Nihad’s Fleuryshicious Brings Comorian Wellness to Ottawa

This story is part of the Immigrant Entrepreneur Canada Summer Retail Incubator Program, presented by RBC and supported by Meridian.

The program provides hands-on retail experience and business training to help immigrant

entrepreneurs launch and grow their ventures in the heart of Ottawa.

At the ByWard Market pop up, the air around one stall smells like a seaside garden after rain. Glass bottles catch the light, labels nod to flowers, and behind the table stands Nihad Ali, founder of Fleuryshicious, greeting visitors with a calm smile.

She moved to Canada from the Comoros Islands in 2003, carried a lifelong passion for health and wellness, and built a brand that blends traditional knowledge with modern care so natural products feel accessible to everyone.

Caring for people and the planet sits at the heart of her work, and it shows in every conversation she has with curious shoppers.

Nihad created Fleuryshicious to represent her home in Canada and to share the healing language of flowers.

“What inspired me to start, Flourishes, it is the representation of my country here in Canada. I came from Comoros, and I have always been inspired by health and wellness. That is the reason I traveled to my native country and transformed flowers to essential oils and then cosmetic products,”.

Those small bottles on her table carry more than fragrance. They carry a journey.

Nihad returned to Comoros to learn from growers, experiment with distillation, and bring back ideas that would become real products.

“My proudest moment is presenting my product here, after I was able to travel to Comoros and then come back and realize the idea I had in my mind. When it finally came to reality, I was very proud,”.

Like many newcomer founders, Nihad began with a clear vision and a long list of unknowns.

The Immigrant Entrepreneur Canada (IEC) Summer Retail Incubator Program gave her a path to test that vision with real customers in the heart of Ottawa.

“It really helped me to be confident about myself and to put myself out there, out of my comfort zone. Presenting here at the ByWard Market with my product has been very helpful,” she shares.

Confidence matters when you are translating a cultural idea into a Canadian storefront. At the pop up, Nihad tells the story behind each blend, explains how the flowers are sourced, and listens to what shoppers need.

The market becomes more than a sales floor. It becomes a meeting place where tradition, science, and daily routines connect.

Behind the serene display sits a very real entrepreneurial grind.

“One of the challenges I faced was logistics. I had the idea, but putting that into reality, logistically, was challenging. Juggling marketing, stocking your products, selling your products, and selling your story, all of that was challenging for me,”.

These are familiar hurdles for many small businesses, and the incubator’s structure helps. The program offers a compressed timeline to refine pricing, practice merchandising, build a simple operations rhythm, and speak about your brand with clarity.

Each market day becomes feedback you can use tomorrow.

Fleuryshicious is rooted in natural health, modern scientific curiosity, and Comorian heritage. The products celebrate botanicals while keeping self care simple and sustainable.

Visitors often remark that the line feels both new and familiar, a bridge between island memories and Canadian mornings.

That is the quiet magic of Nihad’s table. It invites you to slow down, breathe in the floral notes, and choose routines that care for your skin and your sense of home.

When asked what she would say to someone just starting, Nihad does not hesitate.

“Do not be shy. Be yourself. Go out there. Make connections with other people. I will recommend the IEC program, and also connect with other entrepreneurs just like yourself,” she says.

Her advice echoes what we see across the incubator. Skills matter, but community turns learning into momentum.

The more founders you meet, the faster you find suppliers, solve shipping puzzles, and learn how to tell your story to customers who have never heard of your ingredient or your island before.

If you are in Ottawa, come by the ByWard Market pop up to meet Nihad and explore @Fleuryshicious.

Ask about the flowers, sample a scent, and hear the story of how Comoros meets Canada in a bottle.

It is a beautiful example of what immigrant entrepreneurs bring to the city, and a reminder that self care can be both sustainable and deeply personal.

This blog post is part of our series celebrating the incredible entrepreneurs who participated in the 2025 Immigrant Entrepreneur Canada Summer Retail Incubator Program, presented by RBC and supported by Meridian, in collaboration with our community partners: ByWard Market, Invest Ottawa, Lennox Innovations, Ottawa Print Services, Ottawa Board of Trade, Square, and WhiskeyJack Media.