Sweet Stash

Sweet Stash is an American candy brand founded in 2025 by musicians Ezra and Adeev Potash and actor Martin Starr. The company is based in Omaha, Nebraska, and focuses on gummy candies molded into musical-note shapes. Its name combines elements of the founders’ surnames: Starr and Potash. The resulting portmanteau is intended to connect the brand to the creative backgrounds of its founders while also giving the product a distinctive, memorable identity. The founders met through Big Slick Celebrity Weekend, an annual charity event benefiting Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City. Their collaboration developed into a confectionery project rather than a conventional entertainment venture. Product development included the involvement of food scientist Tessa Porter, formerly of Ferrara Candy Company. Porter worked with the founders on the gummies’ formulation and texture, including the flavor profile of the product known as Jams. The brand’s product development has been described as drawing on Swedish and Japanese confectionery traditions, suggesting an emphasis on texture and layered flavor rather than only on novelty-shaped candy. Sweet Stash positions its products as clean-label confectionery. The available reference material does not provide a complete ingredient policy or a formal definition of the term as used by the company, so the positioning is best understood as a brand-level emphasis on a simpler or more transparent confectionery proposition rather than as a detailed nutritional claim. The company’s principal known product format is gummy candy, with musical-note shapes serving as a visual signature. Packaging was designed by Ellen Van Dusen, founder of the design studio Dusen Dusen, giving the brand an association with contemporary graphic and fashion-oriented design. The brand also presents itself as having a social and cultural mission. Sweet Stash has stated that a portion of its profits will support arts education, including programs connected with music, theater, film, and related creative disciplines. In 2025, co-founder Ezra Potash announced a partnership with Omaha Performing Arts to support educational programming in music and theater in Nebraska. Sweet Stash products were made available at concessions in the Holland Performing Arts Center and the Orpheum Theater in Omaha, with part of the company’s profits directed toward Omaha Performing Arts initiatives. The first reported retail location to carry Sweet Stash Jams was Samuel’s Sweet Shop in Rhinebeck, New York. That store is associated with co-owners Paul Rudd, Hilarie Burton Morgan, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and the two businesses collaborated on a launch event in July 2025. The brand initially produced its gummies in Albion, Nebraska. By October 2025, reported distribution had expanded to more than 150 stores in Nebraska, neighboring states, and New York. The available sources do not identify a parent company, outside owner, corporate listing, revenue figures, or a broader international distribution network. Sweet Stash therefore remains best characterized as a young, U.S.-focused confectionery brand combining celebrity-founded storytelling, music-themed product design, clean-label positioning, and arts-education support.

Sweet Stash was established in 2025 by musicians Ezra and Adeev Potash and actor Martin Starr. The founders met through Big Slick Celebrity Weekend, a recurring fundraising event associated with Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City. Their relationship through the event provided the initial connection for a consumer brand that linked entertainment, music, and charitable activity with packaged confectionery. The company developed a gummy candy built around a musical-note shape. This form became the brand’s most visible product signature and reflected the founders’ musical and entertainment identities. Early production took place in Albion, Nebraska, while the company’s headquarters were established in Omaha. The available sources do not identify a separate corporate parent, a detailed financing history, or a specific founding capital structure. Product development involved food scientist Tessa Porter, who had previously worked at Ferrara Candy Company. Porter helped refine the gummies’ formulation and texture. In discussing the Jams product, she characterized its flavor development as unusually complex in her experience with gummy products. Reference material also describes the candy as influenced by Swedish and Japanese confectionery traditions, indicating that Sweet Stash’s product concept was not limited to the novelty of its shape but also sought a particular balance of chew, flavor, and confectionery style. Brand identity and packaging were developed with Ellen Van Dusen, founder of the design studio Dusen Dusen. This collaboration gave Sweet Stash a visually distinctive presentation and supported its positioning as a design-conscious, contemporary candy brand. The name Sweet Stash combines “Starr” and “Potash,” referring to the surnames of the founding collaborators. That naming construction reinforces the personal and entertainment-centered origin story. From the beginning, Sweet Stash connected commercial activity with arts education. The company stated that a portion of profits would be allocated to programs in music, theater, film, and related creative fields. In 2025, Ezra Potash announced a partnership with Omaha Performing Arts. The arrangement supported educational programming in music and theater in Nebraska, and Sweet Stash products were sold at concessions in the Holland Performing Arts Center and the Orpheum Theater in Omaha. A portion of the brand’s profits was directed toward Omaha Performing Arts initiatives. The first reported retail account for Sweet Stash Jams was Samuel’s Sweet Shop in Rhinebeck, New York. The store is co-owned by Paul Rudd, Hilarie Burton Morgan, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan. Sweet Stash and Samuel’s Sweet Shop collaborated on a launch event in July 2025, giving the new brand an early retail and celebrity-community introduction outside Nebraska. Distribution expanded during the brand’s first year. By October 2025, Sweet Stash was reported to be available in more than 150 stores across Nebraska, surrounding states, and New York. No source supplied here establishes international sales, public-market status, revenue, or a formal change in ownership. The documented history therefore describes an early-stage U.S. confectionery brand whose growth strategy combines specialty retail, entertainment-linked visibility, music-themed products, design-led packaging, and charitable support for arts education.

