Follow The Leader: How Charlie Wright Built UAE-Based Humantra as an Extension of His Core Values "This business was really largely built on how I operate as a human being. We want to do cool stuff with cool people– that's been the mindset from day one! And ultimately, I want the people in this business to be better human beings."

Charlie Wright has also been featured on Anchored Echoes, a new video series on Entrepreneur Middle East- watch the full episode HERE.

"I've always felt like I was destined to do more…but I didn't really know what that pursuit was going to be," says Charlie Wright, founder of UAE-based wellness brand Humantra, very early on during his interview. As will be evident by the end of this feature, it is this instinctive feeling –that of being "destined for more"– that has in many ways framed Wright's many entrepreneurial decisions. But since tone of voice can sometimes get mistranslated in print, I feel obliged to mention that the phrase is uttered without a trace of pomp or arrogance– in fact the very first time Wright brings it up is while describing a period of his life when he'd felt quite disoriented, right after finishing law school in the UK. "At that point in time, I didn't really know what I wanted to do next," he continues. "I wasn't the smartest kid at school or the most athletic, but I learnt from my parents very quickly that work ethic was where I could often show up where others couldn't. So I really had the mindset that I would try loads of things, and eventually work out what I'm good at. But I didn't think I was going to be an entrepreneur. It wasn't like I was selling sweets at school or doing anything when I was at university. But I just felt like I was destined to do more, and I was definitely career oriented. So while I didn't think that I was going to have my own business one day, I was determined to be the best at whatever I do."

But a few decisions, a move from the UK to the UAE, and a steady corporate job later, at the age of 27, Wright was hit with an epiphany. "I remember thinking 'I'm really good at something that I really don't like doing; imagine how good I could be at something I'm really passionate about!' At the time, my career was super mapped out in the corporate world. It was a very clear path from my twenties until retirement– but for some reason that frightened the life out of me. I was three years away from being 30, and I was like this is not going to be the right thing for me. So I handed my notice in. I didn't know what I was passionate about, but I needed to try and find out what that was."

^{Image courtesy Humantra}

A few years since that moment, Wright is today the founder of Humantra, a premium daily electrolyte sachet mix formulated with natural ingredients and containing zero sugar. Each sachet contains six essential electrolytes that help the human body absorb and use water more effectively. Available in four different flavors in distinct colors (lychee, berry pomegranate, elderberry, and Himalayan lime), it comes with a promise of being gentle on the gut, vegan friendly, gluten-free, and devoid of any artificial coloring. Launched in 2022, the idea was incubated at HB Investments, the family office of UAE-based business icons Huda and Mona Kattan. Humantra's head office (which is where this interview took place) is, in fact, nestled within HB Investments' office space in Dubai's Jumeirah Lake Towers area. Having established itself as the go-to hydration brand in the country —indicated best by its #1 spot in the supplements section on Amazon and Deliveroo in the UAE— Humantra marked a rigorous expansion into the UK market (which began in 2023 through a collaboration with British streetwear brand Represent) by launching across 1,200 Boots stores in August 2025. This expansion, which came on the back end of an investment from London-based venture capital (VC) fund JamJar Investments in May, is set to increase Humantra's footprint in the UK market which, at the time of this interview, was already contributing to 55% of the brand's annual revenue. The week before this interview took place, Wright had also just gotten married.

But in the time period between Wright's plunge into entrepreneurship and the eventual fairytale-like journey he's been on with Humantra, the now 35-year-old had a particularly disquieting phase. For starters, he'd built two startups, both of which didn't come to fruition as he'd hoped. "The two ideas succeeded to various different degrees, I'd say but the first one…I wouldn't really call it a business per se, because I don't think it got to the viability stage of being one," he says. "But I lost all my money doing that– and lost all my confidence too. But even then, there was something in me, again, that felt like I was destined, well, not for greatness because I don't want to say I'm great. But I was always hungry for more! There was something in me that knew it was going to work out somehow. Soon after, I started my second business which was a direct-to-consumer e-commerce brand called Hopi Contact Lenses. Doing that gave me all the lessons in what it takes to build a brand or build a business that actually worked. And Hopi actually worked, but we just didn't hit the scale we wanted it to hit. But from that experience I taught myself how to do email marketing, meta ads, everything. It was just this complete boot camp on how to build an e-commerce business, and it started to build my confidence up again. Without those two failed experiences where I was setting fire to my own money all the time –which was really scary by the way, because I didn't pay myself for the best part of four or five years– I couldn't have learnt so many skills. There were some really dark moments throughout those points of time. But I think the callous nature of my mind was built from those experiences, and it ultimately became of paramount importance to what I then went on to do at Humantra."

