Industry Mourns Burt’s Bees Founder

Burt Shavitz, co-founder of Burt’s Bees, passed away on July 5 among family and friends in his hometown in Maine. He was 80.

Shavitz, who sold honey from a roadside stand, met Roxanne Quimby in 1984. She started making candles from Shavitz’s beeswax, and the pair made $200 at their first craft fair selling the candles. Within a year, the duo pulled in $20,000, according to a company timeline. The iconic Burt’s Bees lip balm debuted in 1991, and by 1994, the fast-growing firm had moved from Maine to North Carolina to expand its beauty and healthcare products business. Burt’s Bees was sold for $1 billion to Clorox in 2007.