Saudia Launches ProtecTasbih, the First Sanitizing Prayer Beads for Pilgrims Globally
The prayer beads have been distributed to Saudia guests as they journey on the pilgrimage and handed out across the holy city of Makkah.
Every year, millions of pilgrims from around the world travel to Makkah for the pilgrimages of Hajj and Umrah. These are the world’s largest annual human gatherings. To help retain the best health and safety measures, Saudia, a popular Saudi Arabia airline for religious travel to Makkah, created a new product for all its guests to have a healthier and sanitary pilgrimage journey. ProtecTasbih, created by Saudia’s creative agency partners, is the first prayer beads that sanitize hands.
During the development of the formulation, the team came up with several challenges. They could not use anything using any alcohol owing to religious reasons. Alcohol is what’s commonly used for antibacterial and sanitizing products. So, they had to look at natural potential solutions. Further research brought them to tea tree oil.
Tea tree oil is found to be effective against a broad spectrum of bacteria because it disrupts the cell membrane of the bacteria itself. Once the agency chose tea tree oil as the sanitizing element, they had to integrate it into a semi-solid compound. And then, they developed a way of creating a solid bead covered in this softer compound. They did that by developing a molding technique.
For the product to be successful, it had to seamlessly integrate into the user’s practices. That meant we had to match the aesthetics to existing prayer beads on the market.
The team also looked at the different environments the beads would come under - such as being handed out on an airplane, which is an air-conditioned environment, and then taken on a pilgrimage, which is outdoors in a very warm climate. So, those tests ensured the beads could withstand both climates and be used in these temperatures.
Additionally, once the beads’ compound shell is completely used up after the duration of the pilgrimage that it is designed to last for, there is a core shell underneath that allows the product to continue to be used as prayer beads, leading to zero waste.
Watch the making of the video here: https://youtu.be/yG17xmuAAwk?si=tjXpOTVQZPkiSOO
