Alina Morse

Morse lives with her parents and younger sister Lola in Wolverine Lake, Michigan. Her mother Suzanne formerly worked in sales, and her father Tom was a consultant for Deloitte; all now participate in the company, with Tom working as Alina's manager and handling meetings when she is busy, Suzanne as her coach, schedule organizer, and stylist, and Lola making videos for the company YouTube channel. Tom has called working for her one of the most fulfilling things that he has done in his life.{{cite news |last1=Hollenhorst |first1=Maria |title=This 13-year-old chief executive is her dad's boss |url=https://www.marketplace.org/2019/05/03/zollipops-13-year-old-ceo-dads-boss/ |accessdate=10 August 2019 |work=Marketplace |date=3 May 2019}}

Morse attends Walled Lake Central High School in Commerce Township, Michigan{{cite news |last1=Hernandez |first1=Dorothy |title=How a West Bloomfield student founded an AMAZING business — at age 9 |url=http://www.secondwavemedia.com/metromode/features/zollipops.aspx |accessdate=18 May 2019 |work=Metromode |date=February 21, 2018 |language=en}} and dances competitively in ballet, hip-hop, and jazz dance. During the school year, she balances the company with school work and dance practice; during the summer, she spends more time with the business. The company takes 35 to 40 percent of her time. After graduating high school, Morse intends to go on to college to learn more about running her company.{{cite news |last1=Ganz |first1=Amy |title=Teenager becomes millionaire with healthy candy business |url=https://www.foxbusiness.com/features/teenager-becomes-millionaire-with-healthy-candy-business |accessdate=10 August 2019 |work=FOXBusiness |date=20 June 2018}}

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Morse's company is formally named Liquid OTC LLC, doing business as LOL,{{cite web |title=Zollipops home page |url=https://zollipops.com/ |publisher=LOL |accessdate=10 August 2019}} but most know it as Zolli Candy, or by the name of its flagship product, Zollipops. It is headquartered in her home town, Wolverine Lake, Michigan, 30 miles northwest of Detroit, with seven full-time employees and several independent contractors. Alina and Lola Morse are the majority owners of the company, making it a woman owned business.{{cite news |last1=Cain |first1=Carol |title=Michigan girl's sugar-free candy to be sold in Walmart |url=https://www.freep.com/story/money/business/columnists/carol-cain/2018/03/23/zollipops-lollipop-alina-morse/453532002/ |accessdate=25 July 2019 |work=Detroit Free Press |date=March 23, 2018 |language=en}}

Total 2018 Zolli Candy sales at retail reached US$6 million (with US$2.2 million in company revenue),{{cite news |title=Zolli Candy company profile |url=https://www.inc.com/profile/zolli-candy |accessdate=26 August 2019 |work=Inc. |date=14 August 2019}} while Morse was 13 years old. As of 2019 Zolli Candy was on shelves in 25,000 stores, including the United States and internationally in China, Korea, France, and the United Kingdom.{{cite news |last1=Smith |first1=Matthew |title=Walled Lake teen turns healthy Zollipops candy into national brand |url=https://www.wxyz.com/homepage-showcase/local-teen-turns-healthy-candy-into-national-brand |accessdate=25 July 2019 |work=WXYZ |date=7 June 2019 |language=en}}

Morse has wanted to be a CEO since she was three years old. She started keeping ideas for business inventions in an idea binder from the age of four. These ideas included peanut butter and jelly that squirted from the same tube to make it easier for children to prepare their own sandwiches and a robot parent that would substitute for her father at work so he could stay home and play with her.{{cite news |last1=Shoot |first1=Brittany |title=Meet the 11-Year-Old Who Invented a Healthy Lollipop |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/meet-11-year-old-who-invented-healthy-lollipop-180960951/ |accessdate=2 June 2019 |work=Smithsonian |date=October 31, 2016 |language=en}}

The idea for Zollipops, the sugar-free lollipops that are the company's flagship product, originated in 2012. Morse, seven years old, was at a bank with her father, when she was offered a lollipop that her father stopped her from eating, saying that it would rot her teeth. Morse began thinking about making a lollipop that would not. She asked her father over 100 times for four to five months before he agreed to help.

It took two years of online research and at least a hundred unsuccessful experiments in their home oven, stove, and microwave. Making the candy in molds at home did not work and only made messes. Morse collaborated with a food scientist and her dentist on the ingredients. When she settled on a formula, Morse invested her life savings, $3,750 from birthday and holiday gifts, and got her father to match it.{{cite news |last1=Akhtar |first1=Allana |title=This 13-Year-Old Started a Candy Company Out of Her Kitchen After Watching YouTube Videos — and Made $6 Million Last Year |url=http://money.com/money/5633282/zollipops-alina-morse-success/ |accessdate=27 May 2019 |work=Money |date=January 28, 2019 |language=en}} Also online as {{cite news |last1=Akhtar |first1=Allana |title=This 13-Year-Old Started a Candy Company Out of Her Kitchen After Watching YouTube Videos — and Made $6 Million Last Year |url=https://finance.yahoo.com/news/13-old-started-candy-company-213059520.html |accessdate=27 May 2019 |work=Yahoo! Finance |date=January 28, 2019 |language=en}} Morse and her father traveled to different commercial manufacturing plants throughout Michigan to find one with the equipment they needed. They eventually proposed their product to Whole Foods Market. It was Zollipops' first retail placement, and it was a success.

