Colleen Sundlie was exploring a market in the United Arab Emirates, her infant son in a sling, when she pulled a bottle of date syrup off the shelf. The company she built from that discovery is now on course for $10M (£7.4M) in annual revenue.
The American mother of five, now 50, spent roughly $60,000 (£44,400) to import her first shipment and set up a small bottling operation after she moved home and found the syrup she loved nowhere on US shelves. Her brand, Date Lady, has since grown from a suitcase habit into a business stocked in Target and Walmart, she said in an interview with Entrepreneur.
