From a 2023 Gift to a £5,000 Award Funded by Tej Lalvani: A Full-Circle Moment for EXOTIC SKN®
Zahra KarimIn June 2026, Zahra Karim, Founder of EXOTIC SKN®, was selected from among WeNetwork’s highest-scoring applicants to receive an additional £5,000 equity-free award funded by entrepreneur and former Dragons’ Den investor Tej Lalvani.
The news arrived completely out of the blue. It also brought Karim back to a quiet moment just over three years earlier, before EXOTIC SKN® had officially launched.
Where the story began
On 9 February 2023, Karim attended the University of Westminster’s What It Takes to Succeed in Business event, where Tej Lalvani and his wife, Dr Tara Lalvani, shared lessons from their respective entrepreneurial journeys.
Tej spoke from his experience building Vitabiotics, while Tara shared her journey as Founder and CEO of beauty-technology company Beautifect.
After the talk, Karim gave Tej and Tara an EXOTIC SKN® Dream Skin Cleanser as a gift, which they graciously accepted.
EXOTIC SKN® would not officially launch until 2025. At the time, Karim was still building the vision—developing its products, identity and purpose without knowing where the journey might lead.
“I remember feeling honoured simply to be in the room,” said Karim. “Giving Tej and Tara the Dream Skin Cleanser was a small moment, offered with no expectation of what might come next.”
Tej and Dr Tara Lalvani accepting EXOTIC SKN® Dream Skin Cleanser gifts after the University of Westminster event in February 2023.
An unexpected £5,000 award
Just over three years later, Karim learned that EXOTIC SKN® had been selected to receive an additional £5,000 equity-free award funded by Tej Lalvani through WeNetwork.
This was separate from the full £5,000 Activate award secured by EXOTIC SKN®, bringing the equity-free support awarded to the business through this 2026 funding round to £10,000.
“It felt like one of those moments only God could have written,” said Karim. “It was entirely unexpected, deeply affirming and a true full-circle blessing. I am incredibly grateful—and determined to honour the opportunity through the quality of what EXOTIC SKN® becomes next.”
Learning from a builder at scale
Tej Lalvani has spent more than 30 years at Vitabiotics, including a decade as Group Chief Executive Officer, helping to develop the UK’s leading vitamin company into an international business with a presence in more than 70 countries.
In July 2026, Bain Capital announced that it had agreed to acquire Vitabiotics, subject to the transaction’s closing conditions.
For Karim, receiving support funded by a founder whose career demonstrates long-term product building, consumer trust and international scale carries significance beyond the amount itself.
The next chapter
The additional £5,000 strengthens the momentum behind EXOTIC SKN® as the brand continues developing enduring products, increasing its retail readiness and building the foundations for global growth.
From presenting an early product as a gift in 2023 to receiving equity-free support in 2026, the journey has come full circle—but it is far from complete.
EXOTIC SKN® is getting better with time. So is its founder.
Official sources: University of Westminster — Tej and Tara Lalvani at What It Takes to Succeed in Business and University of Westminster — 2026 WeNetwork funding announcement
About EXOTIC SKN®
EXOTIC SKN® is a London-born luxury lifestyle and self-care brand founded by Zahra Karim. It creates highly functional, visually elevated products designed to transform everyday self-care into meaningful ritual.
