Saad Afridi

Early life and background

Afridi was born in Karachi, and his father was a flight engineer. Afridi says his father came from a humble background and never asked him to choose a career path. He grew up with free tickets and had the chance to travel around the world. [1]

Afridi says his childhood was spent reading a lot of books. He read Harry Potter and Dan Brown after learning English around seventh and eighth grade. He says reading built his writing skill, which still helps him on LinkedIn. He describes himself as an average student who cared more about sports than studies. He says most of his family lives in the US. [1]

Education

Afridi did his O levels. After A levels, he was admitted to IBA, where his specialization was marketing. At IBA he was more into business plan competitions and reading. [1]

Afridi says a teacher whose personal assistant he was pushed him to enter the realm of entrepreneurship. He says he learned at IBA that people are a company's only comparative advantage. [1]

Early career and first businesses

Afridi took a job at a freight forwarding company, saying he had an interest in supply chain. He worked there for about one year. Afridi says he would be much better in his own business. [1]

Afridi started his first business venture in 2015. His first business was foldable water bags, which he calls a 100 percent failure. His second business, started around 2016, was a men's grooming brand, which he calls a partial success. An essential oil brand was another business that he calls a good success. [1]

Afridi has said that at one time he ran a beard oils business. He has said he also worked on a foldable water bag business at that time. Afridi says he deliberately chose products where he could add local value. He says his capital was low and he knew that importing needs more capital. [1][2]

Scents N Stories

Afridi says fragrances were being sold in retail while almost no one was selling them online. He made around 100 ads for the fragrances and put them on Facebook. He says good orders started within the first month of selling fragrances online. [1]

Afridi says the money was family money and he felt he could not waste it. He says he decided to put all his eggs into the fragrance business and scale it. He says orders grew from 10 a day to 20, then 50, then 100. [1]

Afridi hired an HR manager when the team reached about 20 people. He says the company started as 100 percent online, and the online to retail sales ratio is now about 30 to 70. [1]

Afridi has said that when he started, all of the products used the same bottle. He has said that in the early days the company sold a 50 ml fragrance for 1,000 rupees, and that it later revamped its products, changing the bottles and the packaging. He has said the company runs constant brand awareness. [2]

Products and manufacturing

Afridi says the company has about 80 fragrances, and each fragrance comes in up to five variants. The range includes alcohol-free roll-ons and 5ml sampler sets. The company has expanded into reed diffusers and candles. [1]

The company has launched car diffusers. Afridi says about 90 percent of car diffusers sold in Pakistan are imported. He says a local car diffuser would be a service to the country and its forex. He also says the company launched perfume wax, which he calls a major innovation. [1]

The company has a sensory range, an executive range and a poetic range of sub-brands. Afridi says the company wants a deeper connection with customers through specific brand personas and sub-brands. He says brands like his lack the financial muscle for large consumer research. [1]

The factory handles assembling, filling, labeling and boxing. Afridi says the fragrance oil itself is still 100 percent imported, but blending is done in Pakistan. He says the aroma chemical concentrate is 100 percent imported, but mixing it is now done in Pakistan. Bottles and spray pumps are imported, while the bottle cap component is made locally. [1]

Afridi says ethanol, a perfume raw material, is made in Pakistan as a sugar industry byproduct. He says localization gives the company certain cost advantages. He also says the company has automated its machinery. [1]

The company has an R&D team of five or six people. Afridi says some people on his team can dissect each note of a perfume. He says a fine fragrance is made up of 60 to 70 aroma chemicals on average, and that the company sells fragrances at 25 to 35 percent concentration, while famous brands typically use 15 to 20 percent. [1]

Afridi says Pakistani buyers care about lasting power because of heat and humidity. He says the top notes of a perfume evaporate in five to ten minutes. He says a citrus fragrance with heavy top notes will not last long, however expensive it is. [1]

Outlets and retail expansion

Afridi says Pakistan has about 264 brand clusters, places where major retail brands sit together. He says his vision is to be wherever the major brands are. He says malls reduce security and air conditioning problems and lower setup costs. [1]

The company used about five years of e-commerce order data to choose outlet cities. Afridi says new city launches include advertising, local influencers and billboards. [1]

