Mikaila Ulmer and her BeeSweet Lemonade stand. Photo by Patrick Wong.
If you haven’t met Mikaila Ulmer yet, prepare to be blown away. This 7 year old, social entrepreneur runs possibly the cutest lemonade stand (and inspiring business) we have ever come across. Inspired by a recipe found in her 88-year-old great-grandmother Helen’s vintage 1940s-era cookbook, Mikaila adds honey and her own secret ingredients to create BeeSweet Lemonade with Flaxseed. Yum! We can see why it won “Most Creative Lemonade” in Austin’s 2011 Best Lemonade contest.
BeeSweet Lemonade and Mikaila sharing her award winning lemonade. Photo by Patrick Wong.
When not behind her stand extolling the digestive benefits of flax seed or sharing her true love for bees, you can find Mikaila donning a bee suit and harvesting her own fresh honey for BeeSweet Lemonade. Clearly we have found a kindred spirit! In fact, inspired by our encounter with the girls, she put together her own poster to educate people on bee friendly flowers. And if that weren’t enough, after each production of honey lemonade, she composts the lemon rinds for her backyard butterfly garden.
Mikaila’s poster on bee friendly flowers.
Having started her stand at the ripe old age of 4, she was the youngest speaker at this year’s SXSW, where she spoke about balancing a business with second grade! Oh and one more thing. She donates 20% of the profits from her lemonade sales to the Texas Beekeeper’s Association to help save the bees. See, we told you. Blown. Away.
An entrepreneur who gives back, with passion and creativity. An educator and a student. And simply cute as a button. Mikaila is a true icon of beauty!
If you live in Austin, you are in luck. Mikaila will be participating in National Lemonade Day on Sunday, May 6. Her BeeSweet Lemonade stand will be located at the Hope Farmers Market from 11 to 2 p.m. You’ll find her next to the Round Rock Honey booth. Round Rock Honey is sponsoring Mikaila by providing local Texas wildflower honey. Stop by and enjoy. We wish we could join you!