Sugarhi

What Sugarhi does

Sugarhi is a privately held, full-service commercial production company founded in 2019 and headquartered in Santa Monica, California, with additional production studios in New York, Atlanta, and Austin. The company specializes in bold, colorful visual storytelling for consumer brands, with deep expertise across live action, tabletop cinematography, animation and design, VFX, and post-production finishing. It operates a director-collective model built around three named creative leads — Jake Banks, Paloma Rincon, and Jonpaul Douglass — each with distinctive directorial styles that brands and agencies specifically hire.

The business model is professional-services-based: Sugarhi generates revenue on a project-by-project basis, billing clients for production services tied to individual campaigns. Go-to-market relies on direct brand relationships and creative agency partnerships, supported by two regional representation firms — GRGD (Reehl Get Davis) for the West Coast and Midwest, and Hello Tomorrow for the East Coast — that handle director bookings and project acquisition. Customer segments are concentrated in consumer brands (food and beverage as the primary vertical, with technology, automotive, food-delivery, nonprofit, and entertainment as secondary verticals); named enterprise clients include Starbucks, Wingstop, Toyota, Google, Budweiser, Smirnoff, Dunkin, Panera, Tillamook, Whataburger, Recess, Blue Apron, Pacific Foods, GoDaddy, Jameson, Michelob, Heineken Silver, Papa John's, Trello, Dropbox, Postmates, Sweet Green, Bush's Beans, Maxwell House, NTT Data, Food Bank, and Netflix's Chef's Table.

The company is not a technology business. Its proprietary capabilities consist of custom in-house production techniques — such as a "donut cannon," bolt moco fluid simulation systems, and proprietary flash strobe matching between stills and video — rather than software products, AI systems, or platforms. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and is negotiated per project. No venture funding, parent company, or subsidiary relationships have been disclosed, and the company appears to be independently operated by its collective of directors and producers, led by Executive Producer Tino Slad.

Name

Sugarhi

Legal name

Sugarhi

Website

https://sugarhi.tv

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Sugarhi is a private, full-service commercial production company specializing in live action, tabletop, and post-production visual content for consumer brands, primarily in food and beverage. It operates four U.S. studios and serves enterprise clients via a director-collective model with agency partnerships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Commercial Video Production Services

SIC

Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812)

akta.pro primary industry

Live-Action Production Management & Line Producing (MPADABAH)

Keywords

• Commercial video production
• Food beverage advertising
• Tabletop photography
• Post-production services
• Brand campaign production

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Production Services: Sugarhi generates revenue by producing commercial content for brand clients. As a full-service production company, they bill for production services including directing, cinematography, tabletop work, VFX, and post-production finishing. Revenue is project-based with fees negotiated per campaign.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Sugarhi is a full-service commercial production company that produces live action, tabletop, and post-production visual content for brand campaigns. The company delivers end-to-end production services including directing, cinematography, tabletop photography, VFX, animation, and finishing through a roster of three directors and studios in Los Angeles, New York, Atlanta, and Austin. Its client base is concentrated in food, beverage, and consumer product categories including brands such as Starbucks, Wingstop, Smirnoff, Google, and Toyota.

Product overview

SugarHi is an award-winning full-service production company offering a unified portfolio of creative services: live action production, tabletop photography/videography, post-production (VFX, design, animation), and finishing. The company operates as a collective of directors (Jake Banks, Paloma Rincon, Jonpaul Douglass) with production studios in Los Angeles, New York, Atlanta, and Austin. Their core offering combines bold, colorful visual storytelling with deep expertise across production, design, VFX, and finishing for brand campaigns and commercial content.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Live Action Production Professional live action video production services for commercials, brand campaigns, and digital content, covering directing, cinematography, and on-set production for brand clients.
• Tabletop Production Specialized tabletop photography and videography for food, beverage, and product shots with expertise in matching live action aesthetics to stills photography.
• Post-Production Services Comprehensive post-production including VFX, design, animation, and finishing services for commercial and brand content such as fluid simulation and graphic integration.
• Director Roster Collective of directors including Jake Banks, Paloma Rincon, and Jonpaul Douglass offering distinct creative perspectives for commercial production campaigns.
• Production Studios Production studios located in Los Angeles, New York, Atlanta, and Austin providing full-service production capabilities with global shoot capability working as locals.

Quantifiable outcome

• Sugarhi has produced campaigns for iconic brands including Starbucks, Wingstop, Toyota, Google, Smirnoff, and many more major CPG and tech companies

Named customers28 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• GRGD (Reehl Get Davis)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGRGD serves as Sugarhi's representation firm for the West Coast and Midwest regions. They represent Sugarhi's directors and work to secure production projects with brands in their territory. Contact: Jill Reehl at 312.560.5099.
• Hello TomorrowcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHello Tomorrow serves as Sugarhi's East Coast representation firm, representing their directors and securing production projects with brands. Contacts: Mary Eiff (917.750.3250) and Michelle Stuart (917.916.1963).
• 72&Sunny WestmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner72&Sunny West tapped Sugarhi to shoot the Wingstop campaign, specifically for epic landscape visuals paired with music by J.E.D. This represents a creative agency partnership for specific campaign production.
• David the AgencymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDavid the Agency hired Sugarhi to direct the Budweiser Red White & Bud campaign for Patriot Cans, including epic beer pours and All-American summer-themed content.
• East of WesternminorOthersEast of Western designed Sugarhi's website (sugarhi.tv), providing digital design services.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Tool of North America: Independent commercial production company with a strong roster of directors working across CPG, tech, and beverage brands. Direct peer to Sugarhi in director-driven live-action and integrated post-production services.
• MJZ: Long-established LA commercial production company with a roster of named directors serving global CPG, beverage, and tech brands. Directly comparable to Sugarhi in offering director-driven live-action and tabletop production for enterprise advertisers.
• Biscuit Filmworks: Independent LA-based commercial production company known for distinctive director talent and work with major CPG and food brands. Direct peer to Sugarhi in director-led live-action production for enterprise advertisers.
• Smuggler: Director-driven commercial production company with offices in the US and abroad, serving global CPG and tech brands. Comparable to Sugarhi in director-roster model and bold, cinematic visual storytelling for major advertisers.
• Furlined: Independent US-based commercial production company known for cinematic director-led work with major brands. Comparable to Sugarhi in director-roster model and brand-campaign focus.
• Radical Media: Full-service production company with multi-city US presence and a director-led approach to commercials, branded content, and integrated campaigns. Comparable to Sugarhi in scope of live-action, design, and post-production services for major brands.
• Caviar (Caviar Studios): Multi-office production company offering live-action, post-production, and integrated content for global brands and agencies. Comparable to Sugarhi in full-service production stack and brand-client roster.
• Partizan: Independent global production company with a named-director model serving brands across food, beverage, and consumer products. Directly comparable to Sugarhi in talent-led commercial production for major advertisers.
• Anonymous Content: Independent LA-based production company and director management firm with a similar talent-led model serving major CPG, tech, and automotive brands on commercials alongside long-form work. Comparable to Sugarhi in director-roster structure and brand-client overlap.

Broad incumbents

• RSA Films: Long-established, larger commercial and film production company with a broad director roster and global footprint serving the world's largest advertisers. Comparable to Sugarhi as a director-driven commercial producer but at meaningfully greater scale and longer operating history.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubevimeo.com/user102886197
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/getsugarhi
• Instagraminstagram.com/sugarhi_studios

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sugarhi