It is no secret that many NFL players lose money on bad investments.
That is why it is interesting that a group of NFL players have made what may be a good investment in a feel good story.
According to the Houston Chronicle, the players made an $810,000 investment in the lemonade business started by a 12-year-old in Austin, Mikaila Ulmer.
But it’s not like they’re just trying to help her get off the ground.
The girl got an $11 million, four-state contract with Whole Foods in 55 stores in the South last year for what she calls Me @ The Bees Lemonade.
It’s also sold at Wegmans, a regional supermarket chain with headquarters near Rochester, N.Y. Wegmans has stores mainly in the Mid-Atlantic area and New England. In my opinion, Wegmans is the best supermarket chain in the country.
But I digress.
Former Texans running back Arian Foster appeared with Ulmer and ex-Houston teammate Glover Quin last Thursday at the “Bee Brilliant Entrepreneur Day’’ at the Holthouse Boys and Girls Club in Houston.
“We look for companies that match our main focus of developing a good product,’’ Foster said. “It’s more about the money to us. We believe that investing in small black businesses is extremely important.’’
“She’s super smart,’’ Quin said. “She’s very special. Obviously, she has a bright future. Hopefully, I’ll be a part of it and nourish it and watch it grow. The sky is the limit. I’m very impressed with her.’’
“It’s awesome that I get to work with and around these two,’’ Ulmer said. “They’re very smart. I learned a lot from them in the past couple of hours.’’
The other players listed as investors are Duane Brown, Jonathan Grimes, Omar Bolden, Bobby Wagner, Darius Slay, Sharrick McManus, EJ Manuel and Malik Jackson.
Ulmer’s business has been written about on such diverse sites as Time, parenting.com and Breitbart.
She also appeared on “Shark Tank” – where she got a $60,000 investment — and “Good Morning America.’’ And she was a celebrity chef at the White House Easter Egg Roll mixing her lemonade.
Her lemonade is made from her great grandmother’s 1940s recipe featuring flaxseed and honey.
She uses some of her profits to help save the bees. She travels the nation, leading workshops on entrepreneurship and saving honeybees.
On her website, Ulmer said when she was four, her family encouraged her to make a product for the Children’s Business Competition, the Action Children’s Business Fair and Austin Lemonade Day.
While she was still thinking about it, she was stung twice by bees. She hated that, obviously, but it got her interested in bees.
“So then I thought, what if I make something that helps honeybees and uses my Great Granny’s Helen’s recipe. That is how Me @ Bees Lemonade was born,’’ she wrote.
There must some adults involved in running the company, but they stay in the background. It’s a better story with a 12-year-old having her own company.
And getting some NFL players involved in the business was a good PR move since it introduced Ulmer’s lemonade to a sports audience.
And it’s probably better than some investments NFL players make. If it’s good enough for Whole Foods, it’s good enough for the players.