Wardah Sponsors First Emirati Female Formula Racer in Southeast Asia Push

ParagonCorp's Wardah has launched a six-month campaign built around a genuine motorsport sponsorship. The campaign, called "Own Your Finish," introduces two new lip products and centers on Amna Al Qubaisi, the first Emirati female driver in formula racing. Wardah is her named sponsor as she competes in the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia 2026 Pro class with Team Jebsen.

The brand is attached to an active racing career rather than a one-time promotional shoot.

Performance Claims Tied to Endurance Narrative

Wardah is an Indonesian halal beauty brand competing on product performance in a market that is moving away from lifestyle messaging. 77% of new color cosmetics launches in Indonesia in 2024 were driven by beauty-enhancing functional claims.

The two new products are built around that logic. StayLock is a non-transfer lip cream with up to 20 hours of wear, powered by what the brand calls "moist-grip technology." Glasting is a reformulation of Wardah's top-selling lip cream, offering a 20-hour glass-lip effect through Glass Cushion technology. The campaign messaging draws a direct line from racing endurance to product durability: "Built to stay through pressure, speed, and every moment in motion."

Six-Month Activation Spans Southeast Asia and UAE

The campaign was shot in Dubai and Abu Dhabi and runs activations across Southeast Asia and the Gulf. A consumer event at Senayan City in Jakarta from May 14-17 brings Al Qubaisi to Indonesia in person.

Wardah describes the partnership as values alignment, not just reach. "As the first Emirati female driver in formula racing, and a proven race winner, Amna does not just cross finish lines, she defines what finishing strong looks like on her own terms," the company said.

Al Qubaisi confirmed the arrangement on social media. "I am incredibly proud to announce that I will be competing in PCCA making history as the first female driver to take part in that championship in Pro class," she posted. "A heartfelt thank you to Team Jebsen my sponsor Wardah Beauty."

63% of Indonesian consumers say they are prepared to boycott companies that behave unethically. Sponsoring a real athlete's real career is harder to dismiss as performative than a one-off shoot.

Campaign Extends ParagonCorp's Global Expansion Strategy

The campaign also functions as a geographic statement. It bridges Wardah's core Indonesian Muslim consumer base with UAE-origin sports representation. ParagonCorp CEO Sari Chairunnisa has outlined the company's global ambitions publicly. The Al Qubaisi partnership is the most visible execution of that strategy so far.

Wardah is not the first beauty brand to court motorsport. Charlotte Tilbury became the first female-founded beauty brand to sponsor F1 Academy. Estee Lauder signed UFC champion Zhang Weili in China for comparable reasons. The difference is that Wardah is doing this as an Asian halal brand, in markets where halal certification is a structural barrier for international competitors.

The global athlete endorsements market sits at US$2.5 billion and is growing at 5.6% annually. Beauty brands are among the fastest-growing adopters of female sports partnerships. "Own Your Finish" shows what that looks like when the sponsorship is genuine.