North Dakota Ag Connection - Candy Start-Up Partners with Whole Foods Market Nationwide

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Candy Start-Up Partners with Whole Foods Market Nationwide
North Dakota Ag Connection - 03/13/2018

SmartSweets, the first candy that naturally kicks sugar, has launched across the USA in Whole Foods Market. Founded by 23-year old female entrepreneur Tara Bosch, SmartSweets is revolutionizing candy consumption, tackling one of the largest and most concerning problems hidden in our everyday foods - sugar. "We are beyond excited to create nationwide accessibility to confectionary products consumers can finally feel good about enjoying, through our national partnership with Whole Foods Market," says founder Tara Bosch. "We want to empower people to live their best lives by giving them the choice to kick sugar."

SmartSweets' first products, fruity and sour gummy bears, are packed with juicy, fruity flavour and can be enjoyed with just 3 grams of sugar for the entire bag. SmartSweets' brand promise is directly informed by their mission to kick sugar being free from sugar alcohols, artificial sweeteners, and added sugar. Every ingredient used by SmartSweets is non-GMO, always real, and never artificial.

"Whole Foods Market is thrilled to launch SmartSweets Gummy Bears in stores around the country, offering our guests a delicious alternative to traditional gummy bears, containing only three grams of sugar per bag," said Kate Schlienger, global marketing program manager for Whole Foods Market. "SmartSweets meets our strict, high quality standards, containing no artificial colors, flavors, preservatives or sweeteners, and no high-fructose corn syrup. Having the ability to shop the candy isle without worrying about these ingredients is extremely important to our customers. We fully expect SmartSweets to rapidly become a fan-favorite purchase with shoppers this spring and summer."

Growing up Tara developed an unhealthy relationship with food, which affected her self-esteem and body image. As she got older, it became apparent that healthy relationships in all aspects of life come from smarter choices. In a conversation with her grandmother, Tara learned that she regretted consuming so much sugar over the years, especially from one of their favorite treats to enjoy together -- candy. This conversation coupled with Tara's personal journey sparked her exploration into the shocking reality of sugar. She learned that on any given day we consume in excess of 82 grams of sugar, which translates to 66 pounds of sugar per year, per person.

At 21 years old, equipped with the belief that we should feel good about enjoying the foods we love, Tara dropped out of university, bought a gummy bear mould from Amazon and began recipe testing in her kitchen on a quest to create the first candy that kicks sugar. SmartSweets is trail-blazing on their mission to kick sugar with a collective community of 133,000+ on social media.

SmartSweets has been featured in Forbes, Fox Business, dubbed "life-changing" by POPSUGAR and is the winner of several entrepreneurial awards, including being named a 2017 Peter Thiel Fellow, Ryan Holmes 2016 "The Next Big Thing" Venture in Residence, BMO Celebrating Women- Growth & Expansion Award 2017 and Canadian Entrepreneur's Top 20 under 23, among others.

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