This story simply couldn’t bee any sweeter …
Photo by Bob Peterson from North Palm Beach, Florida, Planet Earth! Via Wikimedia Commons
“When I was just 4, my family encouraged me to make a product for a children’s business competition and Austin Lemonade Day. So, I put on my thinking cap,” begins Texas pollination activist and ecopreneur Mikaela Ulmer (who is now a ripe ol’ 11 years old). “I thought about some ideas. While I was thinking, two big events happened: I got stung by a bee. Twice. Then my Great Granny Helen … sent my family a 1940s cookbook, which included her special recipe for Flaxseed Lemonade. I didn’t enjoy the bee stings at all. They scared me. But then something strange happened. I became fascinated with bees. I learned all about what they do for me and our ecosystem. So then I thought, what if I make something that helps honeybees and uses my Great Granny Helen’s recipe?”
It was a golden idea that blossomed into Bee Sweet Lemonade, a burgeoning business that not only sells a lot of lemonade but also donates money from sales to local and international organizations that strive to preserve pollinator populations.
Mikaela’s motto is, “Buy a Bottle … Save a Bee.”
This sharp-as-a-bee-stinger little darlin’ is on a roll.
Last year, Mikaela hooked a Shark Tank investor Daymon John. Last month, she struck a deal with Whole Foods that included the distribution of Bee Sweet Lemonade in 55 stores.
Watch her in action and you’ll understand the secret to Mikaela’s success:
Wow! What an amazing story. And what an amazing young lady! It makes you feel good about the future of our world when you hear about young people like her. Thanks so much for sharing this story.
Wow, that puts our little childhood lemonade stands to shame. What a brilliant little girl and what a fabulous idea.I hope Granny gets more credit for making this happen. We all need to help the bees.
This spring my apple tree in blossom ,which usually is smothered in bees, had only bumblebees and carpenter bee type bees around it and not even that many. I have only seen one bee which looked like a honey bee. This is what is happening even in my small part of the world. Be kind to our bees!
What a sweet, sweet story and what a fantastic leader Mikaela is at the tender age of 11. The bees are lucky to have such a spokesperson for their health and well being too. Thank-you, MaryJane for sharing this today at our MondayMorning science topic together. We don’t have a WholeFoods store, but I am going to look at our EarthFare and see if they carry it.
How crazy! I just watched this episode of Shark Tank this weekend! She is one amazing little girl and is working hard to help our world. I want to find her lemonade and try it out. As an added bonus I would be contributing to help save the bees. What an inspiration.