12-year-old local entrepreneur gains 36.6 million views online, becomes youngest food truck owner in Terrebonne Parish

Dupont first started her lemonade business on May 27, 2023, and shortly after registered as an official business in June. She has been to numerous fairs, festivals, markets, and events since then, all while going viral on social media multiple times. Several of Dupont’s videos depicting her daily life as a young business owner have as little as one million views, with the largest to date ringing in at 36.6 million views–one video was even liked and shared by country music singer Lainey Wilson, bringing even more attention to Dupont’s business.

Dupont explained that owning and operating a business was not something she was originally interested in, but realized her passion for it as the Bayou Lemon began to grow. “When we first started in 2023 we only sold to friends and family, and then we started selling at the Tractor Supply in Gray at their Weekly Market,” said Dupont. “We had our first real event there, and the next weekend we went to Stephensville Market in Morgan City. Once we did those two, things really began to take off, and we have done events every weekend since. The first time we went viral was in August, after a very hot event in Lockport. We made a Tik Tok and posted it, and by the time we got home we had one million views! It was so exciting but it also didn’t feel real.”

Dupont explained that the feeling of success didn’t begin to set in until her third viral video. “We were at another event and decided to post another Tik Tok. We learned a few things from our first video, so we made some changes and recorded one,” said Dupont. “The song Watermelon Moonshine by Lainey Wilson was very popular so we decided to use it for the video. The next day, some friends and family sent my mom messages that Lainey Wilson had commented on the video. Sure enough she did, and she had even reposted it! That video alone has 36.6 million views. I can’t even describe how I felt when I seen it. Its amazing seeing our videos go viral.”

Since then the Bayou Lemon has just continued to grow, and in December of 2023, Dupont reached a major milestone in her business. Just seven months after she started the Bayou Lemon, Dupont purchased her first food trailer, making her the first 12-year-old in Terrebonne Parish to own and operate her own food trailer. Dupont will be serving the community from her new food truck every Terrebonne Parish Mardi Gras parade at Marie’s Auto Parts.

“My business goal was to own a trailer, so I cannot wait to see where this new journey takes us,” said Dupont. “More importantly though, I look forward to serving all of our customers– we meet some amazing people. I absolutely love when we finally get a break and are able to see everyone walking around with our cups. I also love when people come up and say, ‘Oh I hear this is amazing I NEED to get one,’ and the customers who return multiple times in one event. It is such a great feeling.”

For now, Dupont is excited to continue balancing the Bayou Lemon with her equally busy school schedule. “We are planning to keep going to different fairs, festivals, markets and private events,” said Dupont. “With my parents working and me going to school, selling on the weekdays are a challenge–so for now we are sticking to the weekends. We never expected our business to be what it is today, so there is always hope and room for expansion. We all feel so lucky to be apart of the Bayou Lemon.”