Australian journalist and former host of Masterchef Sarah Wilson has announced she is closing her successful I Quit Sugar business.
In a letter on her personal website, the 44-year-old author said she had come to the conclusion just last week.
‘After a lot of careful thought and much heartache, I’ve decided to close IQuitSugar.com,’ Wilson said.
‘As many of you know, the IQS journey started at a time in my life that had given me cause to re-evaluate what mattered in life.
Australian journalist and former host of Masterchef Sarah Wilson (pictured) has announced she is closing her successful I Quit Sugar business
‘From this place I decided to (re)build my life according to certain values. These values went on to steer the IQS message as well as the business.
‘I hope you respect it’s not been made lightly, nor entirely selfishly. Yes, admittedly, my health – mental and physical – and my belief in living a life motivated by values were considerations,’ the entrepreneur said.
‘Seven years into a movement, five years into a business, I feel my work in the realm is done. I set out to educate the world about the truth of our eating habits and to find a technique that could shift things in a meaningful way.’
‘I hope you respect it’s not been made lightly, nor entirely selfishly. Yes, admittedly, my health – mental and physical – and my belief in living a life motivated by values were considerations,’ Wilson said
The I Quit Sugar program and books helped get 1.5 million people off sugar worldwide
She said the success of her I Quit Sugar business required growth – something she didn’t think she could fulfill.
Three years ago, The Sydney Morning Herald reported that IQS.com would make more than $4 million a year. In its first year alone, the business turned over $534,000.
‘Once we arrived at the point where ”scale” – growing the existing structure exponentially – was required, I realised the motivator now was money,’ Wilson said in the letter.
‘My motivator had not been money previously, a freedom that enabled me to make bold decisions that at times startled peers and the industry, but ultimately, and ironically, saw my message and product spread further,’ she added.
‘I’m an educator, a communicator. Not a money-spinner,’ Wilson said on her website
‘So I decided a little over 12 months ago that it was time for me to go. I’m an educator, a communicator. Not a money-spinner. It was best for everyone and for the message.’
The author said she came close to selling the business, which has more than a dozen employees, but in the end she decided to shut down the company that brought her so much success.
Wilson said she would now turn her focus to raising awareness about anxiety and food waste
‘And so, after 12 months of a protracted set of discussions with various parties, some who came within millimetres of purchase, I have had to make what I believe is the best entrepreneurial decision I can: I’m closing, not selling,’ she explained.
‘Without a doubt this has been the second most agonising and carefully mapped out decision of my life so far.’
Wilson, a former editor of Cosmopolitan magazine, said she would now turn her focus to raising awareness about anxiety and food waste.
‘I believe I have a lot more to create and a lot more education campaigns to ignite,’ she said.
However, Wilson said I Quit Sugar would continue running for some time.
‘Anyone signed up, or who signs up to take part in the remaining programs, will receive the full service in their sugar-quitting journey,’ she said.
‘Thank you everyone for being part of this gentle and kind experiment. You are wonderful,’ she added.
‘I hope we can all go out with a bit of a bang.’