Ingram Berg Shavitz (May 15, 1935 – July 5, 2015) professionally known as Burt Shavitz, was an American beekeeper and businessman notable for founding the

Burt's Bees Burt's Bees is an American multinational, personal care product company. The company is a subsidiary of Clorox that describes itself as an " Earth-friendly, Natural Personal Care Company" making products for personal care, health, beauty and per ...

personal care products company with businesswoman

Roxanne Quimby Roxanne Quimby (born July 11, 1950) is an American businesswoman notable for founding the North Carolina-based Burt's Bees personal care products company with the eponymous beekeeper Burt Shavitz.Associated Press"Burt's Bees Founder Wants to Don ...

. Shavitz's likeness is featured on the Burt's Bees products.

Early life

Burt Shavitz was born Ingram Shavitz to a Jewish family in Manhattan. He was raised in Great Neck, New York, and changed his name in 1953 when he finished high school. He spent time in the Army, and later while living in Manhattan he took photographs, including those of African American Muslim rallies and

Bowery The Bowery () is a street and neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City. The street runs from Chatham Square at Park Row, Worth Street, and Mott Street in the south to Cooper Square at 4th Street in the north.Jackson, Kenneth L. "B ...

drug-dealers, that appeared in ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

'' and ''

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...

'' magazines.

Business career

Shavitz eventually settled in Maine, discovered beekeeping as a source of income and met Roxanne Quimby, who would sell his wax

candle A candle is an ignitable wick embedded in wax, or another flammable solid substance such as tallow, that provides light, and in some cases, a fragrance. A candle can also provide heat or a method of keeping time. A person who makes candles i ...

s at local fairs. An increase in sales and production led to them launching Burt's Bees in the 1980s. As the partnership and business grew, operations were set up in North Carolina in 1994. Soon thereafter, the partnership between Shavitz and Quimby waned, leading to Quimby buying out Shavitz's stake in the company. In 2007,

Clorox The Clorox Company (formerly Clorox Chemical Company) is an American global manufacturer and marketer of consumer and professional products. As of 2020 the Oakland, California based company had approximately 8,800 employees worldwide. Net sales ...

purchased Burt's Bees for more than $900 million.

Documentary

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...

, ''Burt's Buzz'', was released in 2014. The film discussed the life of Shavitz, his history with Burt's Bees, and his later activities as a beekeeper and businessman. Shavitz died on July 5, 2015 at the age of 80 in

Bangor, Maine Bangor ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat of Penobscot County. The city proper has a population of 31,753, making it the state's 3rd-largest settlement, behind Portland (68,408) and Lewiston (37,121). Modern Bangor ...

, from respiratory problems. He resided in

Parkman, Maine Parkman is a New England town, town in Piscataquis County, Maine, Piscataquis County, Maine, United States. The population was 747 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. History First known as Plantation Number Five, Sixth Range, it was p ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shavitz, Burt American beekeepers American business executives American company founders 1935 births 2015 deaths American cosmetics businesspeople American food company founders Businesspeople from Maine Businesspeople from New York City Photographers from New York (state) 20th-century American Jews People from Great Neck, New York People from Manhattan People from Parkman, Maine Deaths from respiratory failure 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American photographers 21st-century American Jews