Meet The Teen Who Started A Million-Dollar Candy Business

Alina Morse is a rising confectionery star— and doing it sugar-free.

- Allana Akhtar

IN BETWEEN ATTENDING middle school and dance practice, 13-year-old CEO Alina Morse finds time to manage six employees and prep for meetings with retailers around the globe.

Morse founded her sugar-free candy company when she was 9 years old after her dad told her she couldn’t eat candy because it was bad for her teeth. Dissatisfied with that rule, Morse—who was in elementary school at the time—wanted to find a way to make candy without that rot factor.

After watching YouTube videos on how to make candy and experimenting with recipes in her kitchen, Morse now runs Zolli Candy and has the No. 1 selling sugar-free lollipop on Amazon. Morse became the youngest person ever to land on the cover of Entrepreneur, met twice with Michelle Obama in the White House, and now sells her product at major retailers like Walmart and Kroger.

Morse says she has known she wanted to be a CEO since she was a toddler. She started coming up with inventions when she was just 3 years old, keeping her business concepts in an “idea binder.” The young entrepreneur settled on teeth-cleaning candy after discovering that tooth decay is one of the most common chronic conditions among children.