The company became profitable a year and a half after its 2014 launch. Seventy thousand Zollipops were sold the first year, and sales doubled each year from 2014 through 2018. In 2016, Zollipops were picked up by Kroger, America's largest supermarket chain.{{cite news |last1=Varanasi |first1=Lakshmi |title=How This 13-Year-Old Entrepreneur Built a Multi-Million Dollar Candy Company |url=https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/317455 |accessdate=16 May 2019 |work=Entrepreneur |issue=September 2018 |date=14 August 2018 |language=en}} Online sales began soon after Whole Foods, via Amazon, making up approximately a quarter of total sales. By 2018, Zollipops were both Amazon's best selling sugar-free hard candy and best selling lollipops.{{cite news |last1=Dunlap |first1=Keith |title=Meet the teenage millionaire who invented Amazon's top-selling lollipops |url=https://www.wsls.com/consumer/meet-the-teenage-millionaire-who-invented-amazon-s-top-selling-lollipops |accessdate=25 July 2019 |work=WSLS |date=31 October 2018}}

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The Zolli candies are made with natural sweeteners including xylitol and erythritol instead of sugar. Some studies, including some in the International Journal of Dentistry, have found these sweeteners reduce dental plaque and oral bacteria. Other ingredients include citric acid, stevia, beetroot juice, and turmeric for color. Morse is allergic to artificial dyes and colors, and she has a friend who is allergic to peanuts and another who is allergic to gluten, so insisted all those be left out.{{cite news |last1=Rockett |first1=Darcel |title=12-year-old candy entrepreneur makes it big with healthy lollipops |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/sc-zollipops-alina-morse-0606-20170530-story.html |accessdate=5 June 2019 |work=Chicago Tribune |date=May 30, 2017}}

The candies include Zollipops lollipops, Zolli Drops hard candy, and Zaffi Taffy taffy, in seven flavors: cherry, grape, orange, peppermint, pineapple, raspberry, and strawberry. They are sugar-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan, and non-GMO. The "z" sound of "xylitol" is the origin of the "Z" in the name Zollipops, which was created by Morse's younger sister Lola, who had trouble saying "xylitol lollipop".{{cite news |last1=Curley |first1=Julia |title=How a 13-year-old CEO turned her dream into a $6 million candy empire |url=https://www.today.com/food/zollipop-ceo-13-years-old-her-business-worth-6-million-t148154 |accessdate=16 May 2019 |work=Today |date=February 6, 2019 |language=en}}

In February 2015, in support of the American Dental Association National Children's Dental Health Month campaign, Morse and her company launched a "100,000 Smiles" campaign to give away 100,000 Zollipops for free to dentists and schools and donate 10 percent of Zolli Candy profits to schools for oral health education.{{cite news |last1=Watt |first1=Abigail |title=Zollipops to give 100,000 treats to support dental health |url=https://www.candyindustry.com/articles/86644-zollipops-to-give-100000-treats-to-support-dental-health |accessdate=11 June 2019 |work=www.candyindustry.com |date=February 24, 2015 |language=en}} By 2016, this became the "250,000 Smiles" campaign to give away 250,000 Zollipops and 10% of Zollipops profits.{{cite news |last1=Rupersburg |first1=Nicole |title=Young entrepreneur creates Zollipops for kids to have candy that's actually good for them| work=Oakland County Prosper |url=https://www.oaklandcountyprosper.com/west-bloomfield/young-entrepreneur-creates-zollipops-for-kids-to-have-candy-thats-actually-good-for-them/ |accessdate=5 June 2019 |date=February 23, 2016}} In 2018, to celebrate Zollipops being sold through Walmart, Morse announced the program was being expanded to "One Million Smiles", promising to give away 1,000,000 lollipops. In 2019 this became "Two Million Smiles" when Zolli Candy expanded to 10,000 stores.{{cite news |title=Zolli Candy expands to 10,000 stores |url=https://www.candyindustry.com/articles/88598-zolli-candy-expands-to-10000-stores |work=Candy Industry |date=March 21, 2019 |language=en}}

