Tara Bosch founder of SmartSweets
When Tara Bosch wakes up in the morning she sometimes experiences imposter syndrome, asking herself how she got there and if she’s really good enough to lead the sugar-free candy industry. But she tells those negative thoughts to bite it and jumps out of bed full of energy, focused on kicking sugar out of the candy isle one day at a time. The 23-year-old Prevailer is the founder of SmartSweets, a confectionary company reproducing healthy versions of favourite childhood sweets, starting with the gummy bear. Her goal to create a smart choice candy to share with her sweet-toothed grandmother led the former sugar junkie on a journey deep into the world of food science and industry – largely aided by Google. Her ability to self-start and make connections with fellow entrepreneurs saw her networking her way to the top, and has recently led her to break into the U.S. market – and all this from humble beginnings in her kitchen in 2015.
Her gummy, which replaces sugar with plant-based Stevia, plant-based fiber, chicory root, and tapioca fiber, replicates sugar and its flavour profile, its texture, and its bulking properties. There’s no sorcery or trickery, simply science and a sweet passion. The millennial admits she used to live off candy, Tater Tots and chicken nuggets but now she’s confidently sugar-free, feeling great, and on a mission to encourage others to embrace the same. When self-doubt tries to knock her down, she just keeps moving, combating negative falsehoods with the positive reality. She’s got the future mapped out and it’s full of plenty more smart - and delicious - choices.