Tara Bosch

Tara Bosch
Born1994 (age 31–32)
Vancouver, British Columbia
EducationUniversity of British Columbia (dropped out)
OccupationBusinesswoman

Tara Bosch (born 1994) is a Canadian businesswoman. She is the founder and former CEO of SmartSweets, a brand of low-sugar candy.

Early life and education

Bosch was born in 1994. She grew up in Surrey, British Columbia. She attended the University of British Columbia as an arts student before dropping out in 2015 to focus on her business.

Career

Bosch began experimenting with making low-sugar candy in 2014 using plant-based fibers and sweeteners.

Bed Bath & Beyond agreed to carry Bosch's gummy bears in Canadian stores and Bosch formed the company as "SmartSweets" in 2016. Bosch's company was selling its products in 700 stores across Canada, including Whole Foods Market by the end of 2016. In 2017, Bosch appeared on Dragon's Den, a Canadian reality television series similar to the U.S. series Shark Tank. Bosch began distributing her company's products in U.S. stores in 2018. In 2020, Bosch's company was acquired by TPG Capital for $360 million. Bosch, who had been the majority shareholder prior to the acquisition, remained a shareholder but stepped down as CEO of the company in 2020.

In 2023, Bosch founded a business incubator program for women entrepreneurs called "Bold Beginnings" that offers peer support and grant funding to women under 30.

References

  1. ↑ Kyte, Katheryn (28 October 2019). "A sweet idea that created a $40m business". BBC. Retrieved 1 April 2025.
  2. 1 2 Madell, Robin (23 November 2019). "A college dropout who started her own healthy candy company at age 21 shares how she grew it into a multimillion-dollar company within 6 months of launching". Business Insider. Retrieved 1 April 2025.
  3. ↑ "From lemonade stand to profitable food business | Vancouver Sun".
  4. 1 2 3 4 Scipioni, Jade (8 August 2019). "How this 24-year-old created a low-sugar gummy bear company now bringing in $40 million a year". CNBC. Retrieved 1 April 2025.
  5. ↑ Stone, Felicity (14 March 2017). "She launched a line of low-sugar candy sold across North America". BC Business. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
  6. ↑ "How reformed sugar addict Tara Bosch found the sweet spot for healthier candy". October 21, 2019 – via www.theglobeandmail.com.
  7. 1 2 Morse, Brit (18 April 2019). "How This Former Candy Addict Is Trying to Wean People Off Sugar, One Gummy Bear at a Time". Inc. Retrieved 3 April 2025.
  8. ↑ "PROFILE Tara Bosch". Forbes. 2020. Retrieved 10 September 2025.
  9. 1 2 Breen, Amanda (22 August 2023). "People Underestimated Her 'Sweet' Idea, and She Took Advantage of It — All the Way to $125 Million in Annual Sales and a $360 Million Exit". Entrepreneur. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
  10. ↑ Best, Dean (27 October 2020). "SmartSweets sells majority stake to TPG". Just Food. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
  11. ↑ Vauclair, Isabella (9 June 2023). "BC's SmartSweets founder just launched a program to support female entrepreneurs under 30". Curiocity. Retrieved 3 April 2025.