IT’SUGAR (pronounced "it's sugar") is an American candy store chain. They have over 100 locations in the United States and Canada, mostly located in shopping malls and tourist areas.
| Type: | Privately held company |
| Industry: | Confectionary |
| Founded: | 2006 |
| Founder: | Jeff Rubin |
| Hq Location: | Fort Lauderdale, Florida |
| Num Locations: | 116 |
| Area Served: | United States of America, Canada |
| Parent: | BBX Capital Corporation |
| Website: | https://itsugar.com/ |
Jeff Rubin worked on Wall Street before returning home to the Midwest to help his family business in 1994.[1]
Rubin founded his store and opened its first location in Atlantic City, New Jersey in 2005 and he still serves as the CEO of the brand after BBX Capital bought his brand in June 2017 for $57 million.[2] [3] His inspiration came from FAO Schwarz and Toys R Us stores. He included novelty items when the stores and brand expanded across the country. They adopted the "Absolutely No Nutritional Value" slogan and included large items in stock.[1]
In 2019, IT'SUGAR opened its largest store at American Dream in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The store is three stories tall and has more than 10,000 types of candy, as well as having a candy replica of the Statue of Liberty made from 1.5 million jellybeans.[4]
In 2020, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy due to multiple factors including lack of ingredients from its providers and brands featured, low sales, and the COVID-19 pandemic but they shortly emerged.[5]
In 2022, another location was opened in Chicago on Magnificent Mile which is 2,000 square feet.[6] [7] Also, a 2-story, 20,335 square foot building in Times Square, the second largest in the United States, opened in August of 2022.[8] Later the first Canada location was opened as a "candy department store" in the West Edmonton Mall.[9]
In 2023, they opened a Bellingham location, the Salisbury Mall, and another in Miami in 2024.[10] [11] [12]
With the company's largest location in the American Dream, IT'SUGAR partnered with Mondelez International to open an in-store café on the third floor, named Oreo TWISTiD.[4]