At the age of just seven, Alina Morse started her company, Zolli Candy. The idea came from a trip to the bank for her father. The bank teller offered her a candy and she graciously declined as her parents always told her candy would damage her teeth. From her experience she came up with the idea to create candy that both tasted good and was good for your teeth. Her product was Zollipops, a tooth-friendly lollipop. Alina’s candies use natural sweeteners like xylitol and erythritol helping reduce dental plaque and oral bacteria. Morse herself is allergic to artificial dyes and colors so they use natural coloring like beetroot juice and citric acid for color. Within a short period of time her candy was sold in multiple stores across the United States. Since her first product in 2012, Alina has expanded her sugar-free vegan candies to drops and taffy. Since the beginning of her business venture, Morse has become Zolli Candy’s CEO and has been featured in Entrepreneur Magazine and Money publication.
The name Zolli came from Alina’s younger sister, Lola when she tried to pronounce one of the ingredients in their candy. Lola said “Zollipops” and that was the name for their most popular candy, Zollipops. Her mother formerly worked in sales and her father was a consultant for Deloitte: both now work within the company. Her father is Alina’s manager and her mother, Suzanne is her coach, schedule organizer, and stylist. Her younger sister, Lola helps make videos for the company. From their sales in the United States and internationally, they totaled six million in sales in 2018. Recently, she launched the Million Smiles Initiative, encouraging schools to speak on dental hygiene to young students by donating Zollipops. This year in 2023 the CEO, Alina Morse and her business, Zolli Candy, are worth six million dollars.
Alina Morse’s journey with Zolli Candy is amazing! I love candy and can totally resonate with her experience with the bank teller. I can’t believe she was only 7 years old and over 10 years later, it’s worth over $6 million! And it’s clearly not just about the candy or the money, she’s promoting dental health and making a real difference. She can make such an awesome impact by using schools to address kids today. Also, the fact that her family is so involved adds such a heartwarming element to her story. It is truly inspiring that she has been able to do what she’s done from such a young age and see real success from it!
My siblings and I can totally relate to Alina’s experience at the banks, we got lollipops from them all the time. Zollipops would be great for kids, my younger brother eats so much candy, and this would not destroy his teeth, but help them! I think a lot of families can relate to this issue, as we can see from how well her business succeeded! I love how everyone in her family plays a role in her company, they all have an important role and can call it a family business! Alina has had an entrepreneurial mind since a young age and it’s great to see her using her skills, and her family right beside her supporting her.