Maria Galabova, the founder Keto Kartel, is building a brand on her own terms. One that is focused on a feel good food built for health, longevity and, by extension, a new language of wellness.
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The epiphany was personal. Maria Galabova, the founder of Dubai-based food brand keto Kartel, had it at the kitchen table watching her husband spend years struggling with his weight. Then he adopted a Keto diet and proceeded to lose twenty kilograms. It was, she says, a revelation. “It was that ‘big wow’ moment – the kind of huge inspiration where you start visualising success, seeing things clearly, and making plans with no hesitation. It all made sense at once.” The story of what came next is, on one level, a story about food. About croissants made without the refined flour that spikes blood sugar. About recipes that took years of development and personal testing before a single product reached a shelf. About a keto lifestyle translated from something her family practised privately into something Galabova believed the wider world needed access to.
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But underneath all that, it is something else: the story of a woman who decided she had a mission – and has pursued it with the kind of single-minded intensity that leaves very little room for doubt. Galabova was born in Bulgaria and raised with particular insights around health and longevity. “I come from a family of doctors,” she explains, “so there was always that awareness.” She studied politics, sociology, and law – a formation that gave her both analytical rigour and a deep understanding of human behaviour, qualities that would shape how she thought about branding, community, and the psychology of food.
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She has lived in Dubai since 2016, raising three children – Kiril, now eighteen, Victoria, ten, and Nikoleta, five – in a city she describes as having given her something essential. “Dubai is fast, but it’s also very open to new concepts – people are willing to try, and the market is ready,” she says. “Dubai gave me the space, but I built the journey. And if I had to start again, I would choose it all over again.” Keto Kartel was not created out of frustration or desperation. Galabova is clear about this distinction, and it matters. The wellness industry is full of brands that began with a founder’s personal struggle – a crisis translated into a product. But this founder’s origin story is different: it began with wonder, with watching something work, and wanting to share it. “We started working closely with our chef, creating recipes that were genuinely tasty – not just alternatives, but food you truly enjoy,” she recalls. “We were simply looking for better, healthier choices for ourselves. And what started at home naturally became something we wanted to share with others.” What they shared, when they were finally ready, was the product of more than five years of development. In an era of launch-fast-iterate-later startup culture, this is a strikingly long runway. “Credibility is everything,” Galabova states matter-offactly.
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“We tested everything on ourselves before offering it to others. That’s what makes us trustworthy – we lived the experience, and now we’re sharing it.” The distinction between diet brand and lifestyle brand is one she makes repeatedly and with feeling. In a market brimming with programmes, protocols, and before-and-after narratives, Keto Kartel has been deliberate about the language it uses and the promises it makes – or refuses to make. “We’re not a diet brand – we’re a lifestyle,” she explains. “And that’s what turned Keto Kartel into something bigger, almost like a movement, built on trust with our customers.” The industry’s tendency to treat the female body as a problem to be solved is something she pushes back against with particular directness. “Our message is simple: we don’t change how people look, we change how people feel.” Building that trust has not always been straightforward. The food and beverage industry remains, in many of its corners, a maledominated environment – and Galabova is candid about what it has required to be taken seriously within it. “Building trust as a woman in business, especially in the F&B space, is not always easy, and there is a certain pressure that comes with it,” she acknowledges. Her response to that pressure has been very pragmatic: not to argue her way into rooms, but to make the argument unnecessary. “What I did instead of proving myself through words, I focused on consistency and results. In a way, those challenges became a strength.”
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That strength is most visible in the philosophical framework she has built around the brand’s relationship to women’s bodies and women’s health. “There is a big difference between shaming bodies and taking care of them,” she says. “We’re not here to criticise – we’re here to support women and men. It’s about health, longevity, and energy, not size or weight. It’s about feeling better in your body, having the energy to live your life.” The wellness industry has spent decades building on insecurity on the premise that a woman’s body is, by default, a problem requiring a solution. Galabova built Keto Kartel on the opposite premise, and she was intentional about it from the start. “We don’t use language like ‘fix it’ or ‘change that.’ Our philosophy is different – it’s about awareness, taking care of yourself, and feeling secure in your own body.” This issue is built around the idea of seeing the world on your own terms rather than performing for someone else’s lens.“What I built is a brand that reflects real life, not something designed to please people,” she says. “I’m not trying to meet expectations or follow trends. Everything is built on authenticity and real experience.” When she looks at the community that has gathered around Keto Kartel, she sees evidence of what she believes women are genuinely looking for right now. “I see women who want balance, not pressure. They want to feel good, not be perfect. Strict diets are no longer the answer.” One of the most striking things Galabova says has to do with the relationship between food and emotion. It has been the biggest lesson that building Keto Kartel has taught her, and it lands with the weight of something genuinely discovered.
Outfit: Jacket, Dior; Trousers, Louis Vuitton; Jewellery: Talent’s own
“Creating Keto Kartel, I learned about the strong connection between food and emotion. I knew it exists, but I didn’t know that it was that strong. Did you know that when we lack love, we crave sugar? Or that when we feel afraid, we crave salt? And that spices are connected to the feeling of sadness? Eating is emotional.” It reframes everything else she has said: the brand’s refusal to shame, its insistence on enjoyment, its focus on how people feel rather than how they look. All of it, seen through this profound understanding, is not just good branding. It is a clear comprehension of what food actually means to people. Being a female founder has also given Galabova something she did not entirely anticipate. “Being a woman, a mother, a daughter, and a wife shaped the way I approach business. It gave me a different kind of strength – attention to detail, care, and a deeper sense of responsibility that people can feel and relate to,” she shares. Her leadership style she describes as both personally hers and distinctly shaped by gender: detail-oriented, hands-on, intuitive, grounded in the capacity to hold multiple roles simultaneously. She built her own blueprint, she says, because there was no template she wanted to follow. “I believe that’s the core of real success.”
Outfit: Jacket, Dior; Shirt & Trousers, Louis Vuitton; Shoes & Jewellery: Talent’s own
So what does success look like for Galabova? She plans on expanding Keto Kartel both regionally and internationally, and she wants it to become, in time, a global reference point – not just for food, but for lifestyle. “Growth is not just about scale, it’s about impact,” she says. “It’s about how many lives we can reach and improve. We have a clear vision, but we stay grounded in how we grow. In the end, it’s about building something that expands with purpose and becomes a true reference in the industry.” But fundamentally, for Galabova, the ideal of success looks different now than it did when she launched her brand. Early on it was about growth, recognition, proving the concept. Now it is something quieter and more durable. “Today, success means sustainability, stability, and real values. It’s not just about building a business anymore – it’s about building a community, changing lives, and creating something long-term that aligns with longevity.” When she talks about belonging, the word she reaches for is alignment. “I feel I belong in what I’ve built – it reflects who I am, how I think, and how I live. It’s fully aligned with my values and my vision of life. Beyond business, belonging is my family. It’s my role as a mother and a wife, and the balance I try to create around it. That’s where I feel grounded.” Clearly Galabova is a woman who refuses to do things halfway. “When I believe in something, I’m fully devoted. It’s either you give everything, or you don’t reach the level of success you’re aiming for.” Coming from someone who spent five years perfecting a croissant before she would put it in front of a customer, the future of Keto Kartel is looking very secure.
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