More than just Matcha: The Woman behind Cult’s Success
Edited By: Hend
Photo Courtsey Of: Habiba Hany
In her gray checkered pants and flowy black blouse, which sit underneath a gray trench coat, she gets behind the counter service area, tucking her loose brown hair behind her ear, and brews herself a plain coffee in a glass cup as the staff calmly move past her carrying out the orders that have just been placed. They exchange smiles with her as she quickly quaffs down the coffee and moves, giving them space to work.
“Flat white in a glass cup, please,” she had ordered earlier. This was her first of two coffees in an hour at 8:30 p.m.
Twelve hours before this, she woke up and would have had her morning coffee if it wasn’t for the fact that she was fasting for Ramadan.
To her advantage, 28-year-old Multimedia Journalism alumna Habiba Hany has access to all the coffee her heart desires, being the founder and CEO of Cult.
Cult boasts a 60 percent female staff and is Cairo’s first matcha and bagel specialty breakfast and brunch restaurant. While many cafes around Cairo serve similar menu items, Cult is the first to have matcha and bagels as their specialty. It first opened in Sheikh Zayed’s Majarrah Mall in September 2021 and now has six branches: four in Cairo, one in Giza, and one in Gouna. Since opening in New Cairo, its sales have quadrupled.
Hany develops and curates the menu item recipes from scratch, transferring the cooking directions to her staff after she feels she has perfected them. ‘The Cultcado’ consists of a mixture of tuna, corn, onion, pesto, and tomatoes sandwiched between two crispy, thin loaves of bread, and is Hany’s favorite.
Her passion for cooking and baking is what led her to open Cult.
“I’m a baker at heart,” she said, clasping her hands and grinning, “Since my childhood, I’ve always wanted to open my own restaurant, and I’ve always known that I was going to end up here [Cult], but it just happened way sooner than I thought.”
She looked back on memories of cooking meals for her friends and family, something she rarely finds the time to do now as she is consumed with Cult-related operations, and expressed that the process of setting up a table, preparing innovative menus, and making everything look and feel inviting is when she feels most excited.
She reiterated the prominence of her parents’ role throughout her entrepreneurial pursuit, her tone quickening as she recalls the ways they have supported her, starting from her earliest baking experiences.
“They’ve been troopers since I was a kid, and they’ve always nurtured this talent in me…they ate my food at home, got me all the tools I needed, and I became the chef at home…my mom is a horrible chef,” she giggled.
A young, grade six Hany would bake cupcakes for her parents until her father encouraged her to sell them to Ahl Cairo, a cafe beneath their house. Hany’s grin widened as she reminisced about the first time she turned her passion into something tangible as she successfully got the cafe to buy her cupcakes and sell them to customers.
“My dad’s a workaholic, and I used to make fun of him for it. He’d always tell me that one day when I have my own business, I’ll understand, and now I really do. I never have time off anymore; he predicted it,” said Hany, rolling her eyes and smiling.
A family business; literally and figuratively
Hany has since made her father the chief financial officer (CFO) and her mother the operational and logistics manager of Cult, turning it into more of a family business, which she is particularly proud of.
In reality, Hany’s top priority as CEO is to foster a collaborative work environment where everyone employed has an equal chance to grow.
She attributes her inspiration for the way she has developed her leadership style to the late Hazem El Dalati, the founder and CEO of the restaurant Crave.
This inspiration was sparked when she was still putting Cult together as she was having dinner at Crave with her parents two years after the passing of El Dalati when her father asked staff for a prayer rug, and they asked him to pray for El Dalati.
“I realized that in order to have a successful business, it’s not about your products and marketing as much as it is about building a strong, loyal team and investing in your people… Products die out, but the legacy you leave behind with your people and the reputation lives [on], so Cult’s managerial system doesn’t rely on me being the boss; we all work together,” said Hany.
Malak Gemei, Cult’s marketing manager and one of Hany’s close friends, attested to this fact and mentioned that Hany prefers an environment of trust and freedom; for example, she does not allocate specific check-in and out times.
“She’s always treated me like family, not just an employee and I believe that approach has played a crucial role in Cult’s success,” said Gemei.
Jana Rashed, Cult’s graphic designer, agreed and said that her relationship with Hany has evolved since she joined the team a year ago, transitioning from a professional dynamic between boss and employee to a sisterly bond.
Hany grinned as she referred to her mentality as being more “communist.” She doesn’t worry about this leadership style getting in the way of productivity because, as a team, they have agreed on the motto: “The bigger the cake, the bigger the slice that everyone gets,” which motivates staff to work harder.
This has resulted in a low turnover rate and space for staff to climb the corporate ladder within the company. For example, Hany noted that one of the first baristas she hired became the operations manager.
Gemei noted that Hany cares less about financial success and more about customer satisfaction and creating a supportive community within Cult’s customer base.
“She’s managed to establish a safe environment for our customers where they feel comfortable sharing their feedback and concerns, knowing they’ll receive fair compensation,” said Gemei.
During our interview, Hany was receiving continuous notifications; she stole glances at her screen and pushed back the urge to check her messages, but eventually, she paused the conversation to address a customer complaint filed through Cult’s Instagram page.
Hany personally attends to any comments that customers may have, expressing worry about the experience of each individual customer.
“Habiba is very clear-minded, and when a problem arises, she’s able to address it in a set of clear steps…she’s very logical and patient,” said Rashed.
Gemei added that Cult is the foremost thing on Hany’s mind, constantly consuming her thoughts and energy.
Before Cult, Hany used to enjoy hiking in the desert; however, since there was no cell service there, she had to give it up for the sake of the business.
“I haven’t taken a day off in a year and a half now…problems don’t stop coming in, so there’s no time for breaks,” she said with a deep breath.
Despite the endless stream of work, Hany expressed pride in what she created over three years and said that she has been able to give back to her community as a result.
“Cult has become very CSR [corporate social responsibility] focused, advocating for issues I’ve always felt passionate about. For example, we’re launching the Conscious Cult club, encouraging customers to purchase our glass cups to reduce Cult’s plastic consumption. We’re looking forward to collaborating with VeryNile in the summer,” she said.
VeryNile is an initiative focused on cleaning trash from the Nile River and recycling solid waste collected.
Hany’s eyes widened as she spoke about the plans for this environmentally friendly campaign, which includes installing recycling machines at all branches so that those who do not buy glass cups could still recycle the plastic ones.
Some of Cult’s other CSRs include collaboration with Misr Al Kheir in helping indebted women in prison, donating to breast cancer hospital Baheya, setting up hot chocolate stations during Christmas at 57357 Children’s Cancer Hospital, and collaborating with Animal Protection Egypt for their puppy yoga initiative, which involves yoga with shelter puppies that are up for adoption.
