreens, facial powders, fillers and others.
The Djolis owners aimed at importing these products to Dubai to sell them in the local market. However, since they were newly entering to the UAE market, the clients had many inquiries about the legal process of setting up a company, products registration and approvals before importing the products to the Emirate of Dubai.
Challenges Faced
Challenges in Product Classification and Licensing for UAE Market Entry
The UAE has strict regulations that set out the health and safety requirements and standards for some types of products including cosmetics, food, medical, and personal care products.
Based on the product type, the regulatory authority, type of business licenses, product registration procedures, requirements and approvals differentiate. For instance, cosmetics products are regulated by the Dubai Municipality, while medical products are controlled by the Ministry of Health and Prevention (“MOHAP”).
And apparently, if a person is willing to import and sell such products to UAE local market, then he must first register the products under such authorities by complying with their requirements. Moreover, registration and importation of cosmetic products in UAE requires a Cosmetics Trading License, while, registration and importation of medical products and devices require Drug Store License.
The challenge faced by Djolis was that it was not sure whether its products are classified as cosmetics or medical products in the UAE, as some of Djolis products have medicinal elements.
Therefore, the client has not decided whether to setup a company with Cosmetics Trading company or Drug Store.
Our Advice
Based on the doubt related to the products’ type, and to avoid the issuance of incorrect trade licenses, we advised the owner that we should classify the products first with the Drug Department of the Ministry of Health and Prevention (“MOHAP”). Such classification allows us to know each product type as per UAE regulations, hence, the license type can be determined along with all the approvals required.
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Roadmap For The Required Licenses
The classifications have been done for each product type under MOHAP. Some products were classified as medical with the note: “SHOULD BE REGISTERED IN MINISTRY OF HEALTH & PREVENTION AS MEDICAL DEVICE AS PER UAE REGULATIONS”, while others were not classified as medical with the note: “SHOULD NOT BE REGISTERED IN MINISTRY OF HEALTH & PREVENTION AS PER UAE REGULATIONS”.
The products which shall not be registered with MOHAP means that such products are not medical devices as per UAE Regulations, however, such products still require registration but with a competent authority other than MOHAP. As Djolis products are cosmetics as per foreign classifications, then we advised that these cosmetics products should be registered with Dubai Municipality to be able to import them to the UAE. Hence, as the results were issued by MOHAP and the analysis has been done accordingly, the roadmap for the required licenses became clear. We advised the clients that they should get two (2) different licenses so they can import all their products to the UAE:
- First License: Cosmetics Trading License to register, import and distribute cosmetics products.
- Second License: Drug Store License to register, import and distribute medical products.
1. Cosmetics Trading License:
First, we registered a mainland company with Cosmetics Trading License under the Department of Economy and Tourism in Dubai. The process includes reserving a trade name, getting the initial approval, and signing lease agreement and the Memorandum of Association of the company, and payment of registration and license fees.
After the license issuance, we registered the company with Dubai Municipality and created an account for it. We received the approval from Dubai Municipality in less than twenty-four (24) hours, which proves that the license chosen was indeed the correct one. Registration under the Dubai Municipality is an initial requirement that allows companies to register the cosmetics products.
Once the company registration with Dubai Municipality was completed, we proceeded with the registration of all the cosmetics products through Montaji online portal which is the digital platform established by Dubai Municipality to streamline the product registration process, and we got the approvals and Registration Certificates, as required.
The Product Registration Certificates allowed our client to import and sell the products to the UAE. However, there are few more additional steps to be taken before the products can enter the UAE market. Once the products are imported to Dubai, a company needs to get a Release Permit from Dubai Municipality known by “CPIP”. This permit was essential to release the cosmetics product consignments from the airport. We got the CPIP and based on it, the Municipality officials conducted inspection to ensure that the imported products match the details specified in the Product Registration Certificates, and they ensured that the products conform with the current enforced regulations.
Finally, the CPIP was approved, and our client’s products were released from the airport. Djolis cosmetics products is now legally sold in the local market, having all the necessary licenses, approvals and certificates.
2. Drug Store License:
Getting a Drug Store License was a mandatory requirement for our client to be able to import their cosmetic products that are categorized as medical device as per classification from UAE MOHAP. However, Drug Store activity is a regulated activity that requires a special approval from the Ministry of Health and Prevention.
We started the company registration procedure with the Department of Economy and Tourism in Dubai and got the trade name and necessary initial approvals. Then we also had to get initial approval from the Ministry of Health and Prevention to complete the Drug Store set up.
One of the crucial requirements of MOHAP in setting up the Drug Store is that the owner must rent/own a warehouse that must meet the technical and health requirements according to UAE Regulations (i.e. interior fittings & design requirements, infrastructure requirements, staff & qualified professionals’ requirements, temperature & humidity requirements in the warehouse and other conditions etc…). We provided to the Department of Economy and Tourism in Dubai “Ejari” of a warehouse, that comply with MOHAP standards to issue the license. However, the license issuance was not the final stage for the drug store as it still requires final approval from MOHAP to start the registration process of the medical products.
For the final approval by MOHAP two essential conditions have to be met: 1) certificate from Dubai Civil Defense (“DCD”) in relation to the warehouse & 2) appointment of the pharmacist who will oversee the business operations.
After finalizing all the approvals, certificates and licenses from DED, MOHAP and DCD, we proceeded with the registration of Djolis medical products under the Ministry of Health and Prevention, and we got them successfully registered.
It was a long journey to get the drug store license and register the medical products, but it was a challenge that is worth it!
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“Djolis” the new brand in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, that could enter the UAE market for the first time by the full corporate legal support and professionalism of CorpLex!
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