Student start-up Zolli Candy aims to make people smile

A big proponent of the “you can do anything you put your mind to” mindset, Alina Morse got to work. Using any resource a kid can get their hands on, she spent her free time researching across Google, YouTube and LinkedIn instead of on the playground. It’s not just any 7-year-old who can tell you about the major candy manufacturers, but Alina Morse could tell you who was making candy, what was in it and, most importantly, what ingredients that can be replaced to make it better.

“Initially she started making candy at home,” Tom Morse said. “Made a lot of messes.”

This idea launched Zolli Candy, Alina Morse’s full-time job and passion project. Having fully launched and pitched to Whole Foods Markets by age 9, Alina Morse has kept herself busy. Tom Morse joined her, working at Zolli as a manager. He does little things in all parts of the process, anything to help out his daughter.

“From a very young age, she always went after what she wanted,” Tom Morse said. “I think that’s what sets her apart and makes her unique.”

This started with Zolli and has continued through Alina Morse’s life. Now, studying finance with an entrepreneurship minor at Michigan State University, balancing what is now two full time jobs, she’s in overtime.

“I work a 60-hour week,” Alina Morse said. “Not including school.”

Working whenever she can find the time and thriving off the freedom of a college schedule, she makes it work — but not without some help. She started with the process of hiring people for Zolli when the company was first launched. From her interviews at age 7 to age 19, she still sees the same reaction.

“I think people walk into interviews like ‘oh my god, you’re a child’,” Alina Morse said. “The people that are cool with that and down with working for a teenager, those are the right people.”

Many of her staff started at Zolli early on and have had the change to watch her grow up with Zolli.

“They’ve met my first boyfriend, they knew when we broke up,” Alina Morse said. “They’ve all these life experiences. It’s like they’re part of my family.”

Alina Morse’s younger sister also works for Zolli, in the role of chief taste tester, which may be a more important role than you would expect.

“We’ve really tried to put innovation and flavor at the forefront,” Alina Morse said. “Nobody is gonna want to eat candy that’s good for you if it tastes like crap.”

Along with innovation and flavor, inclusivity is a top priority for Zolli Candy. Harboring a long roster, Zolli candy is sugar free, vegan/vegetarian, KETO, gluten-free and made with no artificial dyes or flavors, along with being friendly to many allergies.

“It’s as simple as being a kid on Halloween and not being able to eat candy for dietary reasons or allergens,” Alina Morse said. “It sucks and nobody wants to be in the out group. Nobody wants to feel like ‘I’m not part of the fun.’”

Alina Morse took an extra step with Zolli to prove that healthy can be fun too. Zolli provides a healthy option in stores and also takes action through the Million Smiles Initiative.

For schools K-12, teachers or whole schools can enroll in the program and receive Zolli Candy, lesson plans and coupons entirely funded by Zolli Candy. The Million Smiles Initiative was started with a question: How can Zolli Candy have a philanthropic role in the community? Much of what Alina Morse and Zolli does is fueled by questions like this one.

“She kept asking the right questions,” Tom Morse said. “I always think good CEOs ask great questions.”

Her desire to keep learning and asking questions was a key driver of her college search. She searched all over the country, trying to find her way out of the Spartan household she grew up in. Nevertheless, she found herself drawn to the MSU Burgess Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

“I had never heard of a university putting so many resources behind a program that (teaches) people how to be their own boss, how to take your own dream and turn it into a reality,” Alina Morse said. “That was a game-changer.”

So, she chose MSU, which she thinks is the best decision she could’ve made. Now that she’s here, she’s eager to get more Spartans on board with Zolli Candy. Looking for the help of fellow students, Alina Morse has launched an internship program through Zolli. Finance and economics sophomore Urvi Doddamreddy helped Alina Morse pilot this program as one of her first interns. Doddamreddy was Zolli’s sales and demo intern.

“Something that I think I was really able to do well in that internship was to have flexibility to share my ideas,” Doddamreddy said. “I think that was something she wanted to implement going further with her interns. In terms of really being able to show what kind of progress and impact they made on the brand.”

Bringing in students to the ground floor of a startup company provides valuable experience for entering the workforce post-grad. Alina Morse has learned this firsthand and wants to be giving other students that same opportunity.

“Hopefully I’m aiding and setting (student interns) up for success,” Alina Morse said. “Either if they’re looking for their post-grad career or just for their next internship or the next experience that they may be jumping into.”

Any students looking to incorporate what they’ve learned in classes, or that have a sense of “childlike curiosity and tenacity,” should consider Zolli Candy as an option, Alina Morse said. Her goal is and always has been to help people smile.

“We’re full speed ahead, working every day to make people smile,” Alina Morse said.

This story was originally featured by The State News.