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How Luma Makhlouf Built a Multi-Brand F&B Business on Reputation Alone
In this episode, Ashish Tulsian speaks with Luma Makhlouf about her journey from tech startups to founding HL Food in Dubai, building Maiz, Good Burger, Luma's Cakes, and more. They discuss bootstrapping, business karma, the discipline of consistency, catering as a growth engine, and why drowning out the noise is the most underrated skill in F&B.
Luma Makhlouf
Co-Founder, HL Food
Luma Makhlouf is a Dubai-based entrepreneur and co-founder of P&B Companies, the hospitality group behind Maiz, Maiz Tacos, Good Burger, Luma's Cakes, and Bread Catering. With a background in finance, tech startups, and business development, she has spent a decade building one of Dubai's most recognized homegrown F&B portfolios — bootstrapped, founder-led, and built almost entirely on word of mouth and repeat business.
In this episode, Ashish Tulsian sits down with Luma Makhlouf, co-creator of HL Food, for an honest and wide-ranging conversation on what it really takes to build lasting food brands in one of the world's most competitive restaurant markets.
Luma shares how a Palestinian-American upbringing in Chicago, years in Dubai's tech startup scene, and a deep personal obsession with food eventually led her to launch a food truck, open her first restaurant six months before COVID hit, and grow a multi-brand portfolio without ever paying for an influencer or running a traditional ad campaign.
She breaks down her theory of business karma: the idea that delivering exceptional work consistently, regardless of the size of the client or booking, compounds into a reputation that no marketing budget can replicate. The episode also covers her views on bootstrapping versus outside investment, why founders should stay involved in the details even at scale, and the hard reality of what it costs to start an F&B business in Dubai today.
Luma reflects on opening her first restaurant while on hospital bed rest, adapting through COVID, the power of knowing your P&L inside out, and why the only noise worth listening to is the one at the bottom of your financial statement.
Luma breaks down her theory of business karma and her views on bootstrapping versus reality of what it costs to start an F&B business in dubai today.