About Sara Chemmaa

Sara Chemmaa is the founder and CEO of Citron, a Dubai-based lifestyle brand known for its innovative and stylish mealtime products for families. Since its launch in 2018, Citron has grown to offer over 400 products, becoming a market leader in the GCC and expanding its reach to over 48 countries worldwide. With a background in investment banking and management consulting, Sara turned a personal challenge into a thriving business, leading the way in the family mealtime products market.

About this Episode

In this episode, Sara Chemmaa sits down with host Hilmarie Hutchison to discuss her inspiring journey from investment banking and management consulting to founding Citron, a leading family mealtime product brand. Sara shares how her son’s picky eating habits led her to create a lunchbox that solved mealtime frustrations, eventually launching Citron. She discusses the challenges of developing innovative products, navigating production regulations, and scaling the brand globally.

Sara also talks about the importance of sustainability in Citron’s product range and shares valuable advice for aspiring entrepreneurs, emphasizing the importance of following your gut, adapting quickly, and enjoying the entrepreneurial journey.

Quotes

1:38 - I took it as a challenge to make a lunchbox with compartment when eight years ago it didn't exist.

8:04 - I really believe ignorance is a blessing.

11:47 - I'm happy to say that now we sell one of the first lunchboxes made of stainless steel that goes to the microwave.

12:57 - I always just keep it in my mind and I know that one day I will come up with something to solve that issue.

15:09 - We learned that functionality is the most important thing, and if we can do functional and sustainable, then it's a winning proposition.

16:28 - Bioplastic gives you the same benefits as plastic, but it's 100% biodegradable.

18:09 - I'm a global brand, so I need to make sure that my clients in Europe can easily clean the products as well.

20:23 - Your first year should just be focused on building the brand and building your products and testing and learning and ensuring you have a solid product before you want to build the brand and the community and everything.

20:37 - I really believe and I tell the team all the time and all the entrepreneurs if we need to fail, we need to fail fast.

21:04 - Enjoy what you do, do it with passion. 

The journey is quite bumpy. So, you may as well have fun and enjoy what you're doing.

23:16 - Believe in your value as a person. You don't need people's validation. 

Useful Links

Website:https://citron.ae

Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/sara.chemmaa/

Twitter: https://x.com/chemmaasara

 Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarachemmaa/

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