NARQES Brand Research (2026): How a Pharmacist Built a Halal Medispa Brand Loved by Its Customers

From one centre in Ampang in 2016 to more than 20 medispas in Malaysia and two in Bangladesh, a halal skincare range of its own and a 4.92-star reputation across 7,800 Google reviews. The founder, the products and the ideas behind NARQES Skintelligent, built from the company’s own disclosures, the NPRA cosmetic registry, JAKIM’s halal directory and Google Maps.

Brand research · Written by Aiman Zafran · Data captured 3–25 September 2026 · Last reviewed 29 September 2026

Quick answer

NARQES is a Malaysian medispa chain and skincare brand, NARQES Skintelligent, founded in 2016 in Ampang by pharmacist and formulator Datin Narqes Mohd Raimi. In ten years it has grown to more than 20 wholly owned centres in Malaysia plus two in Bangladesh (company-stated), built a 55-product range across five lines (NPRA extract, 3–5 September 2026), and earned brand-level halal certification from JAKIM, valid to 30 June 2027. Its customers rate it among the best in the country: 25 Google Maps listings carry 7,835 reviews at a weighted 4.92 stars (captured 24–25 September 2026). NARQES does not publish revenue; it states annual product sales above RM2 million.

Key takeaways

• A formulator’s brand. NARQES was built by a pharmacist who formulates, and its range reads that way: ingredient-led serums such as Niacinamide 20%, Tranexamic Acid 3% and Lactobionic Acid 10%.
• Customers adore it. A weighted 4.92 stars across 7,835 Google reviews, with its Alor Setar centre at a perfect 5.0 from 853 reviews.
• Halal at brand level. JAKIM lists NARQES Beauty Malaysia as a certified company with its own product list — still rare among Malaysian clinic brands.
• Every outlet is company-owned, which keeps service and product standards under one roof (company-stated).
• Already international. Two NARQES medispas operate in Bangladesh, an early step abroad for a Malaysian medispa brand.

NARQES at a glance

Who is behind NARQES, and where did it come from?

NARQES was founded by Datin Narqes Mohd Raimi, a pharmacist and personal-care product formulator who is the group’s Founder and Chief Operating Officer, with Datuk Radziq Jalaludin, its CEO and Group Chairman, whose background is in law and public policy (narqes.com, Our Team, checked 25 September 2026). The operating company is Narqes Holdings Sdn Bhd; the products are notified by NARQES Beauty Malaysia Sdn Bhd.

A pharmacist who wanted the formulas right

The company describes its founder as a pharmacist by education with more than 15 years in the beauty and health industry, who “worked and researched extensively” to find the right combination of ingredients for healthy skin (NARQES online shop “About” page, company-stated). That background gives the brand its name — Skintelligent — and its catalogue, which puts actives and percentages on the front of the pack the way pharmacy brands do. It is a founder story customers can feel in every product: the person whose name is on the bottle is the person who designed what is inside it.

2016: one centre in Ampang

The first NARQES aesthetic centre opened in Ampang in 2016 (narqes.com). Ten years later the group says it runs 23 branches across Malaysia, “all wholly owned by our company”, with 20 directors and managers, more than 80 staff and more than 30,000 customers served (company-stated, 25 September 2026). Its contact page also lists two centres in Bangladesh, in Chittagong and Dhaka’s Gulshan district.

Growing the range, and bringing it home

NARQES Skintelligent’s first registered products appeared in 2020. As the brand grew, it invested in its own GMP-certified production in Subang, Selangor (narqes.com), and since 2023 nearly every new NARQES launch has been made there (NPRA). For a founder who formulates, that means she can take an idea from the lab bench to the centre shelf under her own roof.

What does NARQES sell, and to whom?

NARQES sells a treatment-led skincare range under five lines, anchored by NARQES Skintelligent, at RM45 to RM400 on its own online store (narqes.com/shop, 30 items, read 25 September 2026). Most serums sit at RM125 or RM250.

Source: NPRA active notifications, extract 3–5 September 2026.

A range built like a pharmacy shelf

Many clinic brands sell a small routine. NARQES sells a toolkit: single-active serums that a therapist can combine for each client’s skin, backed by in-centre treatments. The 2026 launches — Niacinamide 20%, Tranexamic Acid 3%, Lactobionic Acid 10%, Panthenol 5%, Hyaluronic Acid and Super Ceramides — follow the “name the active” style that global ingredient-led brands made popular, but made locally and certified halal.

Ar-Raudhah: a range with real cultural insight

Ar-Raudhah is one of the most thoughtful product ideas we have seen from a Malaysian clinic brand. It is designed around the daily life of a Muslim customer — including a product named for wuduk, the ablution before prayer — rather than simply carrying a halal logo. It shows a brand that listens to its customers and builds for the moments that matter to them.

Hero products

The best-known products are the RM250 tier — Age Reverse Serum, Cica-Cera Moisture Plus, Spot Corrector, Tone Enhancer and Criste Marine Plus — plus the Ar-Raudhah kit (narqes.com/shop, 25 September 2026). Entry points such as the RM45 Botanical Exfoliating Scrub let new customers try the brand.

Who the customer is

NARQES’s centres sit in Malay-majority and mixed suburbs — Ampang, Gombak, Bangi, Kajang, Shah Alam, Setia Alam, Alor Setar, Kota Bharu, Kuantan, Kulim — and its Ar-Raudhah line speaks directly to Muslim customers. The combination of a medispa experience, pharmacist-formulated products and halal certification serves the urban Malay professional woman who wants results without compromising on halal.

