Brands are everywhere around us and in some way define who we are. Many of us have emotional connections to them, especially those who have been there during important moments like teenage years, parenthood or moments of struggles and success.

Starting
a business is exciting. Working on the brand identity, designing the logo, agreeing on the colours, designing the stationery and graphic environment is all fun. But keeping a business afloat is another story. Due to a host of factors like changing
economies, evolution of technologies, mergers, etc, sadly, some of them have to call it quits.

Let’s go down memory lane with 8 iconic brands of Mauritius that no longer exist.

1. Cellplus

Cellplus was the mobile communication offer of Mauritius Telecom providing voice and data roaming facilities. Launched in 1996, Cellplus was the first mobile network (along with Emtel) for the Mauritian community. It later became Orange, then My.T.

Cellplus also launched a great product brand: the Complis card which was highly popular.

2. BAI

BAI (British American Investment) was an investment conglomerate based in Mauritius. Their activities ranged from financial services, trade and commerce, transport, real estate to leisure, hospitality and health care. In 2015, it was seized by the Government
of Mauritius, under the claim of an alleged Ponzi scheme. Source: Wikipedia

Branding wise, it had a great brand architecture with
a very consistent naming policy: Bramer Bank, Bramwell…

For entrepreneurs or any business aficionados, here is the story of how it all started.

3. MIA

Mia was a dairy product brand, produced in Salazie. It was a differentiating product by its quality & freshness. The brand color was a soothing and saturated pale blue nearing Pantone 660C and the range of products had lively green and orange colors.
The logo was a friendly funky cow. The packaging was distinctive plastic cups & bottles. The tone of voice was light hearted and approachable which made every Mauritian rapidly fond of the brand.

On January 25, 2018, a post on Facebook announced the end of production with a heartbreaking message: I’m going for good. Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened. With Love, Mia.

4. Fast Forward (FFWD)

Ah, the Mauritian wardrobe of the 90’s! Every teen of this era remembers Fast Forward. Founded in 1989, it had innovation and creativity at heart. They were even doing email marketing – sending info about latest collections by email to a newly connected
Mauritius.

In early 2005, the brand closed its last shop in Curepipe.

5. Le Matinal

Le Matinal was a newspaper operating in Mauritius.

6. Abax

ABAX was an integrated advisory, corporate and business services provider in Mauritius, part of the IBL group. In 2018, Occorian made the acquisition of ABAX.

ABAX had a very strong branding, with modern lines visibly borrowed from the X. It has 2 primary colors: the bordeaux and grey. Throughout its operation, ABAX focused on conveying warmth and its footprint in Africa, extensively using animals
and African landscape.

7. Sorbecassine

Who remembers the delicious fruity Sorbecassine Ice cream? Popular for its unexpected flavour associations like tamarind & chilli or peas & mint, Sorbecassine was a real treat for Mauritian and tourists alike.

The logo took after the popular French comic character Bécassine. The font is a condensed marker felt type. The overall brand elements were very lively and colorful.

8. Connections

Connections was a Destination Management Company established in 1996.

The logo is a hand drawn artwork with a tropical feel with primary colours blue and yellow and a sun and palm tree embedded in the words. The brand identity was composed of beautiful, colorful island-style drawing, inspired by the work of
artist Vaco. The Connections Vans were then immediately recognisable.

A victim of the Covid-19 crisis, Connections ceased all operations in 2020.

About Diizz

Diizz is a creative & digital agency doing brand identity, logo design, graphic design,
motion design and brand guidelines for clients based in Mauritius and abroad. We have helped startups set up their brand and big corporations launch new products and services. A project ? An idea in mind? We’d be happy to discuss. Contact us .