House of JerMar

The Power of Elderberries: From Teacher to Wellness Entrepreneur

• Jeanne Collins • Season 2 • Episode 64

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When Jessica Lowry found herself facing financial struggles in 2018 with three young children and a husband battling health issues, she never imagined a simple kitchen experiment would transform her family's future. Desperate for a natural immune support remedy as cold and flu season approached, Jessica crafted her own elderberry syrup—a formula her children would actually enjoy. After sharing her creation on social media, something unexpected happened: friends began asking if they could purchase her homemade remedy.

That moment of realization—that her kitchen creation could help others while supporting her family—felt like divine intervention. Jessica and her husband began making batches late into the night after tucking their children into bed, meeting customers in parking lots and playgrounds. What started as a simple solution to a personal challenge quickly blossomed into something much larger, as word spread about their pure, potent elderberry syrup.

While Jessica knew elderberry was excellent for immune support, she was astonished to discover people experiencing relief from joint pain, inflammation, allergies, and sleep issues. The European black elderberry (Sambucus nigra), combined with organic ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and raw honey, was creating a synergistic effect that addressed multiple health concerns simultaneously. Unlike commercial alternatives loaded with additives, The Power of Elderberries products contain no preservatives, added sugars, or artificial ingredients—a commitment Jessica maintains despite opportunities to cut costs.

Today, The Power of Elderberries offers both their signature refrigerated syrup and convenient "Elderberry Syrup Bites" for on-the-go wellness, with pet formulations coming soon. Jessica's journey from teacher to reluctant entrepreneur to passionate wellness advocate reminds us that sometimes our greatest purpose finds us when we least expect it. 

Jessica's Book Recommendation: A Return to Love - Marianne Williamson

Enjoy 15% off your first order of The POWER of Elderberries® a premium elderberry syrup trusted by holistic practitioners nationwide.

Simply visit www.thepowerofelderberries.com and use code PODCAST15 at checkout.

More about Jessica:

Jessica Lowery is the Founder & CEO of The POWER of Elderberries®, a nationally trusted wellness brand based in Myrtle Beach, SC. She’s a wife, mother of three, former Lecturer in the Department of Public Health at Coastal Carolina University, and a passionate advocate for holistic health and healing.

What began in her kitchen as a homemade remedy for her own family has since grown into a premium supplement brand recommended by holistic practitioners across the country. 

Founded in 2018 during a season of deep personal struggle, The POWER of Elderberries® was born out of faith, perseverance, and an unwavering belief in nature’s ability to heal. Today, Jessica shares her story to inspire others to trust their intuition, lean into their calling, and pursue wellness with purpose.

www.facebook.com/thepowerofelderberries
www.instagram.com/ThePOWERofElderberries
https://www.linkedin.com/company/thepowerofelderberries
https://www.youtube.com/@thepowerofelderberries

House of JerMar: houseofjermar.com

Empowerment Fundamentals Course: https://members.houseofjermar.com/empowerment-course

Instagram: instagram.com/houseofjermar/
YouTube Channel: youtube.com/@Houseofjermar
Read Jeanne's Book: Two Feet In: Lessons From an All-In Life
WELCOME TO OUR HOUSE!

Speaker 1:

I knew the product was great for immune support. I knew it was great as a natural remedy if you weren't feeling well. But what I didn't know is how it would affect joint health and inflammation and natural allergy and sinus relief and sleep and these underlying things that people had going on with their health that really brought the power of nature as a whole in healing the body. So it's been such a blessing to be able to share the product with other people because it's really for whole body wellness and not just immune support, which elderberries are naturally known for.

Speaker 2:

Welcome to the House of Germar podcast, where wellness starts within. The House of Germar is a lifestyle brand, empowering women to live all in through interior design and personal wellness. We are a destination for women ready to reimagine what is possible in their homes and lives and then create it. We are honored to have you join us on our mission to empower 1 million women to live all in. I am your host, Jean Collins, and I invite you to become inspired by this week's guest to have you join us on our mission to empower 1 million women to live all in. I am your host, Jean Collins, and I invite you to become inspired by this week's guest.

Speaker 2:

Welcome to the House of Germar podcast, where wellness starts within. I'm your host, Jean Collins, and today we are talking about elderberries. Wow, this is a subject I knew nothing about. We have Jessica Lowry on the show. I am so excited to talk to her. She has a product called the Power of Elderberries and before we even begin, I have to just give her the greatest amount of kudos, because she proactively reached out to me about being on the show. I didn't see her first email. She reached out again and her second email I actually did see and I read about her story and I was like, wow, you are super interesting. So first lesson, folks if you reach out about something, don't take the first no as a no Reach out again. So, Jessica, welcome to the show. Thank you for joining us.

Speaker 1:

Oh, thank you so much for having me. I love that. Thank you for sharing.

