PHOTO COURTESY OF ZAC’S SWEET SHOP

Zac Coughlin is a Pittsburgh-born candy maker who counts Beyoncé as one of his biggest fans.

In June 2020, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, the most Grammy-nominated artist in history, put Zac’s Sweet Shop on her list of Top 20 black-owned food businesses in the United States.

PHOTO COURTESY OF ZAC’S SWEET SHOP

Coughlin was in his dorm room at the University of Southern California when he noticed an influx of traffic on his company website – it was all coming from Beyonce.com.

“It was life-changing,” says the 27-year-old, who launched Zac’s Sweet Shop in his family’s McKeesport kitchen when he was 13. “It was a really personal thing for me; to be proud of who I am and where I come from. I hope to inspire other little Zacs into following their dreams.”

This Gen Z Willy Wonka spent his childhood in several Pittsburgh neighborhoods, including White Oak, Squirrel Hill and Shadyside, but his heart and mind never wavered far from dessert. After sampling a Godiva-brand chocolate-covered strawberry at the mall (and balking at the $5 price tag!), Coughlin vowed to make his own, more affordable confections.

At a holiday party, he debuted his first batch of colorful chocolate-dipped strawberries, pretzels and Oreos. They were a hit.

He started writing his own recipes for nostalgic treats such as cookie dough truffles, cake-butter cookies and caramel-drizzled pretzels. With his parents’ support, he bought $50-worth of business cards and started a Facebook page. The pint-sized entrepreneur sold sweets to friends, family members, neighbors and even his classmates — until district administrators gently told him it wasn’t permitted on middle school grounds.

He now runs Zac’s Sweet Shop out of a small commissary kitchen in Los Angeles. The sugary products ship nationwide. Thanks to a communications degree from USC, he pours just as much artistic passion into branding and marketing as he does the sweets, often creating custom flavors for Hollywood trendsetters.

“It’s not just a chocolate-covered pretzel, it’s an experience,” he says. “I want people to feel something — like a kid in a candy store — when they open a box.”

Earlier this year, Oscar-winning celebrities such as “Oppenheimer”-star Cillian Murphy gobbled up the goods during an Academy Awards ceremony after-party. Coughlin’s also made snacks for the 2023 premieres of “The Color Purple” and “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem.”

Although his family just relocated to North Carolina, Coughlin makes frequent trips back to the ‘Burgh to catch a Pirates game, eat breakfast at Pamela’s and appear on PTL. This summer he’s planning a collaboration with a beloved local ice cream stand and he hopes to someday open a Zac’s Sweet Shop storefront in his hometown.

PHOTO COURTESY OF ZAC’S SWEET SHOP

Coughlin says being adopted gave him grit and the determination to prove himself in a variety of different environments, from the 412 all the way to 90210.

“I want my business to appeal to different kinds of people,” he says. “It’s hard being a fish out of water, but if I’m the only person who looks like me, then that’s my secret weapon.”