NAME: Muna Rahim
AGE: 49
INSTAGRAM HANDLE: @crackles_uae (WEBSITE: www.cracklesuae.com)
JOB TITLE: Founder & Creator, CrACKLES
MOVED TO THE UAE IN: 2008
Muna, is the founder and creator of CrACKLES in Dubai. As a corporate executive-turned-stay-at-home mom, CrACKLES was born out of an entrepreneurial spirit and a longing to use her creativity to introduce and share a newer, more exciting version of her favourite childhood treat with the UAE.
CrACKLES is the first and only gourmet rice crispy treat company in the UAE. A home-grown, unique small business concept taking rice crispy treats, those familiar crisped rice and ooey gooey marshmallow dessert bars, to the next level! We offer a variety of bespoke flavours, premium sprinkle toppings and simple yet beautiful packaging. Made with top-quality ingredients and with a freshness guarantee, not only are CrACKLES delicious but they look great too and are both kid and adult favourites!
Muna's educational background is in Economics where she worked in the corporate world. It took a lot of courage to change careers, let alone launch a new dessert business at that stage in her life, especially without an F&B background. However, she is passionate about creating beautiful things and had a dream and a vision. The skills she acquired during her schooling plus the many years spent working in the corporate world combined with her creative ambitions helped her make her dream a reality.
What does her day look like...
6 AM: I’m up and enjoying a large cup of coffee. There’s usually a little bit of a rush in the morning as I get myself ready, make sure the house is in order and pack a school lunch for my daughter. I always take a few minutes for myself though, to sit back and think about the day ahead.
8AM: I’ve just dropped my daughter off at school. Luckily, the CrACKLES kitchen is right around the corner and my work day starts at just a few minutes after 8 am. The day always begins with kitchen inspections and a review of scheduled orders.
As a small business owner I do everything at CrACKLES, from stirring marshmallows in the kitchen to bookkeeping and accounting! There’s never a dull moment and no two days are ever the same!
10AM: A quick bite to fuel-up, usually at my desk while juggling many other things including responding to emails and messages, reviewing social media and marketing campaigns and results, maintaining various business records and executing seemingly endless operational tasks.
11AM: Meet with my employees to give them direction for the remainder of their day as well as for upcoming days. Around this time, I will usually step out for meetings and other business errands.
4PM: I’ve arrived home with my daughter after picking her up from school. We have a late lunch/early dinner together. It’s an important time of the day for me as we have this chance in our busy schedules to catch-up and talk about the days events and life in general.
6PM: I’ve jumped back on my computer and will finish up any pending tasks from earlier in the day. I’m committed to the success of my new venture and, to ensure that, I always find things to do, to implement, to improve, to develop, to create etc. While I always like to put work and my computer away by 7 pm, that usually doesn’t happen and I often find myself working until much later in the evening. I love what I do and while CrACKLES is still young, my life/work balance is not quite balanced yet (I’m getting better at that though!).
8PM: Spending time with my husband, chatting and watching tv as a family, unwinding. Every day, I feel it’s important that I find time to shift my mind to non-work related stuff – in the evening, I’ll read, shop online, make plans with friends and family and/or go outside for a short walk.
10PM: In bed. Thinking, reflecting and, no doubt, creating new CrACKLES recipes and designs in my head while dosing off to sleep….