New Kid-Created Root Beer is All Bark, No Bite

Jessica Ritz

Cute overload! Root beer, kitties and doggies at the Larchmont Larder.

If only more kids' school experiments turned into successful entrepreneurial ventures instead of too often becoming emotionally scarring exercises in failure.

Seven-year-old Oscar Youd's first grade soda making science fair project was such a hit that his family decided to bottle, market and distribute Margo's Bark Root Beer (named for the family rescue dog), and donate 100% of the profits to animal shelters and rescue charities. The all-natural herb-infused drink is sold at Tender Greens, the Larchmont Larder, Joan's on Third, The Urban Pet, LA Dogworks, with Whole Foods and Bristol Farms joining the others in the Margo's Bark doghouse soon.

Jessica Ritz

Root beer bottles always look better next to pretty flowers.

The launch party at the quaint neighborhood gathering spot Larchmont Larder on Tuesday was a teeming mix of kids flying high on root beer float-induced sugar rushes (Milk on Beverly provided the ice cream), folks snacking on sliders, lobster rolls, and mini pulled pork sandwiches, and a painfully cute pet adoption fair operated by the Bark Avenue Foundation. No doubt, some attendees went home a new puppy or kitten along with their bottles of Margo's Bark. Gorgeous flower arrangements by Floret -- also on Larchmont and one of the best floral studios in Los Angeles -- sweetened the scene, too.

It's a foodie fairytale everyone from elementary school students to newly minted M.B.A.s can admire.