Sugarpova expands national retail distribution

Maria Sharapova’s premium chocolate line available at select 7-Eleven, Kroger stores nationwide.

Sugarpova, the premium candy and chocolate company owned by tennis champion Maria Sharapova, is expanding distribution of its Sugarpova Premium Chocolate line to 7-Eleven and Kroger stores throughout the United States.

7-Eleven will carry Sugarpova’s Dark Chocolate with Coconut bar, as well as its Milk Chocolate with Strawberry bar, starting this month. Beginning in June, Kroger will market Sugarpova’s full premium chocolate line in natural sections. The existing Sugarpova chocolate collection consists of 100-gram chocolate bars in Dark, Milk, Dark with Coconut and Milk with Strawberry. They're all-natural, non-GMO, certified kosher and halal.

“Selling Sugarpova Chocolate in Kroger — one of the world’s largest and premier supermarket chains — allows us to speak to a whole new range of consumers,” Sharapova says. “I’m thrilled that our premium chocolate collection will be presented with other all-natural products and will provide a unique and satisfying offering for customers looking to reward themselves with a little feel-good treat.”

Working with 7-Eleven, “…is game changer,” adds Max Eisenbud, Sugarpova CEO. “With so many 7-Eleven locations, we’re excited to see how Sugarpova will reach a whole new level of consumer.”

With more than 30 years experience in B-to-B reporting, writing and editing — the bulk of which was dedicated to covering the bakery, confectionery and snack industries — Pacyniak has chronicled changes within the food industry since the early 1980s. A Boston University journalism degree graduate, he worked for a variety of publications before joining BNP Media in 1994 as editor of Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery magazine. In 2001, he took over as editor-in-chief of Candy Industry until 2018.