Demand surges for Dubai startup’s emergency kit

• ‘Trooper Box’ sales up eightfold
• Includes 101-piece first aid kit
• Emergency kit market worth $1.8bn

A UAE-based startup selling emergency survival kits is experiencing a surge in demand as missile threat alerts, along with erratic weather, push residents to prepare for disruptions, according to its founders.

Dr Daamini Shrivastav and Dippesh Bhargava, co-founders of Dubai-based Trooper, said sales of the company’s “Trooper Box” survival kit have risen more than eightfold month on month.

The Trooper Box is designed to support a family of four for up to 72 hours, containing more than 75 items.

These include a 101-piece first aid kit, emergency water pouches, meal replacement bars, hand warmers, duct tape, a hand-crank radio torch and thermal blankets – essentials aimed at short-term outages or evacuation scenarios.

Supplied: Trooper

The increased demand follows weeks of escalation since the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran. Tehran has retaliated by firing hundreds of missiles and thousands of drones at Gulf states. 

The UAE has been the most heavily targeted. 

Though most attacks are intercepted, frequent safety alerts, the sound of air defence blasts, and debris landing near homes and workplaces have triggered anxiety, driving demand for emergency supplies and survival kits.

On March 1, a day after the war began, the UAE had already faced a barrage of 165 ballistic missiles, two cruise missiles and 541 drones launched from Iran, leaving three people dead and 58 injured.

Trooper sold 19 kits that day.

“It was like living out a premonition,” Shrivastav told AGBI. “I’d always instinctively known that this product would reach its audience, sadly, in a calamity. The panic psychology activated when people’s survival instincts kicked in.”

Supplied: Trooper

The global emergency kits market is expected to nearly double from $1.8 billion in 2023 to $3.4 billion by 2032, according to market research provider Dataintelo Consulting, driven by climate-related disasters and rising preparedness awareness.

Shrivastav, a medical doctor who trained at Cardiff School of Medicine, said her experience in accident and emergency and intensive care units in the UK’s National Health Service shaped the product’s design.

“In the hospital we routinely practiced drills on how to safely evacuate ourselves and patients in the event of natural disasters or aggression from criminal gangs,” she said. She always has a personal ‘go bag’ at home – a habit she assumed was universal.

Spending on disaster preparedness globally is projected to exceed $150 billion in 2026, consultancy Mordor Intelligence said.

Trooper was initially created in response to the April 2024 floods in the UAE when record rainfall disrupted daily life. 

The box also includes articles such as a quick dry towel, raincoats, candles and waterproof matches – and space to add items such as baby formula and nappies, medication or pet food.

“When my apartment leaked during the superstorm, I scrambled to find towels to absorb the water,” Bhargava said. 

“It never occurred to me to keep basic supplies like torches for a power outage. When Daamini came to me with the idea, I realised the gap in the market.”

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The year-old startup also saw demand jump a week before recent heavy rainfall, he said.

The company is now in talks with governments and multi-national corporations seeking to equip staff or facilities with emergency supplies.

“The UAE is extremely safe with strong air defences, but preparedness is just common sense,” Shrivastav said. 

“Living in an apartment building in Dubai, I regularly practice stuffing my cat into a travel bag and running down the fire escape with my dogs in tow. It’s about being ready for any situation, not expecting the worst.”