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Spotlight On: Mikaila Ulmer

Angelica King
Jun 11, 2016
6 min read

Updated: Jan 16, 2023

An exclusive interview with Mikaila Ulmer

Mikaila Ulmer is the 11 year old founder, CEO, and mastermind of 'Me & the Bees' lemonade, formally known as 'Bee Sweet' lemonade. The Austin, Texas native didn't always have a love for bees, in fact she was afraid of them for a while. Mikaila developed her fear of bees at age four after being stung twice in one week. Her mother, D'Andra Ulmer, suggested she do research on bees to learn why they sting and to decrease her fear. Mikaila soon discovered that honey bees play a major role in sustaining our ecosystem and sadly that the honey bee population is drastically declining.

Shortly after doing research, coincidentally Mikaila's great grandmother mailed her a 1940's cook book with her great granny's very own Flaxseed Lemonade recipe. Another coincidence is that during that time, Mikaila had signed up for two entrepreneurial contests (for kids) and needed to find a product to enter. Little miss Ulmer was perplexed as to what to enter for quite sometime until she finally decided her product would be lemonade.

Mikaila used her great grandmothers lemonade recipe and put her own spin on it. Her famous lemonade includes not only flaxseed but local honey and mint. Given the research Ulmer gathered she decided that a portion of her profit would go to organizations that are working to save and preserve the bee population.

All photos courtesy of Me & the Bees Lemonade via Facebook

Mikaila started selling from a lemonade stand and then went to local events. She told many people about what cause her lemonade profit was supporting, which was saving the bees. 'Bee Sweet' lemonade soon was being sold in her local pizza shop.

Later down the road she and her father appeared on ABC'S Shark Tank (season 6 episode 23) where they delivered such an eloquent pitch and received an offer from Daymond John for $60,000 in exchange for twenty-five percent of the company. After the show they each agreed to have Daymond John as a mentor instead. Daymond John has been of great help so far and has successfully helped them get their product in a pilot in Starbucks. Now 'Me and the Bees' lemonade is also being sold through Whole Foods in 55 of their store locations across the United States.

Since establishing her lemonade company in 2009, Mikaila has been on such a smooth, successful and sweet road. The 11 year old has appeared on The Real talk show, met Barack Obama and even First Lady Michelle Obama, has been featured in a wide variety of magazines, and so much more since appearing on Shark Tank.

Read the full Q&A to find out what Mikaila Ulmer is up to, what she has planned next, to get advice on how to start your own business, and simply to learn how you can contribute to saving the bees.

All photos courtesy of Me & the Bees Lemonade via Facebook

Angelica: I really admire you and your work. You are so ambitious and business minded unlike the average 11 year old. Your company gained serious momentum in the last two years and a larger consumer base under the name Bee Sweet Lemonade. Could you share what made you recently change the company name to “Me and the Bees lemonade”?

Mikaila Ulmer: When I started my company I named it BeeSweet Lemoande Because I thought it was going to be a one time hobby that I would work on once and then let it go. But eventually I found out that I really enjoyed saving the bees and selling lemonade that I decided to stick with it. As my company grew I wanted to expand to different merchandise so we recently expanded out company name to me and the bees, which allows us to expand to more products other that lemonade.

Angelica: For eleven years old, you have accomplished so much. You have your own company, have been on television several times, met President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, gave public speeches and more! What is it that you have not done so far that you one day wish to do?

Mikaila: One thing that I have not done so far but wish to accomplish in the future is A me and the bees ambassador program for kids, I think that it would be cool to be able to have kid reps all over the country that help teach about the bees, and entrepreneurship. By doing this I am encouraging more kids to get involved in the business world.

Photo Courtesy of @mikailasbees via Instagram

All photos courtesy of Me & the Bees Lemonade via Facebook

Angelica: You are definitely a busy bee. You are in school and you run your own company. What are some hobby’s that you engage in when you are not in school or managing “Me and the Bee’s”?

Mikaila: When I am not in school I enjoy Rollerblading, reading, taking care of my pet chickens, and using their fresh eggs to make my favorite "Me and the bees" Cake.

Angelica: What is some advice you would give to little girls in underrepresented communities that don’t have the resources to turn their ideas into actual businesses?

Mikaila: Some advice that I would give to underrepresented youth is that you don't have to have 1,000 dollars to start a company, I started mine with just $50! If you have a passion for baking create a new recipe, bake it and sell it, many people think that it takes a lot of money and many resources to create a company but really all it takes is determination, passion, and a easy prototype or plan.

Angelica: Apples, almonds, blueberries watermelons, cherries, peaches, cucumber, raspberries, cantaloupe and so many more crops would cease to exist without bees. Not only would so many crops cease to exist without bees but eventually so would humans. It seems that not enough people are taking action to save the bees and many people are apathetic to the decline of the honey bee population. In your opinion how can we get more people to care enough to take action and contribute to saving the bees?

Mikaila: In my opinion saving the bees for each person is easy, it's reaching out to everyone that's the hard part.

Some ways that you can save the bees is that:

1. We need to plant bee friendly flowers in all shapes and sizes: biodiversity in plants means that bees will have plants to pollinate all year round

2. Perform research and spread the news: Research as much as you can about the bees then by sharing what you know we all can spread the awareness.

3. Don't Spray It!: By staying away from chemical pesticides we are allowing a larger variety of plants that the bees can pollinate without dying. Use natural pesticides that do NOT kill the bees. And a little tip is that ladybugs and the praying mantis will keep your pests on check too.

All photos in slideshow courtesy of @mikailasbees via Instagram and @Me & the Bees Lemonade via Facebook

Angelica: National Pollinators Week is soon approaching, June 20-26. What are a few things that you are organizing to celebrate?

Mikaila: For national pollinators week we will be doing social media posts featuring what is pollination and some facts about the bees.

Angelica: On your website you have recipes for cakes and popsicles. What else can consumers expect from Mikaila Ulmer, do you have any other products that you plan to distribute in the future or do you plan to keep “Me and the Bees” specific to Lemonade?

Mikaila: Some products that we are looking forward to launching in the future are Honey skin care products, Mason jar bee hives, me and the bees canvas bags, and clothing.

'Me & the Bees' currently comes in four delicious flavors which are Prickly Pear, Mint, Ginger, and Iced Tea. Mikaila Ulmer is such an inspiration to many people of all ages. She is doing many great things in terms of saving the bees as well as helping the youth. She has spoken at many events encouraging other children to become more involved in the business world. Continue to excel Mikaila!