Top rated US-based Russian tennis champion Maria Sharapova has entered a rather unexpected deal with businessman and ‘candyman’ Jeff Rubin of It’sugar chain to launch her own-branded candy range Sugarpova. It is said that this is the first time the young business-savvy athlete, who is famous for her advertisement contracts with Evian, Nike, LG, Motorola, Tiffany and Land Rover to name but a few, invests her own money into the venture.

Photo: beautiful Maria at the Sugarpova launch event at Henri Bendel department store, NY, 20th of August.
Credits: CHARLES ESHELMAN/FILMMAGIC

Photo: beautiful Maria at the Sugarpova launch event at Henri Bendel department store, NY, 20th of August.
Credits: MICHAEL LOCCISANO/GETTY IMAGES

Sharapova’s candy line, surprisingly for an athlete and a healthy lifestyle icon, consists of sweet jelly gummy flavoured ‘lips’,  tennis gumballs, even  chic ‘shoes, bags and sunglasses’. Phonetically not very pleasing for a native Russian speaker brand name, positioning, identity and package design were developed by Japanese communications giant Dentsu.

The Sugarpova candies are to be sold at Henri Bendel in NY, online at HenriBendel.com, ITSUGAR.com and Sugarpova.com, as well as stocked in minibars of some of the most fashionable hotels and resorts for $5 for 150 g pack.

Despite the skepticism that some may feel about the athlete launching a sweets brand amid the US suffers from obesity and bad eating habits, there is an obviously good side of the project. A portion of the sales from Sugarpova will be donated to her charity, the Maria Sharapova Foundation, which helps students in areas affected by the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster in Ukraine.