IT'SUGAR

Retailer / private label

IT'SUGAR is an American candy-retail chain known for large-format stores, novelty sweets, branded merchandise, and highly theatrical shopping environments.

Last updated August 24, 2026

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Overview

IT'SUGAR is an American specialty candy retailer founded by Jeff Rubin in 2005. The company began with a store in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and developed a retail concept that combined confectionery sales with novelty merchandise, oversized products, visual spectacle, and an entertainment-oriented store experience. Its operating model was influenced by destination toy and department stores such as FAO Schwarz and Toys "R" Us, rather than by a conventional grocery or drugstore candy aisle. The brand's assortment centers on packaged candy, novelty sweets, gummies, chocolates, licorice, sour candy, seasonal products, and large or unusual confectionery items. IT'SUGAR also sells candy-themed gifts, apparel, accessories, plush products, and other novelty merchandise. Its slogan, "Absolutely No Nutritional Value," communicates a deliberately indulgent and playful positioning. The brand's stores are generally located in shopping malls, tourist destinations, entertainment districts, and other high-footfall retail environments, where the physical store itself functions as part of the attraction. IT'SUGAR expanded from its Atlantic City origin into a national U.S. chain. Its locations have included conventional mall stores as well as unusually large destination stores. In 2017, BBX Capital acquired the brand for a reported $57 million, bringing IT'SUGAR into a larger private investment and operating group. The acquisition provided a new ownership structure while preserving the chain's candy-department-store format. A major expression of the concept opened at the American Dream complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, in 2019. The three-story location was reported to carry more than 10,000 types of candy and included a Statue of Liberty replica made from approximately 1.5 million jellybeans. The site also supported an in-store Oreo TWISTiD café created through a partnership with Mondelez International, extending the brand beyond packaged retail into branded foodservice and experiential merchandising. The company entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in 2020. Reported contributing factors included the COVID-19 pandemic, reduced sales, and supply problems affecting ingredients and products from suppliers and featured brands. IT'SUGAR emerged from the proceedings relatively quickly and continued to expand its physical footprint. The episode nevertheless highlighted the exposure of destination-oriented mall retail to disruptions in tourism, shopping-center traffic, supply chains, and discretionary consumer spending. Following its restructuring, IT'SUGAR continued opening prominent stores. In 2022 it opened a roughly 2,000-square-foot location on Chicago's Magnificent Mile in the former Disney Store flagship space, followed later that year by a two-story, 20,335-square-foot store in Times Square in New York City. It also expanded into Canada with a candy-department-store location at West Edmonton Mall, described as the company's first Canadian store. Further U.S. openings reported in the early 2020s included locations at Bellis Fair and The Centre at Salisbury, as well as an expanded Miami flagship. IT'SUGAR's competitive identity rests on assortment breadth, visual excess, impulse purchasing, novelty, and social-media-friendly retail environments. Rather than presenting candy solely as an everyday packaged-food category, the company treats it as a form of entertainment and gifting. Its large stores, extensive product counts, oversized confectionery displays, branded collaborations, and destination locations are designed to encourage browsing and repeat visits. The company has been described as having more than 100 locations across the United States and Canada, although the exact current store count and corporate operating details are not specified in the supplied reference material.

History

Jeff Rubin had worked on Wall Street before returning to the Midwest to help with his family's business in 1994. He later founded IT'SUGAR, opening the first store in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in 2005. The original concept drew inspiration from destination toy and department stores, especially their ability to make shopping theatrical and family-oriented. Rubin adapted that approach to candy by combining a broad confectionery assortment with novelty products, large-format items, and highly visual merchandising. As the business expanded, IT'SUGAR developed a distinctive identity around indulgence and playful excess. The slogan "Absolutely No Nutritional Value" framed the brand as an unapologetic treat retailer. Stores were designed to encourage discovery and impulse purchases, with products arranged not merely as packaged food but as gifts, souvenirs, collectibles, and entertainment. The chain concentrated on shopping malls, tourist areas, and other destinations where customer traffic could support an experience-led retail model. In 2017, BBX Capital acquired IT'SUGAR in a transaction reported at $57 million. The acquisition changed the ownership structure while the company continued operating under its established brand. Under BBX Capital ownership, IT'SUGAR pursued large destination locations in addition to its standard mall stores. The most conspicuous expansion came in 2019, when IT'SUGAR opened a three-story store at American Dream in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The location reportedly carried more than 10,000 varieties of candy and featured a Statue of Liberty replica assembled from approximately 1.5 million jellybeans. The American Dream site also became the setting for an Oreo TWISTiD café developed with Mondelez International, illustrating the company's interest in branded partnerships and experiential retail. The retail environment deteriorated sharply in 2020. IT'SUGAR filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, with reported causes including the COVID-19 pandemic, lower sales, and difficulties obtaining ingredients and products from suppliers and featured brands. The filing reflected the vulnerability of mall- and tourism-dependent retail during a period of forced closures and reduced foot traffic. The company subsequently emerged from bankruptcy and resumed its expansion strategy. In 2022, IT'SUGAR opened a store on Chicago's Magnificent Mile in a former Disney Store flagship location. It also opened a two-story, 20,335-square-foot Times Square store in New York City, described as the chain's second-largest U.S. location after the American Dream site. The same period saw the company's first reported Canadian store at West Edmonton Mall, where IT'SUGAR presented itself as a candy department store. Further expansion followed in the United States, including locations at Bellis Fair and The Centre at Salisbury, along with a newly expanded Miami flagship. The company's history is therefore defined by a consistent retail thesis: candy can function as a destination experience when assortment, store scale, novelty, and spectacle are combined. IT'SUGAR has used large stores, unusual confectionery displays, licensed or co-branded experiences, and prominent locations to differentiate itself from ordinary grocery, convenience, and drugstore candy channels. Its post-bankruptcy expansion indicates an ongoing commitment to physical retail, although the supplied sources do not establish the company's precise current store count, financial performance, headquarters, or detailed executive roster.

