Dubai, UAE, October 2026.
The new Technology Innovation of the Year is Salonist Software LLC, recognized for its efforts to promote technology and digital innovation within the beauty and wellness industry.
The timing couldn’t be better for a company that emerged from a technology venture in the Gulf region. Salonist currently serves more than 15,000 spas and salons across more than 60 countries through its salon software.
A Gulf Startup With a Global Footprint
Plenty of software companies say they want to go global. Actually getting there is harder. Doing it in beauty and wellness, where every salon and spa has its own way of working, is harder still.
Growing Beyond Home Turf
Salonist began in the Gulf and has since become an internationally expanding SaaS platform. That kind of growth doesn’t come from copying one setup into every market. A small neighborhood salon, a busy spa, and a wellness studio all run on different rhythms, with different clients and different habits. Software that wants a place in their day has to fit in, not make them change how they work. That is why the platform is built for specific business types, from hair salons to spas and wellness studios.
More than 15,000 businesses have decided Salonist fits. That’s the real story behind the trophy, and it’s what the Beautyworld judges chose to recognize.
The People Steering the Ship
It is led by two co-founders: Jassim Faisal Al-Mathkour, Co-founder & CEO, and Fahad Al-Hammadi, Co-founder & CFO. Together they have grown the company from a regional player to an international one across 60 countries. You can meet the Salonist leadership team to learn more about the people behind the platform.
A Win Shared With the Whole Team
Jassim was quick to point away from himself and toward the people who build the product every day.
“Winning Technology Innovation of the Year is a significant milestone for our entire team. It validates our belief that the future of beauty and wellness goes beyond traditional management software. Our goal is to create an AI-powered ecosystem that enables businesses to be more efficient, grow quickly, and provide great customer experiences,” stated Jassim Faisal Al-Mathkour, co-founder of Salonist.
Notice the word he chose: ecosystem. He isn’t talking about one new feature or a nicer calendar. He’s talking about a bigger shift in what software does for a beauty or wellness business.
What Salonist Wants to Build Next
The company has a clear objective. Salonist’s vision is to reshape the beauty and wellness industry using artificial intelligence, intelligent automation, and technology.
Less Admin, More Time With Clients
The idea behind it is simple. Let technology handle the repetitive work that eats into an owner’s day, and give that time back to the people who matter most: the clients. A stylist who isn’t buried in admin has more time to talk to the person in the chair. A spa manager with fewer loose ends has more room to think about what’s next. For practical ideas on running a more efficient business, visit the Salonist blog.
Smarter Operations, Faster Growth
Salonist breaks the logic into three parts. If a company operates more efficiently, it can grow faster. The faster it grows, the more space it will have to offer every customer something worthwhile. The company wants that to be within reach for a single-location salon and a multi-location wellness brand alike.
The Beautyworld Awards 2026 win gives the team fresh momentum. The work toward 2027 carries on from here.
About Salonist
Salonist Software LLC is a software-as-a-service company based in the Gulf, developing technology for the beauty and wellness industry. Salonist is led by Co-Founders Jassim Faisal Al-Mathkour (CEO) and Fahad Al-Hammadi (CFO) and is used by over 15,000 businesses across more than 60 countries. The company aims to create an AI-powered future for the beauty and wellness industry by 2027.
