Why can’t candy be good for your teeth?
This simple question asked by a curious seven-year-old became the catalyst for a revolution in the candy industry.
When Alina Morse was offered a lollipop at a bank, her father said “no,” explaining that it would rot her teeth. Not one to take “no” for an answer, Morse got to work, mining YouTube videos to learn how candy was made, talking to her dentist and experimenting in her parents’ kitchen. She knew there had to be a way to make sweet treats that could actually aid oral health.
“I invested all my birthday and holiday savings — about $7,500, which my parents then matched — and that became the funding to turn my little idea into a real product,” Morse says.
After 18 trials at commercial manufacturing plants, Morse got her big break in 2014 when Whole Foods agreed to launch Zollipops (zollipops.com). She was nine.
Soon the “Lollipop Girl” from Wolverine Lake began to expand the portfolio of “better-for-you” Zolli Candy — Zollipops, Zolli Drops, Zaffi Taffy, Zolli Caramelz, Zolli Ball Popz and more — which are sold regionally and nationally at retailers such as Amazon, Walmart, Whole Foods, Kohls and Meijer, plus internationally in Canada, China, South Korea, France, the Philippines, the U.K. and Morocco.
Zolli Candy is marketed as a better-for-you option because it’s sugar-free, gluten-free, low-calorie, vegan, kosher, keto, allergy-friendly and uses plant-derived sugar alternatives. “The science behind Zolli is pretty cool,” Morse says. “After you eat, the acidity in your mouth rises — and that’s what creates the environment where cavities can form. Zolli products help neutralize that acidity and bring your mouth back to a healthy pH balance.”
As Zolli’s reputation grew, its adolescent CEO became the youngest person to appear on the cover of Entrepreneur magazine and was twice invited to the White House by First Lady Michelle Obama.
Beyond the Zolli products, Morse seeks other ways to improve dental health. “From the very beginning, it was important to me to build a company that actually makes people’s lives better,” she says. “Being a young woman in a space dominated by mega-brands — and mostly men — I wanted Zolli to stand for something bigger than candy.
“We’ve always been a mission-based business,” Morse says. “Through my nonprofit, Million Smiles, we donate more than 10 percent of profits to support oral health education in schools, because tooth decay is one of the most chronic childhood diseases in America.”
The company has become a family project. “My dad is my partner and helps run the day-to-day operations. My sister, Lola, actually came up with the name ‘Zolli,’ and my mom has always been a huge supporter from styling me for every interview to working at the company,” she says.
Today, Morse studies finance and entrepreneurship at Michigan State University. “People are always surprised that I can balance school and running a company, but it comes down to time management,” she says. “I divide my time into thirds: school, my business and being a normal college student with friends and extracurriculars.”
This May, Morse will achieve yet another milestone: turning 21. “I’ll finally be old enough to toast all the work that’s gone into building Zolli,” she says. “Maybe I’ll create a Champagne-inspired lollipop.”
“From the very beginning, it was important to me to build a company that actually makes people’s lives better. I wanted Zolli to stand for something bigger than candy.” — Alina Morse