Why is NARQES growing?

NARQES grows because one team controls the whole experience — the formula, the halal certificate, the product and the centre — and because customers love what they get.

Customers rate it among the best

Its 25 Google Maps listings carry 7,835 reviews at a weighted 4.92 stars (captured 24–25 September 2026). Individual centres are exceptional: Alor Setar has 853 reviews at 5.0, followed by Melaka (491), Kulim (465) and Ampang (464). Few chains of its size hold a rating that high in every region.

Where NARQES sells

• Its own centres — 22 in Malaysia on the contact page (company-stated), with each branch running its own Facebook, Instagram and TikTok (for example @narqes_bangi and @narqes_setiaalam).
• Its own online store — narqes.com/shop, with about 30 products.
• Bangladesh — two medispas, in Chittagong and Dhaka (company-stated).

Six reasons NARQES is winning (our view)

1. The founder is a formulator. A pharmacist designing the products gives the brand credibility that a pure marketing brand cannot copy.
2. Speed from idea to shelf. Producing its own range lets NARQES launch fast — 17 new notifications in May 2026 alone.
3. Halal, certified at brand level. Its own JAKIM certificate lets the brand speak to Muslim customers with confidence.
4. Ingredient-led naming. Products named by active and percentage are easy for customers to understand and for therapists to recommend.
5. One owner, every outlet. Wholly owned centres keep service consistent — visible in the 4.92-star average.
6. A relationship for life stages. A confinement centre in Cheras (confinement.narqes.com) and the Lurvanic baby range extend the relationship into motherhood, the life stage where trust is won for years.

Lessons for your own brand

• Let the founder’s expertise show on the pack. NARQES prints the active and the percentage; the customer sees the pharmacist in every product.
• Build for your customer’s daily life, not just her skin. Ar-Raudhah proves a range can be designed around culture and routine.
• Make halal a design decision from day one. It is far easier to certify a range that was planned for it.
• Grow the service and the product together. Our guide to launching a clinic skincare line sets out the stages, and our NPRA notification guide explains how to keep your registrations in your own company name, as NARQES does.

Room to grow

• Marketplace reach. We found no official Shopee, Lazada or pharmacy-chain store linked from the brand’s site (25 September 2026). The consultation-first model clearly works; an official marketplace store could bring the range to fans who live far from a centre.
• Telling the founder’s story. Datin Narqes’s journey from pharmacist to brand builder is told only briefly on the company website. More of her own voice would give the brand an even warmer face.

Beyond Malaysia

NARQES already operates two medispas in Bangladesh and says it plans “global expansion” and a mass-market skincare line “with halal certification focus” (narqes.com, company-stated). A halal-certified, founder-formulated brand is well placed for other Muslim-majority markets. For another Malaysian halal brand built on a founder’s credibility, see our NFG success story; for a facial-spa brand that has grown steadily for three decades, see our HerbaLine brand research; and for a doctor-founded medispa network built first in Kelantan, see our Hannan Medispa brand research.

Frequently asked questions

Who owns NARQES?

NARQES is run by Narqes Holdings Sdn Bhd. Its founder and COO is Datin Narqes Mohd Raimi, a pharmacist and formulator, and its CEO and Group Chairman is Datuk Radziq Jalaludin (narqes.com). The products are notified by NARQES Beauty Malaysia Sdn Bhd. We found no stock-exchange listing.

Is NARQES halal?

Yes. NARQES Beauty Malaysia Sdn Bhd is listed in JAKIM’s halal directory with a certificate valid to 30 June 2027, and JAKIM lists NARQES Skintelligent, Ar-Raudhah, Lurvanic and Swiss Spa products under it (snapshot 8 September 2026). Check any product on halal.gov.my.

Where are NARQES products made?

In Malaysia, mostly in the group’s own GMP-certified facility in Subang, Selangor, according to the company and the NPRA registry (extract 3–5 September 2026). You can check any NOT number on NPRA Quest3+.

How many NARQES branches are there?

The company says 23 wholly owned branches in Malaysia and 25 centres in total, including two in Bangladesh (company-stated). We captured 25 Google Maps listings in Malaysia with 7,835 reviews on 24–25 September 2026.

How much do NARQES products cost?

On narqes.com/shop, products ranged from RM45 (Botanical Exfoliating Scrub) to RM400 (Intensive Dermrescue Mask) on 25 September 2026, with most serums at RM125 or RM250.

What is NARQES Ar-Raudhah?

Ar-Raudhah is NARQES’s Muslim-lifestyle range, notified in 2026: a body wash, anti-odour product, Vita-E cream, facemist, Sun-White SPF 50++, hand sanitiser, face wash and a product named for wuduk (ablution).

Sources and method

• NPRA Quest3+ active cosmetic notifications, extract 3–5 September 2026; filter: holder NARQES Beauty Malaysia Sdn Bhd and any product named NARQES (55 products). Verify via Quest3+.
• JAKIM halal directory (halal.gov.my), snapshot 8 September 2026; also indexed at kilanghalal.com.
• narqes.com — Our Team, contact and shop pages; NARQES online shop “About” page (shopnarqes.com.my, as indexed in September 2026).
• Google Maps listings containing “NARQES”, captured 24–25 September 2026 (duplicates by name removed).

About this analysis

This article uses only the public, official and company sources listed above; figures we could not find are not quoted. Registry counts reflect active notifications on the extract date. Branch, staff, customer and sales figures are company-stated. We did not capture marketplace or TikTok Shop sales for this brand. The assessment of NARQES’s strengths is our editorial view.

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