2024
Miami flagship expansion
[8]IT'SUGAR Opens Newly Expanded Flagship Store in Miamiretailandrestaurantfacilitybusiness.com
The company opened a newly expanded flagship store in Miami.
2022
Expansion to Chicago, Times Square, and Canada
[7]Candy Department Store Concept IT'SUGAR Expands into Canadaretail-insider.com
IT'SUGAR opened stores on Chicago's Magnificent Mile and in Times Square and launched its first reported Canadian location at West Edmonton Mall.
2020
Chapter 11 restructuring
[4]Candy Seller It'Sugar Files Bankruptcy After Pandemic Sales Dropbloomberg.com
The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection amid pandemic-related sales and supply-chain pressures.
2019
American Dream flagship opens
[3]IT'SUGAR officially opens at American Dreamnj.com
IT'SUGAR opened a three-story destination store at American Dream in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
2017
BBX Capital acquires the brand
[2]BBX Capital acquires specialty candy retailer It's Sugar for $57mconfectionerynews.com
BBX Capital acquired IT'SUGAR in a reported $57 million transaction.
2005
First IT'SUGAR store opens in Atlantic City
[1]IT'SUGARen.wikipedia.org
Jeff Rubin opened the first IT'SUGAR location in Atlantic City, New Jersey, establishing the brand's destination-oriented candy-store concept.

Products and positioning

A playful, indulgent, destination-oriented candy retailer that combines broad confectionery assortment with novelty merchandise and theatrical store design. The brand emphasizes fun, excess, gifting, and entertainment rather than health or everyday value.

Confectionery retail · 2005
Packaged candy assortment
IT'SUGAR's core assortment includes packaged sweets across multiple formats and flavor profiles, including gummies, jelly candy, sour candy, chocolate, licorice, and seasonal products. The chain differentiates its assortment through breadth and novelty, using large stores to present an unusually extensive selection rather than focusing on a narrow proprietary product line.
Novelty confectionery · 2005
Novelty and oversized confectionery
Large-format and unusual candy products are central to the IT'SUGAR experience. These items support impulse purchases, gifting, and social-media-friendly displays, reinforcing the brand's positioning around excess and entertainment. The stores have also used very large edible or candy-themed installations as visual attractions.
Novelty merchandise · 2005
Candy-themed merchandise
Alongside candy, IT'SUGAR sells novelty merchandise connected to sweets and popular culture, including gifts, apparel, accessories, plush products, and other impulse-oriented items. This merchandise broadens the chain's role from a food retailer into a candy-themed gift and entertainment destination.
Branded café partnership · 2019
Oreo TWISTiD café
The Oreo TWISTiD café was established inside the American Dream IT'SUGAR location through a partnership with Mondelez International. It extended the store concept into branded foodservice and created an additional experiential element within one of the company's largest destinations.

Brand decisions

2020
Chapter 11 bankruptcy filingOther
Background
The company faced pandemic disruption, lower sales, and reported difficulties obtaining ingredients and products from suppliers and featured brands.
Action taken
IT'SUGAR filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and subsequently emerged from the proceedings.
Aftermath
The retailer continued operating and later resumed store expansion, including prominent openings in Chicago, New York, and Canada.
Source
2019
Development of a flagship experiential store at American DreamStrategy
Background
The company sought to express its candy-department-store concept through a highly visible destination location.
Action taken
IT'SUGAR opened a three-story store with an extensive assortment, large-scale displays, and an Oreo TWISTiD café partnership.
Aftermath
The American Dream location became the brand's largest and most prominent retail expression in the supplied sources.
Source
2017
Sale to BBX CapitalM&A
Background
IT'SUGAR had expanded from its original Atlantic City store into a broader specialty candy chain and attracted acquisition interest as a differentiated experiential retailer.
Action taken
BBX Capital acquired the brand in a transaction reported at $57 million.
Aftermath
IT'SUGAR continued operating under its existing name and pursued further large-format and destination-store expansion.
Reported acquisition value. $57 million (2017 transaction)
Source

Recent events

2020.09.22
Reported2020.09.24
It’Sugar files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection[9]It’Sugar申请Chapter 11破产保护vegas.eater.com
Candy retailer It’Sugar filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the Southern District of Florida; the company blamed the pandemic for affecting demand, sales levels, and consumer behavior.

Sources10 sources

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