When we think about addiction, we tend to think about substances such as alcohol or cigarettes. But there’s another addictive substance that is severely hurting people’s health: sugar. Our grocery stores dedicate aisles just to sugar-filled candy, and although we’re all aware how much damage it does to our bodies, we keep on buying the stuff.
That’s why Tara Bosch, a self-proclaimed candy addict, created a company that sells healthier, tasty alternatives to the candies you find in the supermarket in order to help people wean off sugar. The company goes by the name SmartSweets, and it sells four low-sugar products, all similar in size, shape, and texture to candy staples that have been around since the 1920s: Fruity Gummy Bears, Sour Gummy Bears, Sour Blast Buddies (a version of Sour Patch Kids), and Sweet Fish (a version of Swedish Fish). SmartSweets is filling a hole in the market, and the concept is catching on quickly as SmartSweets is now available in more than 10,000 stores in the US and Canada.
So, how does a bag of SmartSweets compare to your typical bag of candy? Whereas most candy has around 24 grams of sugar (per 50 gram serving) in a 1.8-ounce bag, SmartSweets contains just 3 grams of natural sugar.
