Alina Morse is an inspiration. Just like the rest of us, she hated it when her parents told her she couldn’t have candy. “It will hurt you teeth!” they would say. Well, 9-year-old Alina had had enough of this and decided to make an alternative. After months of YouTube research, product testing, and sampling, Ms. Morse created the “Zollipop”. These lollipop-style candies are vegan, dairy-free, sugar-free, gluten-free, and actually beneficial to the consumer’s teeth. Fast forward four years and one can find Zollipops in Whole Foods, Kroger, Target, and many other stores. Here in the craziest part: Her business is worth $6 million dollars and she only has seven employees. Alina has gotten an audience with ex-first lady Michelle Obama and been on the Today show. Finally 10% of her company’s earnings go to “One Million Smiles” which is a company geared to fighting the rapidly growing tooth-decay epidemic.
I think this is pretty interesting because it meets a need and solves a problem that a lot of parents face on a regular basis with their children. 10% of the earrings go towards the rapidly growing tooth-decay epidemic which is amazing.
That’s crazy! Only four years, and she’s worth 6 million. Alina really knows where the niches are, and she’s helping to improve lives as well. Tooth decay is a big problem in this day and age with all the sugary foods and drinks we eat.
That’s inspiring! I’m curious how she handles production. Clearly she does not limit the scope of her customers if you can find her lollipops in a store as large and widespread as Target, so she has to handle making that many lollipops somehow. I wonder if this will be a lifetime business or just the start of future entrepreneurial thinking. Also, the kid I used to babysit ate those all the time! This is definitely a very popular product.