^{Humantra introduced an exclusive Rose flavoured electrolyte designed specifically for Ramadan. Image courtesy Humantra}

Indeed, it was Wright's determination to go ahead with a second business that landed him the opportunity to create Humantra– quite literally, when he was pitching Hopi Contact Lenses to HB Investments circa 2021. "I was sitting exactly where you are right now while doing that pitch," he tells me. "Off the back of that conversation, HB decided that rather than invest in early-stage brands, why don't we create them? From there, HB Investments decided to incubate brands, of which there were two at the start– one of those was Humantra. So Humantra was really born out of this observation that the wellness industry, the supplement industry, was full of noise. With it therefore being really difficult to navigate, we asked ourselves if we could try and create a solution that people could, first and foremost, trust. The early idea was that we were going to have a variety of different products. But it became really abundantly clear to me that I wanted to be a master of one. And the most universal health need on the planet…the one thing that unified –whether you are at school, in your 70s, or a best in class athlete– was hydration. It's not a niche need. It's a universal need. That meant that we had a huge market ahead of us, which was really exciting. So we decided to be the best in class. Fast forward four years, and hydration still underpins everything we do as a brand. Because hydration clearly doesn't discriminate; supplements shouldn't be reserved for the pro athletes and top sports champions. Everyone needs adequate optimal hydration. So we decided to go against every business book on the planet, and rather than just go after a niche category, we were adamant to cater to a really big pool of people. And so far, touch wood, it's been going quite well."

^{Image courtesy Humantra}

In thus creating a hydration supplement "for the human race," Wright found his calling. But in driving forth that ambition, Wright emphasises there's been a collective effort. "This business was really largely built on how I operate as a human being," he says. "We want to do cool stuff with cool people– that's been the mindset from day one! And ultimately, I want the people in this business to be better human beings. While you're under my stewardship, I'm always going to push people to do better, to be better. A big part of that also involves being respectful. These are the values I got taught at a young age, but often it can get lost in life. So I just hold myself to a high standard, and I expect the people I operate with –both in the team and externally– to hold themselves to such high standards as well."

Having been acquainted with Wright's leadership so far, it should perhaps not come as a surprise that the five tenets that make up Humantra's operating philosophy are curiosity, optimism, ambition, compassion and humility; abbreviated as COACH. While much of what Wright has described so far has been the internal implementation of COACH, the most tangible public outcome of that notion has been Humantra's campaigns in the holy month of Ramadan, which have now been running for two years in a row. For Ramadan 2024, the brand introduced a Rose-flavored electrolyte, in partnership with Deliveroo. In 2025, after launching its limited-edition apricot-flavored line, Humantra took its Ramadan initiative a notch higher by unveiling the UAE's first-ever drinkable billboard at City Walk, Dubai. The unique activation allowed passersby to break their fast with Humantra's electrolyte drink.

^{During Ramadan 2025, Humantra also launched the UAE's first-ever drinkable billboard at City Walk, Dubai, that offered its limited-edition Apricot-flavour electrolyte to passersby after sunset (while breaking the fast). Image courtesy Humantra}

"The most culturally acute moment in time for a hydration brand is Ramadan," Wright says. "Millions if not billions of people go through one of the most difficult pursuits ever. And it is a journey that's largely rooted in hydration. For us doing the Ramadan-focused flavors and campaigns made total sense. It was us being true to who we were– both as people and as a brand. Cultural relevance isn't something we say we prioritize just to sound cool. It is genuinely how I operate as a person. I've lived in the UAE for 11 years, and I'm a very culturally respective person. When I was in school, we were taught to call our masters 'Sir/Ma'am.' Even today, I call strangers 'sir' and 'ma'am' if they're strangers to me. There is this idea of deep respect in me which is how my parents brought me up. Ultimately, I believe if we're not culturally relevant, people will not buy our products. Showing up in the moments that matter the most, and ensuring there is genuine authenticity behind them, is second nature to us. Look, as a brand we're the first to ever do it, and we've done it two years in a row. At some point I'm sure people will start catching on, and will see it as a commercial opportunity. But at Humantra we're not just doing the Ramadan campaign to make loads of money. All my favorite brands are culturally relevant, and I think it is part and parcel of what makes a great brand. But the key feature in all of them has been that none of their cultural relevance is forced; it's completely organic and true to their mission. That's precisely what Humantra is doing too."

