Seriously Caffeinated Candies

(Post: English)
"While pulling an all-nighter studying for his MBA at Babson College, Jason Kensey (an avowed non-coffee drinker) went to purchase his usual jolt - a highly caffeinated, high-sugar soda - only to find the vending machine broken."

Kensey, now 39, got something else: an idea for a business making bite-size candies packed with caffeine.

Until 2000, Kensey back-burnered the idea while he worked at Kellogg for two years.

Over the subsequent three and half years, Kensey invested $150,000 of his own savings and hired a confection and flavor company to formulate a product. He even mixed up a few batches in his own kitchen.

His Vroom Foods launched online in 2004, selling Foosh Energy Mints, Buzz Bites Chocolate, and Mint Energy Chews for $3.99 a tin.

The Costa Mesa (Calif.) company has grown to three employees, and its "seriously caffeinated candies" are now sold in stores and gumball-like machines in 4,000 locations in the U.S., Canada, and Australia.

Sales last year jumped to $1.3 million, and Kensey says Vroom is profitable. The chief executive likes his candy kick: He pops four a day, starting at 5:30 a.m.

Source: BusinessWeek
Photo: Vroom Foods