Entrepreneurweek Be Driven

Sarah grew up in a small town in Michigan with an annual CornFest, tractor rides, and large country ditches just a quarter of a mile from her grandparents’ farm.  Almost every day after school, she walked from her home to hang out with Grandma and Grandpa Endline (Oscar and Clara) who taught her about the importance of growing things, taking care of the land, being courageous and having fun.  At John Adams Elementary, Sarah always aimed to be the #1 M&M salesperson in the class (and she was)—an early sign of her entrepreneurial talent and enthusiasm for selling confectioner of the candied kind.  She also fondly remembers dancing in the ‘Not Just Vanilla’ dance group, her entire Smurf village set, unicorn and rainbow wallpaper, and plenty of dogs and cats.  Her idealism and playfulness began early.

In 2005, that idealism and talent inspired Sarah to found sweetriot, an activist candy company, which aims to create a sweet movement to fix the world through the ultimate dark chocolate fix—the cacao (chocolate) bean.  sweetriot sources in Latin America, where Sarah sat down with local organic farmers and got back to her roots, tasting the kiwi and passion fruit flavors of the cacao fruit before it makes it’s amazing transformation into chocolate. Going to straight to the source was a big priority – being from farm country, Sarah wouldn’t have it any other way. sweetriot also uses only recyclable reusable packaging, all natural healthy ingredients and promotes the work of emerging artists who are chosen by the sweetriot community.

sweetriot’s products are sold in over 1,700 stores including Whole Foods, Pier 1, Balducci’s, Zingerman’s, and Zabar’s. It also owns the title of being the very first food product ever sold at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) Design Store.  sweetriot was recently named a finalist on Fast Company’s ‘Fast 50’ list and in the Top 3 of Fortune’s Small Business Competition.  The sweet treat has been called out as a ‘Sustainable Product & Green Gift’ by Vanity Fair, CNN, Food & Wine, and was selected for the New York Gift Show’s “Sustainability:  Design for a Better World” curated exhibit.  sweetriot was a semi-finalist in the Global Social Venture Competition (GSVC) and also won the “Green Product Award” at Expo East, the largest natural products show on the East Coast of the US.  Sarah’s work and sweetriot have been featured by the New York Times, Today Show, Forbes, Newsweek, Business Week, Gourmet, New York, Bloomberg TV, San Francisco Chronicle, and more. 

Before founding sweetriot, Sarah launched products, created brands, and shared her energy at places like Yahoo!, Microsoft, the World Bank, AIESEC, and The National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE). Sarah has been an active member of many non-profit boards including NFTE, Harvard, The University of Michigan, and AIESEC. She is also a proud winner of the “Make Mine a Million” competition, member of EO and Net Impact, and sits on Faith Popcorn’s “Brain Reserve” think tank team. Sarah has an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BBA with Distinction from The University of Michigan. Go Blue!
Sarah is an advocate of socially responsible business and cacao and has spoken at elite conferences and events around the world including Harvard Business School, Whole Foods, the University of Michigan, Net Impact, The Leadership Gathering, AIESEC, the South by Southwest Interactive Festival, and the GEL Design Conference.  When Sarah is not climbing a cacao tree, she is Latin dancing all over the globe, singing a cappella, or hanging out with family and friends. She has lived, traveled and worked in more than 50 countries. Sarah also loves theater, independent film, and the movie, Grease.

What challenge is your company addressing?

2013 is all about growth. The biggest challenge is finding a way to grow faster!

Why are you an entrepreneur?

I wanted to create the next Ben and Jerry's - a not-just-for-profit company with a global social mission as well as fantastic, delicious consumer products based on the cacao (chocolate) bean. I set out to reinvent the candy category with a healthy, all natural treats – which makes a difference with farmers, artists, and consumers.

What is your best piece of advice to entrepreneurs?

Stay true to yourself and your passion. Don’t listen to those who tell you that you are crazy. Take the plunge!