• 2025

  Sweet Stash is founded

  [1]Sweet Stashen.wikipedia.org

  Ezra Potash, Adeev Potash, and Martin Starr establish Sweet Stash as an American candy company focused on music-note-shaped gummy products.

• 2025

  Initial gummy production begins in Albion, Nebraska

  [1]Sweet Stashen.wikipedia.org

  The company’s early production is reported to take place in Albion, Nebraska.

• 2025

  Samuel’s Sweet Shop becomes first reported retail stockist

  [1]Sweet Stashen.wikipedia.org

  Sweet Stash Jams enters retail through Samuel’s Sweet Shop in Rhinebeck, New York, followed by a joint launch event in July.

• 2025

  Omaha Performing Arts partnership announced

  [1]Sweet Stashen.wikipedia.org

  Sweet Stash announces support for Omaha Performing Arts educational programming in music and theater.

• 2025

  Retail network exceeds 150 stores

  [1]Sweet Stashen.wikipedia.org

  By October, the brand is reported to be stocked in more than 150 stores in Nebraska, surrounding states, and New York.

Clean-label confectionery with music-themed shapes, distinctive packaging, layered flavor development, and a stated commitment to arts education.

• Gummy candy · 2025

  Sweet Stash Jams

  Sweet Stash Jams are gummy candies shaped like musical notes and serve as the brand’s principal known product. Their development involved food scientist Tessa Porter, who helped refine the formulation and texture. The product has been described as having a complex flavor profile and as drawing on Swedish and Japanese confectionery traditions. The music-note form connects the candy to the founders’ creative backgrounds, while the brand presents the product within a clean-label confectionery positioning.

• 2025Omaha Performing Arts partnership

  Nebraska

  Sweet Stash partnered with Omaha Performing Arts to support educational programming in music and theater. Its products were sold at concessions in the Holland Performing Arts Center and the Orpheum Theater, linking retail activity with the company’s stated arts-education mission.

  Outcome. The partnership gave Sweet Stash a local cultural presence and directed a portion of profits toward Omaha Performing Arts initiatives.

  Source
• 2025Samuel’s Sweet Shop launch collaboration

  New York

  Sweet Stash collaborated with Samuel’s Sweet Shop in Rhinebeck, New York, for the first reported retail placement of Sweet Stash Jams and a joint launch event in July 2025.

  Outcome. The collaboration established an early specialty-retail foothold outside Nebraska.

  Source

• 2025

  Launch music-note-shaped gummy candyProduct launch

  Background

  The founders sought to create a confectionery product that reflected their music and entertainment backgrounds while offering a differentiated visual format.

  Action taken

  Sweet Stash introduced gummy candies molded as musical notes, developed with food scientist Tessa Porter and produced initially in Nebraska.

  Aftermath

  The product became the brand’s principal known offering and expanded into specialty retail in Nebraska, nearby states, and New York.

  Source

• 2025

  Tie brand profits to arts educationStrategy

  Background

  Sweet Stash developed a social-impact proposition around the creative fields associated with its founders and product identity.

  Action taken

  The company stated that a portion of profits would support arts education and announced a partnership with Omaha Performing Arts.

  Aftermath

  The initiative connected the brand with music and theater education in Nebraska and supported sales through Omaha performing venues.

  Source

• 2025

  Sweet Stash launches its music-note gummy candy brand[1]Sweet Stashen.wikipedia.org

  Product launch

  Sweet Stash entered the confectionery market with gummy candies shaped like musical notes. The company was founded by Ezra and Adeev Potash and Martin Starr, with initial production in Albion, Nebraska.

• 2025

  Sweet Stash announces Omaha Performing Arts partnership[1]Sweet Stashen.wikipedia.org

  Campaign · Other

  Ezra Potash announced a partnership supporting Omaha Performing Arts educational programming in music and theater. Sweet Stash products were made available at the Holland Performing Arts Center and the Orpheum Theater, with a portion of profits supporting related initiatives.

• 2025

  Sweet Stash expands retail availability beyond its initial market[1]Sweet Stashen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  By October 2025, Sweet Stash was reported to be stocked in more than 150 stores across Nebraska, nearby states, and New York.

• 2025

  Sweet Stash collaborates with Samuel’s Sweet Shop for retail launch[1]Sweet Stashen.wikipedia.org

  Campaign · Product launch

  Samuel’s Sweet Shop in Rhinebeck, New York, became the first reported retail location to carry Sweet Stash Jams. The companies held a joint launch event in July 2025.

1. 1Sweet Stashen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Sweet Stash official websitesweetstash.com