Afridi says new outlets are owned by the company rather than franchised. He says a kiosk costs around 1 to 1.5 million rupees to set up, and that 80 to 90 percent of outlets were profitable in their first month. He estimates that about 60 percent of outlet customers had not bought from the brand before, though they had seen its ads, and that about 40 percent had bought from the brand online before. [1]

Afridi has said his company focused heavily on its outlet operations over the past two years. He has said that when the company expanded into retail, its content creation weakened, which he calls a big mistake. [2]

Afridi has said that, in general, local competition is a major factor in retail expansion. He has said one or two flagship outlets are necessary, and that a flagship outlet helps the brand's content. He has said running outlets brings its own fatigue, such as inventory counts and cash management. [2]

Operations and finances

The company uses an open-source ERP system. Afridi says the company manages about 1,000 inventory items, which would be impossible without a good ERP system. He says inventory stays with the company for three to four months on average. [1]

Afridi says about 20 people work in customer service and operations, and 10 to 15 in dispatch. He says the company has put AI into its whole customer service operation. He has said about 10 percent of orders are never shipped and about 10 percent come back to the company as returns. He has said a return rate of 25 to 30 percent means operations need work. [1][2]

The company launched a loyalty program that gives points for purchases in stores and online. Afridi says the company has been a pioneer in several marketing practices. [1]

Afridi says the company has grown about 50 percent a year. He says growth would have been around 80 to 100 percent if the economy had been doing well. He says the company's gross profit is about 55 percent and the average EBITDA is about 12 to 15 percent. He says the second and third quarters are harder for the company than the first and fourth. [1]

Afridi has said a growing business needs to reinvest its money. He has said the common mistake is reinvesting one's own profit without counting its financing cost. He has said the prudent approach is to place assets in the right places and then analyze them. [2]

Afridi says international expansion is close to his heart. He says the company reviews its long-term vision every one to two years. [1]

Brand and founder content

Afridi has said he made some ads himself about three to four years ago. He has said his early ads got a good response, but he then stepped back from making them. He has said he does not enjoy appearing on camera and finds it a struggle. [2]

Afridi has said a founder carries the business risk. He has said founders know product details such as the oil used, the pump and the packaging. He has said founder-led marketing has grown in the world. [2]

Afridi has said a brand is the business's biggest asset to build. He has said a global brand needs its product, content, HR and founder content aligned. He has said he is still evolving on brand philosophy and brand voice, and is struggling with it. He has said creating content needs a relaxed and optimistic mindset. [2]

Afridi has said he hired people to do the work and wants to automate everything. He has said the key MBA lesson is to build systems that run themselves. He has said that 99 percent of e-commerce operators cannot build a proper P&L. He has said personal branding is a muscle, alongside finance and operations. [2]

Afridi has said legacy brands stand on their HR, and that a brand can rebuild within months if its team stays. He has said his company first tries to align values with people who join. He has said that in early-stage businesses, fresh hires work better than experienced ones. [2]

Views

Afridi has said whoever solves a problem first earns a higher premium. He has said consistent effort, not a few one-off wins, is a real advantage. He has said KPIs help strategy but are not the measure of success. He has said competition is not a market share war, because both sides share the same goal. He has said businesses create employment and provide on-the-job training. [2]

Afridi says he wants to be rich, but value-driven rich. He describes himself as a believer in Islamic capitalism. He says he believes Pakistan is a nation that loves fragrances. He says Pakistan could unlock a decade of growth, similar to Indonesia or Malaysia. [1]

Afridi says books should be more vulnerable and that he believes books will become a major content format. He says long-form content has more impact than short videos. He says people love stories more than lessons. [1]

Writing and media

Afridi has said he left his job and moved into media. [1]

Afridi is writing a book titled Economy as my Jihad, and says he is now in the process of writing it. He says the book will include chapters on around 20 to 30 people who inspired him. He hopes to finish the book in about a year. [1]

Afridi has said he is currently doing video creation. He has said he has become attached to a social organization. He has said he plans to launch his personal philosophy properly in a month or two. He has said that for now his only plan is business. [2]

Timeline

2015

Started his first business venture.[1]

2016

Started his second business, a men's grooming brand.[1]

Appearances

Frequently asked questions

References

1. Scents N Stories let five years of online orders choose where its shops go . Thought Behind Things , 2025-10-22.
2. Success, Competition & Tawakkul | Shoaib Ahmed Baig x Saad Afridi . Shoaib Ahmed Baig , 2026-05-19.