Sharapova Could More Than Double Her $500K Investment In Sugarpova Candy Line

Maria Sharapova spent $500,000 to set up Sugarpova, her own candy brand, and the 25-year-old from Russia "may more than double her money" in just the first year, according to Danielle Rossingh of BLOOMBERG. She introduced it Thursday in Australia, where she'll be seeded second when the tennis season's first major tournament starts in three days. Sharapova's agent at IMG Tennis, Max Eisenbud, noted that the gummy candy was first marketed in the U.S. in August, reaching 250,000 bags in the first three months. He is ''forecasting sales of 1 million bags in a year as distribution starts in the U.K., Australia, Japan, Canada, Russia, India and China." Sharapova makes as much as $1.10 per bag. She said that she is "surprised by the success." Sharapova: "We don't really have a big budget at all for marketing and advertisement. So it's pretty incredible that the awareness that it has so far is where it is" (BLOOMBERG, 1/10).