Alina Morse facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Alina Morse
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Morse with two Zollipops in 2018
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| Born | May 8, 2005 Wolverine Lake, Michigan, US
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| Occupation | Chief executive officer of Zolli Candy |
| Years active | 2014–present |
| Known for | Teen candy entrepreneur |
Alina Morse (born May 2005) is an amazing young American entrepreneur. She is the CEO of Zolli Candy, a company she started when she was just ten years old! Her company sells special candies like sugar free lollipops called Zollipops, hard candy called Zolli Drops, and taffy called Zaffi Taffy.
These candies are sold online and in about 25,000 stores around the world. In 2018, her company made US$6 million in sales! Alina was the youngest person ever to be featured on the cover of Entrepreneur Magazine. She was even invited to the White House twice by First Lady Michelle Obama. Besides running a multi-million-dollar company, Alina also goes to high school and is a competitive dancer.
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Alina's Life
Alina lives in Wolverine Lake, Michigan, with her parents and younger sister, Lola. Her family helps a lot with the company. Her dad, Tom, is her manager and handles meetings when Alina is busy. Her mom, Suzanne, helps with her schedule and style. Lola, her sister, even makes videos for the company's YouTube channel!
Balancing School and Business
Alina attends Walled Lake Central High School and is a competitive dancer. She practices ballet, hip-hop, and jazz dance. During the school year, she works hard to balance her company, schoolwork, and dance practice. In the summer, she spends more time on her business. About 35 to 40 percent of her time is spent on the company. After high school, Alina plans to go to college to learn even more about running her business.
Zolli Candy: A Sweet Idea
Alina's company is officially called Liquid OTC LLC, but most people know it as Zolli Candy. It's based in her hometown, Wolverine Lake, Michigan. The company has seven full-time employees and other helpers. Alina and her sister Lola own most of the company, which means it's a woman owned business.
In 2018, when Alina was 13, Zolli Candy's sales reached US$6 million. By 2019, Zolli Candy was sold in 25,000 stores in the United States and in countries like China, Korea, France, and the United Kingdom.
How Zolli Candy Started
Alina has wanted to be a CEO since she was three years old! She kept an "idea binder" from age four, filled with business inventions. One idea was a peanut butter and jelly tube to make sandwiches easier for kids.
The idea for Zollipops, her sugar-free lollipops, came to her in 2012. Alina was seven years old at a bank with her dad. She was offered a lollipop, but her dad said it would "rot her teeth." This made Alina think: What if there was a lollipop that wouldn't hurt your teeth? She asked her dad over 100 times for months before he agreed to help.
It took two years of online research and many tries at home. Making candy in molds at home was messy and didn't work. Alina worked with a food scientist and her dentist to find the right ingredients. When she had a good recipe, Alina invested her life savings, $3,750, from birthday and holiday gifts. Her dad matched her investment. They found a factory in Michigan to make the candy. Then, they showed their product to Whole Foods Market, which was Zollipops' first store. It was a big success!
The company started making a profit about a year and a half after it launched in 2014. Seventy thousand Zollipops were sold in the first year. Sales doubled every year from 2014 to 2018. In 2016, Kroger, a very large supermarket chain, started selling Zollipops. Soon after, Zollipops also began selling online through Amazon. By 2018, Zollipops were Amazon's best-selling sugar-free hard candy and best-selling lollipops.
What Makes Zolli Candy Special?
Zolli candies use natural sweeteners like xylitol and erythritol instead of sugar. Some studies show these sweeteners can help reduce dental plaque and mouth bacteria. Other ingredients include citric acid, stevia, beetroot juice, and turmeric for color. Alina is allergic to artificial dyes, and her friends have allergies to peanuts and gluten. So, she made sure Zolli candies are free of those things.
The candies come in different forms: Zollipops lollipops, Zolli Drops hard candy, and Zaffi Taffy taffy. They have seven flavors: cherry, grape, orange, peppermint, pineapple, raspberry, and strawberry. They are sugar-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan, and non-GMO. The "Z" in Zollipops comes from the "z" sound in "xylitol," and Alina's younger sister Lola helped create the name because she had trouble saying "xylitol lollipop."
Giving Back: The Million Smiles Program
In February 2015, Alina and her company started a "100,000 Smiles" campaign. This was to support the American Dental Association's National Children's Dental Health Month. They gave away 100,000 Zollipops for free to dentists and schools. They also donated 10 percent of Zolli Candy's profits to schools for oral health education.
By 2016, this program grew to "250,000 Smiles," giving away 250,000 Zollipops. In 2018, when Zollipops started selling at Walmart, Alina announced the program would expand to "One Million Smiles," promising to give away 1,000,000 lollipops. In 2019, it became "Two Million Smiles" as Zolli Candy grew even more.
Alina's Achievements
Alina has been the company's spokesperson since 2014. In 2015, when she was nine, she appeared on the Steve Harvey TV show. She said, "I hope every kid in America has a clean mouth, a healthy smile and a Zollipop in their hands." Her TV appearances helped a lot with marketing. She has also been on Good Morning America, in Ripley's Believe It or Not!, Fox Business, and National Public Radio. She was even interviewed by CNN at the New York Stock Exchange.
Awards and Honors
In 2015 and 2016, Alina was invited to the White House Easter Egg Roll by First Lady Michelle Obama. Zollipops were the only candy served there!
In September 2018, Alina Morse became the youngest person to be on the cover of Entrepreneur Magazine. She was also on the 2019 Success Magazine "30 under 30" list. Zolli Candy was recognized by the 2019 Michigan "50 Companies to Watch" program. It was also listed as #635 on the "2019 Inc. 5000: The Most Successful Companies in America" list.
