high school
Alina Morse
Sugar-Free Success
88 BACK TO SCHOOL | FALL 2019
stores, a feat that landed Alina the distinction of becoming the youngest person on the cover of Entrepreneur magazine. As Alina prepares for her first year of high school while managing a candy empire, she offers this advice for young entrepreneurs: “Ask questions. Do your homework. The more you learn will help you find your way and realize your dream faster. Work hard. Try. Believe and never give up!”
BUNNY POP Alina visited the White House as a guest of Michelle Obama twice to share her Zollipops with celebrants at the annual Easter Egg Roll.
DAVID YELLEN; GETTY IMAGES
Most parents try to curb their child’s candy intake, but the restrictions Alina Morse’s mom enforced sparked innovation in the then 7-year-old. “I love candy and like most kids, I was tired of hearing ‘no,’” says Alina, now a 14-year-old Michigan entrepreneur. “I started researching how to make healthy candy by swapping out the bad stuff for healthier ingredients. I learned to make candy off of YouTube and also discovered that tooth decay was the greatest epidemic facing kids. Protecting kids’ smiles with something that tasted delicious and everyone could enjoy became my mission.” The name of that delicious mission is Zollipops, which Alina launched in 2014 at age 9. Zollipops is currently a multimillion-dollar candy company with products sold in more than 7,500