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 pers ...

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 ...

. 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 Great Neck is a region contained within Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, New York (state), New York, on Long Island, which covers a peninsula on the North Shore (Long Island), North Shore and includes nine incorporated villages, among th ...

, 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 neighbourhood, neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City, New York. The street runs from Chatham Square at Park Row (Manhattan), Park Row, Worth Street, and Mott Street in the south to Cooper Square at 4th ...

drug-dealers, that appeared in ''

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

'' and ''

Life Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...

'' magazines.

Business career

Shavitz started as a hobby apiarist in New Paltz, NY, eventually settled in Maine, where he discovered beekeeping as a source of income and met Roxanne Quimby, who would sell his wax

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

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 multinational manufacturer and marketer of consumer and professional products. As of 2024, the Oakland, California-based company had approximately 8,000 employees worldwide. N ...

purchased Burt's Bees for more than $900 million. Shavitz was a self-described hippie, an avid outdoorsman who had little regard for material wealth but placed value on land, free open spaces for wildlife.

Documentary

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

, ''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.

Death

Shavitz died on July 5, 2015, at the age of 80 in

Bangor, Maine Bangor ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Penobscot County, Maine, United States. The city proper has a population of 31,753, making it the state's List of municipalities in Maine, third-most populous city, behind Portland, Maine, Portland ...

, from respiratory problems. He resided in Parkman, Maine.

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