The Buzz about Burt's Bees

This activity is important because it explores to nature of entrepreneurship and small business. Many large businesses you may recognize $($such as Mattel, YouTube, or Spanx$)$ all began as small businesses based on the visions of their founders. Some entrepreneurs who start small businesses have the ability to see emerging trends; in response, they create a company to provide a product that serves customer needs.

The goal of this activity is to see how one small business evolved into a highly visible company thanks to entrepreneurship.

Read the case and answer the questions that follow.

Part I: In $1984,$ Roxanne Quimby was on her way to her waitressing job when she decided to stop at a roadside stand to buy some honey from beekeeper Burt Shavitz. She soon joined forces with Shavitz, and they began marketing candles and other products out of beeswax. Quimby made homemade labels and traveled to crafts fairs throughout Maine. By $1993,$ Burt$$s Bees was bringing in $$3$ million per year in sales. These days, Burt$$s Bees includes beauty and baby products distributed in more than $40$ countries. Burt$$s Bees lip balm became so popular that it outpaced Chapstick, a long$-$standing lip balm leader in the United States.

Part II: When Roxanne Quimby first met Burt Shavitz, she was living a self$-$sustaining and uncompromising lifestyle in the Maine woods with her three children. While building Burt$$s Bees, Quimby applied her philosophies and values to the growing company$$for example, eschewing wasteful packaging whThe Buzz about Burt's Bees

$$

This activity is important because it explores to nature of entrepreneurship and small business. Many large businesses you may recognize $($such as Mattel, YouTube, or Spanx$)$ all began as small businesses based on the visions of their founders. Some entrepreneurs who start small businesses have the ability to see emerging trends; in response, they create a company to provide a product that serves customer needs.

$$

The goal of this activity is to see how one small business evolved into a highly visible company thanks to entrepreneurship.

$$

Read the case and answer the questions that follow.

$$

Part I: In $1984,$ Roxanne Quimby was on her way to her waitressing job when she decided to stop at a roadside stand to buy some honey from beekeeper Burt Shavitz. She soon joined forces with Shavitz, and they began marketing candles and other products out of beeswax. Quimby made homemade labels and traveled to crafts fairs throughout Maine. By $1993,$ Burt$$s Bees was bringing in $$3$ million per year in sales. These days, Burt$$s Bees includes beauty and baby products distributed in more than $40$ countries. Burt$$s Bees lip balm became so popular that it outpaced Chapstick, a long$-$standing lip balm leader in the United States.

$$

Part II: When Roxanne Quimby first met Burt Shavitz, she was living a self$-$sustaining and uncompromising lifestyle in the Maine woods with her three children. While building Burt$$s Bees, Quimby applied her philosophies and values to the growing company$$for example, eschewing wasteful packaging wherever possible, using the best ingredients available, and walking away from potentially lucrative discount store sales when a chain store company asked for concessions that violated her environmental sensibilities$.$ Sticking with its values, the company became certified cruelty$-$free through PETA $($People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals$)$ and Leaping Bunny $($The Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics$).$

$$

Part III: In $2004,$ Quimby sold $80$ percent of Burt$$s Bees to New York investment firm AEA Investors for $$179$ million, and in $2007$ Clorox acquired Burt$$s Bees for $$925$ million. Quimby used the proceeds to purchase thousands of acres of land, and in $2016$ she donated roughly $$86$ million worth of holdings to various conservation groups, including over $87,000$ acres of land to the National Park Service. As a result, she appeared on the Forbes list of America$$s Top $50$ Givers. Her entrepreneurial spirit is still strong as evidenced by her latest venture, Eco$-$Kids. Burt$$s Bees continues to thrive. Its convenient and broad distribution network makes using all$-$natural, earth$-$friendly personal care products accessible and affordable.