Sweet Success: How The Forum Helped Activate Tara Bosch and SmartSweets’ Revolutionary Journey
When 22-year-old Tara Bosch stood in her kitchen experimenting with sugar-free gummy bears, she had a vision that would transform the candy industry.
This vision sparked Tara's journey, but bringing her idea to life also required resources and support. The Forum was there to support her at SmartSweets' beginning through The Odlum Brown Forum Pitch, which provided access to the wisdom, social, and financial capital she’d need to help drive the company’s growth.
Just a few years later, Tara had created a revolutionary brand that would ultimately reach $125 million in annual sales and exit for $360 million.
A Personal Mission
The inspiration for SmartSweets came from a heart-to-heart conversation with her grandmother, who expressed regret about consuming so much sugar throughout her life. As Tara tells Fortune, this moment sparked a question that would define Tara's entrepreneurial journey: "What if you can feel good about candy?"
Growing up with a single mother in Surrey, British Columbia, Tara was motivated to achieve financial independence early on. "I had such a strong drive from what I saw my mom go through—having the financial security ripped out from under her when she became a single mom, and having to really start from the ground up," she explains.
Doubt, Disbelief, and Financial Hurdles
Despite her determination, Tara faced significant obstacles throughout her entrepreneurial journey.
When she decided to drop out of the University of British Columbia to pursue her dream, her family and friends thought she'd "gone off the deep end." Even her grandmother, who had saved for her education, was devastated, she tells Fortune.
With nothing to her name except a 2009 Honda Fit hatchback when she started her business, Tara also struggled to secure the funding needed to launch. Traditional banks wanted to see years of financial records that a startup simply couldn't provide.
But perhaps most challenging was the persistent self-doubt Tara battled daily. "I would wake up with almost paralyzing fear, discomfort, insecurity, and self-doubt," she shares with Fortune. "Those feelings never went away, but I had to continually let myself feel capable every day."
The Right Support at the Right Time
In 2017, Tara was a Finalist of The Odlum Brown Forum Pitch. The timing couldn't have been better.
She not only received an infusion of funding at a critical time—Tara had a PO for manufacturing due and didn't know how she was going to pay it—but she also forged connections to champions and resources through The Forum.
This pivotal moment provided more than just financial support; it activated Tara's network in powerful ways. Through The Forum, Tara reconnected with Judy Brooks, who would become a board member for SmartSweets and a crucial mentor on her journey. “She's the most incredible human ever," says Tara.
The Forum's Impact: Educate, Activate, Elevate
Through its three core social impact pillars, The Forum provided Tara with the foundation she needed at a critical stage of her business:
Educate: The Odlum Brown Forum Pitch provided Tara with essential business knowledge and strategic insights. It equipped her with the skills to articulate her vision effectively and craft a winning pitch.
Activate: By connecting Tara with mentor Judy Brooks, who later became a board member, The Forum activated a powerful network that helped propel SmartSweets forward and connect her with the right support.
Elevate: As a Finalist in The Odlum Brown Forum Pitch, Tara gained significant visibility in the entrepreneurial ecosystem. She pitched live on stage in front of 600 of BC’s leading business experts, had her story amplified across The Forum channels, and was given a platform to share her story. This helped amplify her innovative approach to candy and strengthened her credibility with potential investors and retail partners, contributing to SmartSweets' rapid expansion into over 130,000 stores across North America.
The support Tara received through The Odlum Brown Forum Pitch created a comprehensive ecosystem that helped propel SmartSweets through its critical growth phase. This ongoing, wrap-around support sustained Tara through challenges and helped her navigate the complex terrain of scaling a consumer product business.
From Kitchen Experiments to Industry Revolution
As Fortune shows, Tara’s growth continued to skyrocket after she completed The Forum’s programming in 2017.
Year 1: $2 million in candy sales
Year 2: $16 million
Year 3: $60 million
Year 4: $125 million
After just four years, Tara grew SmartSweets from kitchen experiments to a $360 million exit when asset firm TPG Growth acquired the company in 2020. As Forbes reports, the company is now in 130,000 stores across North America and has helped people eliminate over 5.6 billion grams of sugar from their diets.
Beyond her immense financial success, Tara also created a women-led company where over 80% of employees were women, with every team member receiving equity. After the acquisition, one of Tara's proudest moments was seeing her team members achieve their "lilypad moments"—using their equity to purchase dream homes or cars.
Paying It Forward
Now worth an estimated $200 million, Tara is committed to helping others overcome the barriers she faced through her initiative Bold Beginnings, which provides a $25,000 strings-free grant along with mentorship and community support to help young women bring their entrepreneurial visions to life.
Tara's journey from kitchen experimenter to industry disruptor illustrates the profound impact that organizations like The Forum can have in activating entrepreneurial potential. By providing support for timely funding rounds, vital connections, and ongoing support, The Forum helped Tara transform not just a business idea but an entire industry. Tara proves that with the right support, women entrepreneurs can revolutionize markets and create extraordinary impact.
Tara's Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs
As Tara states in an interview with Vancouver Is Awesome, "Everyone that has walked before you has felt the same fears, the same insecurities, and self-doubt.
The only difference between those that succeeded is that they kept moving forward step by step each day through that fear and through the discomfort of those feelings."