JUDGES: LEE SCHRAGER, FOUNDER, SOUTH BEACH & NEW YORK WINE AND FOOD FESTIVALS; CHRISTINA TOSI, CHEF/FOUNDER, MILK BAR.RANDALL LANE, CHIEF CONTENT OFFICER, FORBES MEDIA; BRIAN RUDOLPH, COFOUNDER, BANZA (UNDER 30 CLASS OF 2016);TARA BOSCH WEARS A YEON BLACK MESH LONG-SLEEVE TOP AND GRAY BUSTIER, OFFICINA BERNARDI SILVER HOOP EARRINGS AND A LIVEN CO. OPEN X DIAMOND RING.FOOD & DRINK
TARA BOSCH, 2 5
FOUNDER, SMARTSWEETSTara Bosch turned a kitchen experiment into a
$55 million revenue candy brand. A former sugar
addict, Bosch had daily chats with her grand-
mother over bags of sweets. She loved the ritual,
but hated the way candy made her feel. “I start-
ed thinking, ‘I want to feel good about candy, so
why can’t I?’” She bought a gummy bear mold and
tested recipes using plant-based fi bers and plant-
based sweeteners to replace corn syrup and sugar.
The British Columbia native sold the gummies
from her car and cold-emailed Canadian retail-
ers, eventually selling to grocers and health food
stores. A 2017 TV appearance on Fox Business
caught the attention of Whole Foods, leading to
full U.S. distribution with the retail giant. Today
her lines of no-added-sugar candy sell in more
than 18,000 stores across North America. “The
focus so far is reinventing the candy aisle,” Bosch
says. “Now we are asking, ‘What else can we kick
sugar out of ?’ ” —Chloe Sorvino, Kristin StollerMENG AI, 27; YISHU HE, 28;
NING (AMELIE) KANG, 28
Cofounders, MáLà Project
NICK AJLUNI, 26;
NICK GUILLEN, 29
Cofounders, TRUFF Hot Sauce
LAUREEN ASSEO, 28
Founder, Fresh N’ Lean
ATARA BERNSTEIN, 29; ARIEL
PASTERNAK, 29
Cofounders, pineapple collaborative
AKSHAY BHARDWAJ, 26
Executive chef, Junoon
TARA BOSCH, 25
Founder, SmartSweets
BENNETT BYERLEY, 23;
MATTHEW CZARNECKI, 24;
ANDRÉ MONTEIRO, 23
Cofounders, Verb Energy
CAMILLE COGSWELL, 28
Executive chef, K’Far
DAVID COHEN, 28;
DAVID GREENFELD, 29
Cofounders, Dream Pops
LELAND COPENHAGEN, 29;
SARAH HUGHES, 29
Cofounders, Yai’s Thai
FORREST DEIN, 27;
GREG SERRAO, 27
Cofounders, JuneShine
NICO ENRIQUEZ, 26
Founder, Willie’s Superbrew
JEREMY FALL, 29
Cofounder, J. Fall Group
JAMES FAYAL, 29
Founder, Zest Tea
KAYLA GIOVINAZZO, 29
CEO, Eat Clean Bro
ANDREW JONES, 29;
CAYLA MARVIL, 28
Cofounders, Lamplighter Brewing
STERLING JONES, 28
President, JOJO’s Chocolate
GABE KENNEDY, 29
Cofounder, Plant People
ISSEY KOBORI, 26;
TRINITY MOUZON WOFFORD, 26
Cofounders, Golde
PIERSON KRASS, 28
Founder, Lunar Solar Group
NICK MARES, 23
Cofounder, Kett le & Fire
DANIELA MOREIRA, 29
Executive chef, Call Your Mother
KELSEY MOREIRA, 28
Founder, Doughp
EVAN ROCHEFORD, 29
Cofounder, NutraMaize
SAMANTHA SCHNUR, 25
Founder, The Naughty Fork
LUCAS SIN, 26
Chef, Junzi Kitchen
ANTHONY SPENCER, 29; CHRIS
SPENCER, 28
Cofounders, Keto Pint
ASHLEY THOMPSON, 29
Cofounder, MUSH
ZACH VOUGA, 29
Cofounder, Plant Power Fast Food
KAE WHALEN, 28
Beverage director, KismetFORBES.COM DECEMBER 31, 20 1992