Once Upon a Dua with Jayda Zaman
Once Upon a Dua is a British baby brand that’s certainly making the headlines, with 34 prestigious baby, gift and product design awards to its name – all in the space of two years! Brand You met up with its founder, Jayda, to find out how she was inspired to design, manufacture and distribute a collection of modern baby essentials and lifestyle products that celebrate the values of modern Muslim families and positively impact future generations.
“Losing a part of me forced me to rediscover myself, strengthen my faith and ignite in me a desire to make a positive change in the world.”
Hi Jayda, did you see yourself as the face of a successful brand when you began your career almost ten years ago?
No, I didn’t always plan on this path. I was heading in a completely different direction back then and couldn’t have imagined where life would take me. I graduated in maths, science and psychology and became a qualified maths teacher. I thought teaching would be my dream job, especially with all those school holidays – six weeks off in the summer sounded like heaven! But, boy, was I wrong. I ended up working 24/7, and the so-called work-life balance was a total myth. I had no life outside of teaching.
When I found out I was going to become a mother for the first time, I was over the moon, but my pregnancy was rough. I had terrible hyperemesis gravidarum (severe nausea and vomiting) and awful back problems that left me bedridden most of the time. Eventually, I had to quit my teaching job because my health was so poor.
Baby number two came along, and when the older ones were three and one, and I was just a few weeks away from giving birth to our third child, she tragically passed away before we even got to hear her cry. There were no warning signs; she had no health issues. It was sudden and totally devastating. For three years, I couldn’t even talk about it or say our daughter’s name. It felt like I lost a piece of me.
During those tough times, my husband, Ash, was my rock. He reminded me that our faith could guide us through, and his love helped me find my dreams again. Real healing began during a pilgrimage where I started talking about my grief, which inspired others too. That lightbulb moment made me realise I wanted to help families build strong bonds and create something lasting to make the world a better place.
Is this when the idea of creating your own business began to form? How did it all get started?
I suppose it was beginning to simmer after the birth of my first child, although I didn’t know it at the time. I’ve always been creative, working as a self-taught bridal, henna and makeup artist. I loved adding henna patterns to everything – you name it, I ‘hennafied’ it!
The real motivation to create a meaningful, impactful, and purpose-led business came after the traumatic loss of my baby daughter, our third child. She was my pebble that was about to send ripples into the ocean. What got me through that trauma and depression was my faith. I wanted my children to grow up knowing that, no matter the struggles and hardships, there’s always a silver lining because God is always with you, and faith can move mountains.
“We wanted heirloom-quality, faith-inspired dolls but couldn’t find anything that fit the bill.”
Five years after my daughter passed away, we welcomed our rainbow baby during my worst pregnancy yet, right in the middle of the Covid pandemic. It was chaos: I was bedridden again, Ash was juggling his IT manager job at a big investment firm with home responsibilities, and eventually, it got too difficult. He quit his job to devote all his time to our family, which turned out to be a blessing in disguise. It gave him the time to focus on our business idea, and that’s when our venture truly began to take shape.
One of the first products I designed was our keepsake hijabi doll, inspired by my daughter wanting a doll that looked and dressed like Mummy. We wanted heirloom-quality, faith-inspired dolls but couldn’t find anything that fit the bill. So, I decided to create one myself. After extensive safety testing, we were ready to release them. The dolls went viral almost immediately, and our journey had officially begun.
What’s the story behind your company name?
“Dua” means prayer in Arabic and is the act of praying to God. Thus, Once Upon A Dua essentially means Once Upon A Prayer.
As couples, we all hope and pray to be blessed with children. So we wanted a company name that was unforgettable as soon as someone heard it, but also encapsulated the deeper feelings and emotions of a parent making dua to be blessed with children.
Just as every fairy tale story begins with once upon a time, every prayer of a couple begins with Once Upon A Dua…
“Once Upon A Dua became a heartfelt name for a brand that was born out of the desire to create a better world.”
So being a brand that’s inspired by faith, not only does our company name represent the intimate conversations we have with God, but also the heartfelt prayers of a parent for their child.
But that’s not all! After we lost our beautiful daughter, we visited Jerusalem and saw the struggles of the people there and it really pulled at our heart strings. Whilst sitting within the famous Dome of the Rock, I remember saying to my husband, “Wouldn’t it be amazing if we could create a business that helps to answer to the prayers of those that are less fortunate?”
So, Once Upon A Dua became a heartfelt name for a brand that was born out of the desire to create a better world. A world where faith inspires, love flourishes and beautiful conversations happen!
How did you manage to juggle a start up with family life and three young children?
First, let me tell you that Ash loves to give surprises. On my birthday during the pandemic, he surprised me with our business! Our youngest was just a few months old, and I thought, “Seriously? My health isn’t great, we’ve got a newborn, and you think this is the time?” But he said, “When is it ever a good time? You’ve always talked about this dream.”