Now, in mentioning how he looks up to his favorite brands (the one repeatedly brought up during the conversation being American clothing and shapewear company SKIMS), Wright alludes to something that has been a quiet constant in his leadership growth. "I'm inspired by people on a daily basis whether they're in different businesses, fields or brands," Wright says. "I wouldn't say there's one individual that's kept me on the straight and narrow. I think I have an ability to be really clear on where I want to get to, and then try and bring the right people around me that can help me navigate the toughness that ensues with life. You know, Huda and Mona [Kattan], for example, have been an incredible support to me as a founder. They have complemented me in areas that I'm not hugely proficient in. Which I think is of great importance to a founder. Because for me –and I've said this to my team too– if I'm not proficient at something, I always go and find the best in class to help me. I think one of my best skills is also knowing what questions to ask and being quite forthright with how I ask them. So for me it's about getting into the right rooms, and then asking the right questions. I've got so many amazing people around me."

But to surround oneself with people that inspire and to use that to overcome uneventful business periods, Wright adds that it's important to build two traits. The first of these is resilience, a word that is often used by entrepreneurs. But it is the second that he elaborates on. "You have to be accountable but I've also learned that accountability isn't feeling sorry for yourself; it is so much more," he says. "I took complete ownership of my life- all the failings, all the wrongdoings. There is no one that I don't mind admitting to that I'm wrong. I'm wrong all the time. But I'll learn from mistakes. I believe one of the reasons why the board [at HB Investments] really liked me as a founder is because I'll listen and take on feedback, and make decisions based on that. But, at the same time, I'm also really strongly rooted in independent thinking. I truly believe independent thinking and trusting my gut has been really important. I'm here today because of the decisions that I've made, whether they were right or wrong, and I've owned those decisions. So accountability and ownership boils down to not feeling sorry for yourself, but using the lessons learned to understand how we can better ourselves down the line. And I think that the underpinning nature to all of that has just been about, well, never giving up. Like, through all the different businesses and experiences, I have just never given up. It's what's kept me still going."

^{Image courtesy Humantra}

If you've paid enough attention so far, you will remember that a big reason Wright swore to not back down in the face of detours and failure has been his innate gut feeling of being headed for something bigger. It is that thought that keeps fueling the fire in the founder's belly. "I'd said in the earliest part of the interview that I was always destined for more– I firmly believe that this is what I was destined to do," Wright declares. "I'm obsessed with this business. And I think it's down to product obsession, consumer obsession, and the like now. All of that has also been deeply woven into something that I actually need as a person as well. So it's not like I don't use our products; I use it everyday. I'm the biggest advocate myself- in the product; in electrolytes. I'm hugely passionate about this space, and I genuinely love what I do. I think that gives you staying power because when things get difficult, if you genuinely love what you do, you'll never give up. I also derive a lot of joy in this quest to not just build a great brand but a great organization that has longevity, and that people really love working at. So my obsession is rooted in genuine enjoyment in what I do, and how we can get better."

As Wright now prepares for Humantra's next phase of growth, particularly following the brand's launch in 1,200 Boots pharmacy stores across the UK, he hopes to continue injecting his own optimism and ambition into his team. "I think we have this overarching vision of where we need to get to as a team," he says. "Humantra has had loads of small pivots in how we position our brand and who we talk to as consumers. I think that's what the best businesses do. They learn and adapt, and they're not unwilling to be slightly different. Missions might change. Goals might change. We know that the world we live in right now will not be the same in four years, so it's very hard for us to gauge what the business will look like then. But I think we just have this mindset that we want to be the best at this. For that to happen it comes down to having the best people around me. I have an amazing team, and what that means is that whatever happens, we will solve our way through it. I feel like for the first time, the best version of me is hyper concentrated at work in a way where I am all consumed, but it is not all consuming. There's this sense of perspective now. I got married last week. My wife is incredible, and we want to start a family. So this is just…it's going to be an important phase in my life."

Watch Charlie Wright's Anchored Echoes interview by clicking the link below:

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