Maria Sharapova Banks On Chocolate To Triple Sugarpova Sales To $20 Million

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Sharapova started Sugarpova with a $500,000 investment in 2012
World’s best-paid female athlete searched for 15 months for the right chocolate maker

Maria Sharapova is banking on chocolate to triple sales of her Sugarpova candy brand to $20 million.

That’s not bad for a company that started in 2012 with a $500,000 investment by the five-time major winner from Russia and was run by her long-time agent at IMG, Max Eisenbud. Although neither had a background in consumer goods, the pair ended up creating a niche in the $28 billion gummy market with a premium brand.

“We’re building for when her career is over,” Eisenbud said in an interview at the Australian Open in Melbourne. “The plan is to turn Sugarpova into a lifestyle brand,” which may also sell home goods, sleep and loungewear, he added.

Maria Sharapova unveiling a Sugarpova pop-up shop at Bloomingdale’s in New York in August. The candy brand has sold 5 million bags in 2015. (Photo: Cindy Ord/Getty Images for Sugarpova)

Sharapova, who will play Swiss teenager Belinda Bencic for a spot in the Australian Open quarterfinals Sunday, spent 15 months looking for a chocolate maker to work with. Sugarpova’s chocolate line – complete with colorful lips on its bags and in different flavors – will start selling shortly before the French Open in May. Sharapova is a two-time champion on the clay courts of Roland Garros in Paris.
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“It was fun taste testing everything,” Eisenbud said, adding the former top-ranked player eventually settled on a European brand. Its foray into chocolate may triple Sugarpova revenues to $20 million by 2018, Eisenbud estimated. At that stage, the company could seek outside funding to help it grow further.

Sharapova, who owns 100 percent of Sugarpova, has invested “seven figures” into the business. Although Eisenbud said it’s making a profit, everything is being put back into growing the company.

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