It turned out to be perfect timing. As our son grew, he tested all the products I created. For about a year and a half, we were deep into researching, designing, sampling and flying out to meet suppliers. I’d have the baby in my lap during Zoom calls, and he always woke up right in the middle of meetings. I joked that by the time he was ten, I could retire because he’d know the business inside out!
Ash handles all the logistics and running of the business, which go right over my head, plus it’s too difficult for me to manage with three kids. I come up with the initial designs, he refines them and together we create something special. From the start, we avoided order taking and packaging, which a fulfilment centre handles. We always thought of it as a larger company, not just a home business, and this mindset helped us achieve so much more in a short time. We brought in experts and tested everything thoroughly before releasing anything. This approach allows me to juggle family, work and other commitments while maintaining flexibility.
Where does the Scandinavian influence come from?
I’ve always been attracted to the beauty and simplicity of Scandinavian aesthetics and design. The quality is outstanding and their products are known for being organic, eco-friendly and sustainable. I knew I wanted to incorporate these values into Once Upon A Dua.
“What surprised us each time is that we never reached out to the press; they reached out to us.”
Has it been an easy ride to bring a new product to market?
Financially, it’s been scary. We invested everything – selling our car, my husband’s beloved motorbike and even our house savings. It’s been a wild ride, but so worth it. If you have a big dream, you need to go for it, right?
The dolls officially launched in 2023, and we expanded into essential baby products like changing mats and feeding items, crucial for fostering meaningful family conversations during dinnertime.
We sent our products to parent testers and awarding companies, and despite my doubts, we consistently won awards alongside big names like Stokke and Annabel Karmel. Competing with brands in Harrods, John Lewis and Selfridges was incredibly gratifying.
Our pop-up at John Lewis gave us enormous exposure, connecting with visitors from around the world. As pioneers of a modern, stylish, Scandinavian-influenced and faith-inspired children’s brand, the feedback was amazing. For online stores, I highly recommend a pop-up for invaluable face-to-face connections and real-life feedback.
We also got picked up and featured in Vogue as Number 1 Tiny Trendsetters! The Telegraph also featured us as one of the top gifting companies for Christmas, featuring our ‘thankful, grateful, blessed bamboo bowl set’.
To date, Once Upon A Dua has been featured in Vogue, Tatler, Vanity Fair, Glamour, The Telegraph, Evening Standard, Absolutely Mama, and more. What surprised us each time is that we never reached out to the press; they reached out to us. Our story resonates with journalists, thanks to our numerous awards and growing visibility on Instagram and TikTok.
How important has it been to work with a brand specialist?
When you start building a brand, it’s crucial to get advice from specialists because it’s easy to get lost in your own story. We chose to work with a couple of brand designers and a brand strategist to guide us on design and messaging. This helped us focus and articulate our vision clearly, weaving together the many ideas and motivations behind our creations. If you visit our website, you’ll see it’s Scandinavian-inspired but faith-infused. The message is clear: our values and purpose are understandable and resonate strongly.
What’s incredible is that our brand resonates with many faiths. We focused on quality and meaningful family conversations, and people from different backgrounds appreciate our products. Experts have even complimented us on nailing the branding. That meant a lot, especially since our journey had many bumps along the way. We went through three brand designers but still found we had to finish the branding project ourselves because we were so meticulous about the look and feel we wanted!
This meant I had to self-learn how to use a Mac, Adobe Illustrator and many other apps and programmes so I could design everything – from our social media and products to our packaging and all things branding!
What good things are there to come?
With growing interest from the Middle East, America and Europe, we’re hoping to expand into those regions over 2024/2025. We’re also broadening our product range, finalising designs for our organic cotton baby and infant clothing line. Following that, we’ll be launching our much-anticipated wooden Montessori toys, a project we’ve been perfecting for the last two years. There’s plenty for our customers to look forward to in the coming year!
Tell us more about Once Upon a Dua’s global giving initiative.
By choosing to invest in our beautiful, meaningful products, you’re also joining us in building a brighter future where health, sustainability and community support go hand in hand, becoming a catalyst for positive change in the world. From combatting hunger and providing clean water to offering free education, we’re actively transforming lives and empowering individuals to thrive. We also support environmental projects and provide training to individuals, enabling them to become agents of change within their communities, amongst many other global impacts.
What would be the one thing you would like our readers to take away from your story?
Dream Big, Make Dua, Move Mountains ®
Losing a part of me forced me to rediscover myself, strengthen my faith and ignite in me a desire to make a positive change in the world. If I can do it after what I went through, hopefully it will also inspire others not to give up and to chase their dreams.
After all, we’ve all got to have a little bit of faith because faith can move mountains!
INTERVIEW BY OLIVIA MAROCCO – EDITOR-IN-CHIEF – BRAND YOU MAGAZINE
Article published in Brand You Magazine – Edition 32
Jayda Zaman – Founder of Once Upon a Dua
Jayda is the founder of Once Upon A Dua, an award-winning, family-owned brand creating Scandinavian – influenced, faith-inspired baby products for modern Muslim families and creating moments of togetherness through considered design.
Website: onceuponadua.com
Instagram: @onceuponadua_official
