Other Women’s Jobs / Sara Chemmaa

NAME: Sara Chemmaa

AGE: 36 JOB TITLE: CEO at Citron MOVED TO UAE IN: September 2008

Sara is a working mom; a goal-oriented career balancing her ambitions with her aspirations as a mother. In the end her journey as a mother led her to what she calls the 'most rewarding point in her career. Five years ago, Sara's child came crying home because his lunch box wouldn’t do its job of keeping his food in compartments so that he could enjoy the individual tastes of his fruits, veggies, and sweet treats. No product in the market could solve the problem, and as the old adage goes, Sara decided to be the solution. Fired up she designed what she believed to be the best lunch box to fit all these needs.

Her desire to prototype this design took her to China, where she had to sign up for 3000 pieces of the prototype, to meet minimums. Not only did she help her son, she also helped 2999 others who apparently had the exact same problem! Sara quit her day job as an investment banker to then set up a company whose sole aim is to empower mums by giving them solutions for their kids’ mealtime needs - Citron was born.

Light-hearted yet innovative, serious about fun, Citron has grown organically in terms of business, and followers; and we are now a proud global community who speak one common language despite all our diverse backgrounds- Motherhood.

What does her day look like..

6 AM - My day starts with two indispensables: yoga and breakfast. The former brings me the necessary balance and inner peace, while the latter ensures that my day goes smoothly with enough energy and stamina. I’d say, a morning without these is incomplete. After that, I help my kids with their morning routines and leave for work.

10AM - Running a business comes with a lot of incoming messages, emails, calls, stories- you name it. Everyday people find new ways of communicating with Citron, and because we want to be a conversational brand, it takes time to attend to everyone. 12 PM - Most probably, around noon I’m still around emails and calls, but I’ve had time to interact with the team at Citron Headquarters. As we have a studio in-house, the gist of the content is photographed/created around this time and I spend time giving my inputs and approvals.

2 PM - In the middle of the day, energies need to be replenished with another savory meal. Sometimes I order, others I go out; but most times, I’m bringing my lunch from home in Citron’s lunchbox . I am my most faithful client.

4 PM - As we start winding down at work, I finish up some pending tasks from the first part of the day and attend some team catch ups to be aware of how Citron is doing in all its touchpoints.

6 PM - It’s time to head home. I enjoy spending some quality moments with my kids. I have three, so, it’s triple the time, triple the joy. We do bath and then pick an activity like a favorite book and read it together

8 PM - Families that dine together stay together. Mealtimes are when some of our most cherished conversations happen.My kids are usually asleep by 8pm so it is only me and my husband. Our dinners are pretty simple (either a soup or salad)

10 PM - It’s ‘me time’, follow me to the couch, where I’ll cuddle up with my better half for the remainder of my favorite show. Oh, and did I mention my secret nighttime skincare routine? See you at 6 AM tomorrow!