This 29-Year-Old Dropped Out Of College And Sold Her Candy Company For $360 Million

Tara Bosch, founder of the candy company SmartSweets, grew up with two full-time jobs, a single mom, and a doting grandma. Her fondest childhood memories were spent sharing candy with her grandmother, who had almost as big a sweet tooth as she did. As her grandma aged, she told Bosch how she wished she’d had a better, healthier option when indulging in sweets.

Bosch took the idea and ran with it. She dug deep into research about excessive sugar consumption, and realized how much harmful ingredients proliferate every food on store shelves. But the problem: She didn’t want to give up candy. Shortly into college, she began recipe testing in her basement apartment kitchen, filling hundreds of gummy-bear molds with different flavor combinations.

In the first year, SmartSweets sold $2 million in sales. By the fourth year in operation, the company sold $125 million in sales. In October 2020, SmartSweets was acquired by TPG Growth for $360 million. Today, SmartSweets is the number one selling low sugar candy across North America in retailers like Costco, Target and Walmart.

Through Tara's journey with SmartSweets and also navigating through a lot of impostor syndrome and self doubt, she began to support other young woman in their journeys and to equip them with "golden nuggets of knowledge" by forming Bold Beginnings.

00:00 - I Am Tara Bosch
00:17 - Growing Up
01:52 - Advice From Grandma
02:34 - Starting SmartSweets
04:19 - Selling In Bed Bath & Beyond
05:22 - SmartSweets Acquisition
05:51 - Starting A New Venture

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