[식품]Sugarpova 사탕 : Sugarpova의 달콤한 성공의 맛

Confections

Sugarpova Candy: Sharapova's Sweet Taste of Success

By Danielle Rossingh on January 17, 201

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-01-17/sugarpova-candy-sharapovas-sweet-taste-of-success#r=hpt-ls

When she was a child, Russian-born tennis star Maria Sharapova always received a candy bar or a lollipop after a good practice. Now the 25-year-old champion hopes to turn her sweet tooth into a profitable business. She’s spent $500,000 to set up Sugarpova, a candy brand featuring brightly colored gummies with playfully named flavors such as Smitten Sour, Quirky, and Sporty. She hopes to more than double her money in the first year and may expand into other products later.

The gummy candy was first marketed in the U.S. in August, shipping 250,000 bags in the first three months, according to Max Eisenbud, Sharapova’s agent at IMG Tennis. It was just launched in Melbourne to coincide with her appearance in this month’s Australian Open. Eisenbud forecasts sales of 1 million bags in the first year alone as distribution expands to the U.K., Japan, Canada, Russia, India, and China. Sharapova, who makes a profit of as much as $1.10 per bag, says she’s surprised by the strong start. “We don’t really have a big budget at all for marketing and advertisement,” says the four-time Grand Slam tournament winner, who owns 100 percent of the company. “That hasn’t been our main goal, because I am the face of the project, and I do travel around the world, and people ask me about it.”

Eisenbud, who is also Sugarpova’s chief executive officer, says he spends about 60 percent of his work time on the candy. “Maria’s star power,” he says, is behind the sales momentum. “It’s also the power of social media, the power of her almost 9 million fans on Facebook (FB).”

Sharapova shot to global fame and became the world’s best-paid female athlete after she won Wimbledon in 2004 at age 17. Titles at the U.S. Open and the Australian Open followed in 2006 and 2008, before an injury sidelined her for nine months. Last year she became only the 10th woman to capture all four major tennis championships when she won the French Open. Her annual earnings from prize money and endorsements for Nike (NKE), Samsung Electronics, Tiffany (TIF), and other companies are estimated at close to $28 million, according to Forbes and Eisenbud.

“She’s attractive, and she’s well-spoken,” says Marcia Mogelonsky, director of insight at market researcher Mintel Food & Drink. “Those two things right away help her. Sugarpova is a cute name. Even those who aren’t focused on tennis might find the name intriguing, the packaging intriguing, and the flavors. If the candy is good, and if it catches on, and if she can keep this going more than a year, it should be good.”

Although Sharapova has promoted the wares of her sponsors for years and co-designed products for Nike and watchmaker Tag Heuer (MC), the line of gummies is her first solo foray into business. “I really wanted to do something on my own,” she says.

After researching the candy market, Eisenbud and Sharapova concluded “there is no real brand recognition with gummies,” says Eisenbud. So the pair focused on producing an upscale product. Made at a factory in Spain, Sugarpova is sold in more elaborate packaging than rivals. The candies are available on Sugarpova’s website and at retailers including Macy’s (M) and Henri Bendel in the U.S., Selfridges in London, and Colette in Paris. A bag of Sugarpova sells for as much as $5.99, about six times the price of a bag of chewy sweets made by Haribo, the worldwide gummy market leader. “She’s got an interesting niche positioning for herself, because she has no competitors right now,” says Mintel’s Mogelonsky, who estimates the market for gummy candy in the U.S., Asia, and Western Europe was $28 billion last year. “This is a part of the confectionery industry that doesn’t have a premium segment.”

Jeff Rubin, creator of the FAO Schweetz candy departments inside FAO Schwarz toy stores and co-founder of U.S. sweets chain Dylan’s Candy Bar, is a Sugarpova consultant—he came up with the name—and will receive an undisclosed percentage of sales when profits hit certain thresholds. He says the tennis player is “very, very involved” in the brand. “Less than 24 hours after winning the French Open, she was doing final taste tests at the factory in Europe.”

After its founder retires from tennis, Sugarpova may expand to other products. Explains Sharapova: “First and foremost, we’re still getting our feet on the ground in terms of the candy. But eventually I would definitely see the Sugarpova brand in fashion, in cosmetics, in different passions of mine.”

The bottom line: Tennis star Maria Sharapova, who’s had a sweet tooth since childhood, has invested $500,000 in her own upscale candy company.

요약

 테니스 스타 Maria Sharapova는 연습 후 사탕이나 막태 사탕을 먹었고, 25살이 된 지금 사탕 사업에 뛰어들었다. $500,000을 Smitten Sour, Quirky, Sporty와 같은 다양한 맛을 지닌 사탕 브랜드 Sharapova에 투자했다. 사탕은 미국에 지난 8월에 처음으로 출시되었고, 처음 세 달동안 250,000개의 사탕 가방이 팔렸다고 한다. 후에는 영국, 일본, 캐나다, 러시아, 인도, 중국까지 확장할 것으로 기대하고 있다. 그녀는 한 가방 당 $1.10의 이익을 얻었고, 마케팅과 광고에 큰 예산이 없다고 했다. Sugarpova의 CEO Eisenbud는 Maria의 스타성과 9백만 명의 페이북 팬이라는 소셜 미디어의 힘으로 성과를 얻었다고 했다. 그녀는 네개의 주요 테니스 선수권 대회에서 우승한 10번째 여성 테니스 선수가 되었고, 나이키, 삼성,티파니를 비롯하여 광고 수익으로만 2800만 달러로 추정하고 있다. 시장 조사업체 Mintel Food & Drink의 이사  Marcia Mogelonsky는 성공 요인으로 테니스에 대해 관심이 없는 이들도 흥미를 끌 수 있는 Sugarpova의 귀여운 이름도 한 몫하고 있다고 언급했다. 

 Sugarpova는 몇 년 동안 그녀의 스폰서로 상품을 홍보하고, 나이키와 시계 제조업체인 Tag Heuer와 공동 개발했지만, 이 사탕 사업은 그녀 홀로 첫번째로 뛰어든 사업이다. 사탕 시장을 연구한 후, Eisenbud와 Sharapova는 사탕과 관련된 브랜드 인지도가 없다는 것을 깨닫고, 고급 제품 생산에 집중했다고 한다. 스페인에 위치한 공장에서 만들어, 경쟁사들보다 더 정교한 포장으로 Sugarpova의 웹사이트, 미국에서는 Macy’s, Henri Bendel, 런던에서는 Selfridges, 파리에서는 Colette에서, 전세계의 사탕 선두주자인 Haribo의 사탕 가방 하나의 6배 가격에 판매하고 있다.

 FAO Schweetz 장난감 상점 내 사탕 부서의 크리에이터이자 Dylan’s Candy Bar의 공동 설립자인 Jeff Rubin는 Sugarpova의 컨설턴트며, 매출 기준치를 넘으면 매출액의 일부분을 받게될 것이다. 그녀가 테니스에서 은퇴를 하면, Sugarpova는 더 많은 제품으로 확장할 것이다. 패션, 화장품 등으로도.