Sugar, yes please. 🎵 That’s pretty much the lyric behind Mayssa Chehata’s (she / her) life. She’s the founder of BEHAVE, a low-sugar candy brand on a mission to remove the shame associated with sweets. TBH, their better-for-you gummies taste amazing—which explains why the company grew by 1300% (!) in 2021.

Here, the New Yorker shares how she’s changing the way we approach dessert, why candy made by chefs is you-know-who’s kiss, and how she helped her diabetic dad to enjoy sweets again.

What inspired you to create a new type of candy?
I’ve had a sweet tooth my whole life, but as I grew older, I became more conscious about what I was putting in my body. I never wanted to give up candy, yet the products available were full of sugar, artificial ingredients, and didn’t align with how I wanted to eat. I realized there was a huge gap in the aisles for a product I could munch on without feeling terrible.

Why the name BEHAVE?
The word “behave” is tongue in cheek, which is why our logo is the word crossed out. We’re actually all about “misbehaving” since we want to do away with the idea that you need to control yourself around certain foods.

Do you have a lot of fun formulating the product?
The initial R&D process was the most fun I’ve had in my whole career! We spent countless days and nights trying out hundreds of flavors, tweaking the formulas by 1% here and 1% there to get to the perfect texture. We ate a ton of candy—I loved every minute of it.

Why’d you decide to partner with chefs rather than food scientists?
This isn’t a protein or meal replacement—it’s a moment of indulgence in your day, so I knew it had to taste as good as the old-school stuff. That’s why I reached out to chef Elizabeth Falkner to create our recipes. Plus, many of our flavors like lychee and pink pineapple came from working with an innovative partner like her.

Have you heard any success stories from customers trying to lower their sugar intake?
Definitely! Most of the people who are attracted to our product are either making a lifestyle change or cutting back on sugar due to health reasons like diabetes, PCOS, anxiety, or ADHD. The best success story is that my father—who had a sweet tooth his whole life before being diagnosed with diabetes—can finally enjoy candy again.