ESG · Social
Our People
A team that looks like the city it serves.
Boon was founded and is led by a woman, and that shapes how we hire, how we promote and how we look after the people on our counters and in our roastery. We want a career in coffee to be open to anyone, whoever they are and wherever they come from.
- Women-led
- LeadershipFrom the founder onwards
- In-house
- Barista trainingFor our own team and our wholesale partners
- 12
- CafésAcross Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah
- One
- Standard for everyoneSame training, same opportunity, same respect
Led by women, by design.
Speciality coffee, like much of hospitality, still has too few women in senior roles. Boon's answer is a company led by a woman from the top, where women are encouraged and supported to lead at every level.
That shapes who walks through the door. Every woman who joins Boon should see a path from the bar to the roastery to the management team, and every visitor should see a business that reflects the city around it.
- Founded and led by a woman
- Women supported to lead at every level
- Equal treatment and opportunity as policy
- A visible route from barista to management
From everywhere, held to one standard.
Our team comes from many countries and backgrounds. That is the UAE, and it is a strength. We hire for attitude, train for skill, and attach no nationality, age or appearance requirement to any role.
Ethiopian coffee culture sits at the centre of the company, and its coffee ceremony is a lesson in hospitality before it has anything to do with the drink. Being welcomed, understood and treated the same as the person beside you is the baseline here, not a perk.
- No nationality, age or appearance requirements
- Hire for attitude, train for skill
- Ethiopian hospitality at the centre
- Discrimination and harassment are not tolerated
Train properly, progress clearly.
We train our own baristas. New team members learn on real equipment before they run a bar alone, and the same programme is offered to our wholesale partners.
Café work starts early and is physical, so the basics matter: fair hours, proper breaks, pay on time and a manager who listens. Progression is real, from barista to senior barista to running a café, and UAE labour standards are our floor, not our target.
- In-house training on real equipment
- A clear ladder from the bar to running a café
- UAE labour standards as a floor
- Fair hours, proper breaks, pay on time
Targets
What we are working towards
- Now
Stay women-led
Keep women in the leadership of the company as it grows.
- Next
Make the path visible
Set out the progression from barista to café manager so that every new hire can see it on day one.
- Next
Listen on purpose
Ask the team regularly what is working and what is not, and act on the answers.
- Longer term
Grow leaders from the bar
Fill more senior roles from within, with the training that makes it possible.
- Always
One standard
Same training, same opportunity, same respect, whoever you are and wherever you are from.