Meet Mikaila Ulmer, owner, and Founder of Me and the Bees Lemonade one of our Game Changer brands. She started her company at 8 years old! Here is her story:
“When I was just four, I got stung by a bee and then got stung again less than a week later! Naturally, I didn’t enjoy the bee stings at all and I became scared of bees. But then after doing some research about them, I became fascinated and learned all about what they do for me and our ecosystem.
Around that same time, my family encouraged me to make a product for a couple of children’s business competitions – the Acton Children’s Business Fair and Austin Lemonade Day. So I put on my thinking cap. I thought about some ideas. While I was thinking, my Great Granny Helen, who lived in Cameron, South Carolina, sent my family a 1940s cookbook, which included her special recipe for flaxseed lemonade.
So then I thought, what if I make something that helps honeybees and uses my Great Granny Helen’s lemonade recipe? I decided to give her beloved lemonade a new twist by adding honey from bees, instead of only sugar. That’s how Be Sweet Lemonade was born! However, we had to change the name due to a copyright issue, so we decided to call it Me & the Bees Lemonade because we give a percentage of sales to help save the bees. We are now celebrating more than 10 years in buzzness!”
Mikaila is not only an entrepreneur but the author of “Bee Fearless: Dream Like a Kid” which is for any kid who wants to start a business or fight for a cause. Speaking of causes, Mikaila is also the Founder of the non-profit Healthy Hive Foundation. Their mission is to save all bees through education, research, and protection, and to inspire social entrepreneurship. By raising and directing funds to support beekeepers and scientific research, we are helping protect bees and their habitats.
Remember every time you purchase one of her lemonades 10% of the profit goes to the Healthy Hive Foundation! Me and the Bees is available at all 4 of our stores in Carrboro, Chapel Hill, Hillsborough, & Raleigh.
Check out their website: meandthebees.com