Sarah Wilson’s I Quit Sugar empire encompassed cookbooks, eating programs and supermarket products before it was suddenly shut down in February.
But the entrepreneur says money troubles weren’t behind the shock closure of her five-year-old business, which boasted twenty employees.
In a candid interview with Stellar on Sunday, the 44-year-old claimed she was no longer interested in expanding the brand, and that a focus on continual growth was affecting her health and well being.
‘It felt soul-destroying’: I Quit Sugar founder Sarah Wilson has spoken with Stellar about closing her multi-million dollar company, insisting financial troubles weren’t the reason for shutting up shop
‘The business got to a point where it had gone from being a joy – creating, inventing, connecting with people – to a business concern. It felt soul-destroying. It felt wrong,’ she bluntly told Stellar.
In her twenties, Sarah reached national prominence as a journalist, and went on to become the high-powered editor of Cosmopolitan.
But she suffered what Stellar describes as a ‘mental and physical breakdown’, and was at rock bottom when her I Quit Sugar journey began back in 2011.
Popular: Sarah’s I Quit Sugar empire encompassed cookbooks, eating programs and supermarket products before it was suddenly shut down in February
Sarah experimented with giving up the ‘white poison’ for a newspaper column, before noticing remarkable changes to her energy, skin and overall wellness.
In 2012 she started the I Quit Sugar business, which turned over $534,000 in profits in its first year, according to Mumbrella.
Mamamia reported that the empire was projected to make upwards of $4 million in 2015.
‘Money doesn’t matter to me’: Sarah told Stellar she wasn’t interested in continuing to expand her brand
But Sarah says chasing a profit was never her intention.
When she was unable to find a buyer for I Quit Sugar with values that aligned with hers, Sarah decided to shut up shop. She made sure her employees were generously paid out, and decided that any money from the sale of sections of the business would go into a ‘philanthropic trust’.
‘Money doesn’t matter to me. I am aware that nobody else does it this way – that it seems insane. But I’ve always wanted to challenge the capitalist model,’ she said to Stellar.
Shutting up shop: The five-year-old company boasted twenty employees and millions in profit
The brunette told the publication she lives modestly, and has enough money to now support herself without another job for the next fifty years.
With a lifetime of financial security, Sarah – who told Stellar that she lives ‘quite a lonely life’ – remains hopeful that she may become a mother.
She suffered two recent miscarriages after artificial insemination from a sperm donor, but will try again.
‘It probably won’t happen, but there’s a chance, so I have to explore and see what I can make of it… I kind of feel that if my body is meant to hold a baby, it will do it on its own. If it’s not, I trust the flow of life’.
‘I trust the flow of life’: Financially secure for the rest of her life, Sarah remains hopeful of becoming a mother