The 13-Year-Old 'Clean Teeth' Lollipop Inventor Who's Outselling Tootsie, Dum Dums, and Blow Pop on Amazon

The 13-Year-Old 'Clean Teeth' Lollipop Inventor Who's Outselling Tootsie, Dum
ZOLLI CANDY
We’re still waiting for someone to invent pizza that helps you lose weight, but thanks to one entrepreneurial eighth grader, we now have lollipops that help keep our teeth clean. Alina Morse’s sugar-free Zollipops are made with the sweeteners erythritol and xylitol, which help reduce acidity in your mouth and have been found to protect against cavities.

The now-13-year-old Morse launched Zolli Candy when she was just 9 after an eye-opening visit to the bank with her father. He urged her to think twice about taking one of the free suckers up for grabs there, which led her to wonder why sugar is so bad for your health. After doing a little investigating, she decided to create a healthier candy—and now, consumers are eating it up.

Zolli sells lollipops, drops, and taffy in a variety of flavors, all made with the cavity-fighting erythritol and xylitol. For people with different food restrictions or allergies, Morse's candies cover all the bases and are essentially everyone-approved. They’re gluten-free, non-GMO, vegan, dairy-free, organic, kosher, and they contain only plant-based dyes and natural flavors.

The taste isn’t bad either, judging by their popularity. Zollipops recently became the top-selling lollipops on Amazon (both in the sugar and sugar-free categories), beating out Tootsie, Dum Dums, Blow Pop, and other major candy companies. Some parents have posted reviews saying that the suckers have helped their toothbrush-resistant tots keep their teeth clean.

Last September, Morse became the youngest person to ever appear on the cover of Entrepreneur magazine as part of a feature about young millionaires.

“Consumers are realizing there is way too much sugar in their diets but we still want to have treats,” Morse said in a statement. “And with Zolli Candy, we are giving consumers what they want: guilt-free treats."

You can find her candies in pop-up displays at various Kroger outlets, as well as Walmart and Whole Foods stores. If you prefer to buy online, a 25-count bag of assorted lollipops goes for less than $6 on Amazon.