INTA Brand Stories: Mariam Sabet and CORONA Chocolate

Everyone has a story of how a brand touched their lives personally. The ongoing “Brand Stories” initiative spearheaded by INTA President Tiki Dare (Oracle Corporation, USA) looks at how brands have positively impacted INTA members in different regions around the world.

Here, Mariam Sabet (Al Tamimi and Company, United Arab Emirates) takes us to her home country of Egypt and shares memories of CORONA, an Egyptian chocolate brand. Ms. Sabet ate CORONA chocolate whenever she came back to Egypt while spending years of her childhood in Tokyo, Japan.

Here, Ms. Dare speaks with Ms. Sabet about CORONA and why the brand is so important to her and brings back positive memories of childhood and growing up.

Tell me about a brand that was important to you growing up.
The brand I chose is a chocolate brand called CORONA. It’s a 100-year-old company, and this brand represents happiness to me! I’m a big chocolate lover, so there was no question it would be a chocolate brand.

I grew up for a few years in Tokyo. As a child, you connect with many chocolate brands, but that particular brand reminds me of my childhood. It evokes so many emotions—it’s not just chocolate. I lived in Tokyo from when I was four to eight years old. My family would go back to Cairo for the summer and the first thing I always wanted to do was get that chocolate because it reminded me that I was back home. As a child, you have simple ways of connecting with your home and your sense of belonging. As I grew older, whenever I’d go back to Cairo, the chocolate reminded me of the feeling of Egypt. It’s a very local brand.

You mentioned previously having a memory of walking with your dad as a young child. Tell us about that.
Yes, ever since I was young, my dad was an avid walker. That was his workout. He’d have a routine where he’d walk all over Tokyo, and I started to join him when I was young. It started to become a ritual, and to satisfy my sweet tooth we’d stop by the ice-cream store. When we left Tokyo, that tradition continued. We came back to Cairo, the landscape changed, but we still made our walks to kiosk stores in Cairo.

How about when you were a teenager?
Every summer when I went back [to Cairo], the first thing I did was get my chocolate. I continued the walking routine with my father. We’d have many chats and reminisce about walking the streets of Tokyo while walking the streets of Cairo. We’d talk about my day, the fun part was getting chocolate, but sharing that moment was very special.

As I got a bit older, I’d continue to walk with friends. The idea of a fun night would be walking to the store, getting chocolate, and coming back. The pleasures of life were very simple back then!

Watch Ms. Dare’s Brand Stories video. Follow #INTABrandStories on the Association’s social media platforms. Find out how to contribute your Brand Story.

Although every effort has been made to verify the accuracy of this article, readers are urged to check independently on matters of specific concern or interest.

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