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Kayanee, the Saudi sovereign wealth fund-backed athleisure and wellness brand, has already gained fans among Millennial and Gen-Z Saudi women. It plans to expand to the Gulf next year.
Founded in 2023 by Princess Reema bint Bandar, the kingdom’s ambassador to the US, and backed by Public Investment Fund, the company aims to embed itself in Saudi Arabia’s fast-growing wellness economy, partnering with local fitness instructors, nutritionists, and product makers, Abeer Alfouti, executive director of Kayanee’s Learn unit, said in an interview.
“Her Royal Highness had this vision. She pitched it, got the support, and launched Kayanee under PIF,” Alfouti told Semafor. “Now we’re building a holistic well-being platform: physical, emotional, social, financial, environmental.”
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Kayanee’s content rollout begins this month in Riyadh with a speaker series on stress, food, sleep, and emotional health, followed by masterclasses and a structured well-being curriculum.
The company’s product range includes abaya-inspired athleisure meant to make women more comfortable exercising in public, activewear with prints inspired by traditional Najdi styles hailing from Riyadh province, and, of course, smoothies and green juices.
Saudi Arabia’s wellness market is growing, and PIF is at the center of the flywheel. Kayanee’s granola bars and smoothies will soon be served on Riyadh Air flights and at Red Sea resorts — both owned by PIF. Developing the wellness sector is part of the kingdom’s Quality of Life program, launched in 2018 to improve mental health access, workplace well-being, and recreational opportunities.
The initiative has made wellness both a domestic priority and a potential export, fueling projects like Red Sea’s Amaala luxury resort and Riyadh’s “Sports Boulevard,” which encourages walking and cycling in the capital.
Manal’s view
Another week, another Pilates studio opening. Riyadh’s wellness scene is booming — and increasingly glossy. If TikTok trends are any indication, “alo matcha pilates, pilates matcha alo” (a dig on the preferences of a certain subset of Arab women) has become the anthem of the moment.
At first glance, Kayanee could be mistaken for another luxury wellness spot, complete with eucalyptus-scented rooms and curated retail. But the authentic local touches show that this isn’t simply reverse-engineered from a goop deck. Alfouti talks about self-awareness before self-care, promotes walking goals instead of weight goals, and adapts Zumba routines to Khaliji and dabke dance styles.
Yes, it has all the trappings of the global wellness industry, but there’s depth to the brand. Princess Reema and Alfouti have spent decades thinking about what wellness means in Saudi Arabia. Their approach is rooted in local realities, ones that Western implants couldn’t replicate: how women navigate public and private spaces, how family expectations and traditions shape health choices, and how self-worth is built.
Notable
- Saudi Arabia’s wellness tourism drive taps into a $5.6 trillion global shift toward personalized, eco-conscious travel. The kingdom is making wellness a pillar of its tourism strategy, with PIF-backed projects like The Red Sea and Amaala blending luxury, sustainability, and health, the Financial Times reported.
- Since 2018, the Quality of Life Program under Vision 2030 has transformed daily life, turning red-carpet premieres to global sporting events into routine experiences.
Update: A previous version of this article referred to an interview with a Kayanee executive stating that the company is launching an app, and that Italian designers are training Saudi women in garment manufacturing. The company has since retracted those statements. It also stated that Abeer Alfouti is the executive director of Kayanee. She is the executive director of Learn, a Kayanee unit.