Morse has been the company spokesperson since presenting to Whole Foods Market for its launch in 2014. In 2015, aged nine, she appeared on the Steve Harvey television show, saying "I hope every kid in America has a clean mouth, a healthy smile and a Zollipop in their hands".{{cite news |title=9-Year-Old Walled Lake Girl Featured On Steve Harvey For Healthy Lollipop Invention |url=https://detroit.cbslocal.com/2015/04/07/9-year-old-walled-lake-girl-featured-on-steve-harvey-for-healthy-lollipop-invention/amp/ |accessdate=2 June 2019 |work=CBS Detroit |date=7 April 2015 |archive-date=June 2, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190602211525/https://detroit.cbslocal.com/2015/04/07/9-year-old-walled-lake-girl-featured-on-steve-harvey-for-healthy-lollipop-invention/amp/ |url-status=dead }} Her appearances were a powerful marketing tool, and with time her answers became less scripted. She has since appeared on Good Morning America,{{cite news |title=Video: Shark Tank Your Life: Kid-Preneurs Edition |url=https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/shark-tank-life-kid-preneurs-edition-28427763 |accessdate=12 August 2019 |work=Good Morning America |publisher=American Broadcasting Company |date=January 23, 2015 |language=en}} in a 2017 edition of Ripley's Believe It or Not!,{{cite news |title=Zollipops - a sweet success & run by 13-yr-old |url=https://www.fox47news.com/news/local-news/zollipops-a-sweet-success-run-by-a-13-year-old |accessdate=12 August 2019 |work=WSYM-TV |date=27 September 2018 |language=en}} Fox Business,{{cite news |last1=Bartiromo |first1=Maria |authorlink1=Maria Bartiromo |title=How a 13-year-old's company revolutionized the candy industry |url=https://video.foxbusiness.com/v/5799707986001/#sp=show-clips |accessdate=16 August 2019 |work=Mornings with Maria |publisher=Fox Business |date=June 20, 2018 |language=en}} National Public Radio, and she was interviewed by CNN on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.{{cite news |last1=Pacyniak |first1=Bernie |title=Zolli Candy founder pledges donation of one million lollipops |url=https://www.candyindustry.com/articles/88079-zolli-candy-founder-pledges-one-million-lollipops-donation |accessdate=12 August 2019 |work=Candy Industry |date=February 27, 2018 |language=en}}

In 2015 and 2016 Morse was invited to the White House Easter Egg Roll by First Lady Michelle Obama; Zollipops were the only candy served there.{{cite news |last1=Dunlap |first1=Tiare |title=This 10-Year-Old 'Kidpreneur' Invented the Only Candy to Be Served at This Year's White House Easter Egg Roll |url=https://people.com/celebrity/zollidrops-10-year-old-invents-candy-served-at-white-house-easter-egg-roll/amp/ |accessdate=2 June 2019 |work=People |date=26 March 2016 |language=en}}

In September 2018, Morse became the youngest person to appear on the cover of Entrepreneur Magazine.{{cite news |last1=Thompson |first1=Alyse |title=Zolli Candy founder Alina Morse youngest person to appear on Entrepreneur Magazine cover |url=https://www.candyindustry.com/articles/88315-zolli-candy-founder-alina-morse-youngest-person-to-appear-on-entrepreneur-magazine-cover |accessdate=2 June 2019 |work=Candy Industry |date=August 15, 2018 |language=en}} She was listed in the 2019 Success Magazine "30 under 30",{{cite news |last1=Friedlander |first1=Jamie |title=The SUCCESS 30 Under 30 |url=https://www.success.com/the-success-30-under-30/ |accessdate=25 July 2019 |work=Success|date=11 June 2019}} and the InStyle Magazine "Badass 50 Women" lists.{{cite news |title=The Badass 50: Meet the Women Who Are Changing the World |url=https://www.instyle.com/celebrity/badass-50-women-february |accessdate=25 July 2019 |work=InStyle |date=January 10, 2019 |language=en}} Zolli Candy was recognized by the 2019 Michigan "50 Companies to Watch" small business program{{cite news |title=2019 Award Winners |url=https://www.michigancelebrates.biz/2019-awardees/ |accessdate=12 August 2019 |work=Michigan Celebrates Small Business |publisher=Michigan Small Business Development Center}} and was listed as #635 on the "2019 Inc. 5000: The Most Successful Companies in America" list.{{cite news |title=2019 Inc. 5000: The Most Successful Companies in America |url=https://www.inc.com/inc5000/2019/top-private-companies-2019-inc5000.html |accessdate=16 August 2019 |work=Inc.com |date=14 August 2019}}

{{reflist}}

• {{official website|url=https://zollipops.com/|name=Zollipops, Official website}}

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Category:2005 births

Category:21st-century American businesspeople

Category:21st-century American businesswomen

Category:American child businesspeople

Category:American food company founders

Category:American women chief executives

Category:Businesspeople from Michigan

Category:Businesspeople in confectionery

Category:Living people

Category:People from Commerce, Michigan