How founder Adam Chukri turned a simple research project in Slovakia into a Premium Made in Italy beauty house built on trust, and why healthy skin is beautiful skin.
Miss Europe Continental does not choose a Top Sponsor simply to put a logo on a backdrop. The brands we partner with have to share something with us, whether that is a vision of beauty, a way of looking at women or a belief in what the beauty industry can become.
This year, that connection is with ANAAKA.
ANAAKA is a premium halal-certified skincare and haircare house made in Italy, but its founder, Adam Chukri, does not describe it simply as a halal brand. He calls ANAAKA a trust brand that happens to be halal, an idea that came from an experiment he carried out in Slovakia before launching the company.
Slovakia was an interesting place to start. Muslims represent just 0.1% of the population, so Adam wanted to understand what the word “halal” meant to people with little or no personal connection to it. He spoke to women of different ages and asked for the first word that came to mind when they heard “halal”. 78% said “chicken”, while most of the others simply did not know what it meant. For them, halal was something they had seen on restaurant signs, and little more.
Then Adam asked how they felt about eating in those restaurants.
The answers changed completely. People spoke about food being clean, pure, fresh, safe and authentic, with many associating halal with places such as Dubai and Kuala Lumpur.
“Driving home, I realized I had completely misunderstood the market,” Adam says. “I thought I was launching a halal skincare brand. I was launching a trust brand. People already trusted what halal stood for. They just didn’t know it could exist in a jar of cream.”
That realization became the foundation of ANAAKA. Since then, the company has established a strong position in premium beauty in Slovakia and expanded across Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
For ANAAKA, luxury and values are not separate propositions. Halal certification is the final verification of a process that starts with ingredient sourcing, supplier selection, formulation, hygiene, traceability and packaging.
Italy was a deliberate choice. ANAAKA products are Premium Made in Italy, from formulation through to packaging. Each product combines three independent elements: globally recognized Halal certification by IIDC Germany, dermatological approval by Dr. Jen Haley, and Italian craftsmanship.
That attention to what goes into a product continues into the formulas themselves. ANAAKA works with ingredients that have a long history in beauty and wellness, including immortelle, rose water and its own halal-certified hyaluronic acid.
Immortelle, a Mediterranean flower, is valued for its association with radiance and resilience. Rose water has been used in skincare and Islamic medicine for centuries for its calming properties. ANAAKA’s hyaluronic acid is developed by the company using a rare mushroom source rather than animal fat or synthetic fermentation.
For Adam, halal is not about creating a beauty category reserved for a particular consumer. The standards behind it can be relevant to anyone. ANAAKA itself is not vegan by choice: some formulas contain premium natural beeswax, selected for its performance. Beeswax is not vegan, but it is fully halal-compliant.
This thinking led Adam to coin H-Beauty: Human, Healthy, Honest, Harmonious and Halal. It is also his response to the increasing complexity of modern skincare.
“K-Beauty transformed skincare through innovation, but innovation became complexity,” he says. “Ten steps became twelve, then sixteen. Skincare became a chore that needed a spreadsheet. We don’t believe skin needs to be entertained. It needs to be nourished, protected, and left alone to do what it already knows how to do.”
The result is a more considered approach, with fewer products and formulas designed to work together. If an ingredient does not earn its place, it does not go in.
The same philosophy has moved into haircare through VOILEE, powered by ANAAKA and inspired by professional head spa rituals. Its signature scent combines jasmine, lavender and oud, chosen for its distinctive character and staying power.
Why Miss Europe Continental?
For Adam, the partnership with Miss Europe Continental is ultimately about the women represented on the stage.
“For me, this partnership is about much more than beauty,” he explains. “What attracted me to Miss Europe Continental is the chance to celebrate women from different countries, cultures and backgrounds on one stage. I never believed beauty could be reduced to one age, one nationality, one religion or one definition of perfection. Beauty is confidence. Character. The way a woman remains true to who she is.”
That perspective reflects the broader idea behind ANAAKA: bringing together European luxury and craftsmanship, science and ethics, and Muslim and non-Muslim consumers.
“When I look at your finalists, I don’t see contestants. I see individual women bringing their own identity, culture and story. Beauty is timeless, and elegance has no nationality.”
For Adam, Beauty with Purpose is not about asking women to become someone else or treating age as something to fight.
“A woman in her forties is not a lesser version of herself in her twenties. She has lived, learned and evolved. Her beauty has evolved with her.”
During the competition, he hopes ANAAKA can offer the finalists something away from the pressure of the stage: a private ritual in their hotel rooms, in the morning and at night, simply as a moment for themselves.
“I want the ANAAKA ritual to be their personal moment. A few minutes to slow down, breathe and reconnect. A crown can recognize beauty, but it cannot create it.”
The message extends to the women watching from home.
“Do not allow beauty to become a competition against someone else, or against time. Beauty should never ask a woman to compromise. Healthy skin is beautiful skin. Beauty is timeless. And elegance never ages.”
In Arabic, ANAAKA means elegance. For Adam, it is more than a name. It is the idea behind the brand.