Speaker 2:

I am so excited to have you on, so I'm going to read something from your bio, just because it's so aligned. So, first of all, you are the founder of the Power of Elderberries and we're going to get all into that, into your journey. But I wanted to read one sentence from your bio that really struck me and aligned with everything that I believe in. So here we go, I'm going to read. It says Today you share your story to inspire others to trust their intuition, lean into their calling and pursue wellness with purpose. Yes, I am so excited to dig into that. Yes, all right, so let's start. Your story is huge and I'm okay with us giving a bunch of time to share your story. So if you wouldn't mind, share the story of how you became the founder of the Power of Elderberries?

Speaker 1:

Well, I have to start by saying it was totally unexpected. However, I believe that God had a plan and a purpose and I stepped into that and here we are today. So it really started the whole movement of starting a business, I think flourished from fall of 2017. My husband was having a lot of health issues going on and we were juicing every day cabinet full of supplements. He wasn't feeling well. Seeing a functional practitioner, medical bills started piling up and then I got this notice that three of my classes at Coastal Carolina University were going to be dropped for the semester ahead and as a full-time lecture I got paid per class that I taught. So that was a big deal getting three of them dropped right.

Speaker 1:

So here we were financially just kind of in a really hard place and emotionally and mentally, and at that time we had three kids under the age of five and as we moved into cold and flu season, I was thinking to myself we need elderberry in our home, because five years earlier in 2013, when I was pregnant with my first son, I actually had cold and flu symptoms and went to the doctor's office. And then, once I got there, I'm thinking what am I doing here? I want something more natural for my child and I turned to my phone to look up some natural remedies to help overcome cold and flu symptoms. To look up some natural remedies to help overcome cold and flu symptoms. So in 2013, I was actually introduced to this word and herb elderberries and after getting my hands on some, I felt such a relief in my symptoms very, very quickly after taking the product. So I became an instant believer. My chills went away, my fever broke, I felt like a whole new person within a few hours and just really became a big believer.

Speaker 1:

So here we are in January of 2018, five years later, and I'm thinking oh my gosh, I need elderberry in my home to keep us healthy and also have something more natural to turn to if myself or the kids or my husband aren't feeling well. Myself or the kids or my husband aren't feeling well. And within that five-year span from 2013 to 2018, I had actually tried several different brands from the store and brought them in my home, and every single brand my daughter would spit out she didn't like the taste of it, and it was a fight and that emotional struggle that really took me back to being a child myself and giving my mom a hard time when it came to putting something in my mouth, especially if it was medicine and something that I didn't like the way it tasted. So I was inspired in 2018 to create my own formula because I was like, hey, if I make it, I know it's good for you, I know it's great for supporting the immune system a natural remedy which I can turn to for my own family but I want control over the quality of ingredients that go into it and I also want control over the taste. So I gathered up the ingredients, I made my own formula and I would tweak it several, several different times until my kids all three of them at the time would love it. And then I was like you know what? I really need to share this with other people, because a lot of people probably have never even heard of elderberry before. Here we are in cold and flu season. Everybody needs elderberry in their refrigerator or in their cabinet, right? So I took it upon myself to show a picture of myself making the elderberry syrup for my family.

Speaker 1:

I put it on social media and, to my surprise which I wasn't even looking to sell it. I was just looking to educate and share my testimony, and I had a couple friends say hey, jessica, is there any extra that I can buy from you? And in that moment, when I saw those comments, I knew that this was my calling and what I was supposed to step into. Because what people don't know is that I had been praying for weeks, dropping to my knees just in desperation of God, show me, what is it that you want me to do to help support my family financially in this time of need? Right? So I didn't know if I was supposed to get a second job, wait tables, start selling things out of my home. But once someone asked if I had any extra they could buy, I was like, oh wow, this is what I'm supposed to be doing and you paid attention to the signs.

Speaker 2:

I love that you paid attention to the signs. I love that you paid attention to the signs.

Speaker 1:

Yes, and the signs of just everything kind of falling into place so organically and quickly. And there was a whole lot of you know, barriers. So here we were, my husband and I 730 at night to three o'clock in the morning making batches of elderly syrup after we put our three children to bed. Several times a week we were meeting people at the library, the playground, parking lots, the grocery store parking lots, driving around town and then we set up some Google forms for people to tell us how much and where they were going to meet us at. And we had three kids in tow in car seats and this was what we had stepped into. But what we didn't realize is how fast it would start growing. So word of mouth just grew like rapid fire and it just started to increase and increase, and increase and increase to where, a couple weeks in, my husband looked at me and he said you know, we really need to get a business license and an LLC and really step into making sure that we have this business set up, especially with putting the consumable in other people's mouth. And I totally agreed. So what I had done around that time is I moved everybody that was interested in my formulation of this product to a private Facebook group so that I wasn't on my main feed sharing more information about the benefits of elderberries and the different ingredients that went into our product. And I named that Facebook group the Power of Elderberries.

Speaker 1:

So a few weeks in, when we were doing this out of our home kitchen, my husband looked at me and he said, well, what are we going to call the business? I'm filling out the business license right now. And I looked at him and I said, I guess the power of elderberries. And we quickly stepped into food safety certification classes and learning more about the FDA and water activity and pH balance and what calibration meant. And then months later, we landed a commercial facility here locally to start making it out of.

Speaker 1:

So we weren't out of our home and because I had such a deep love for teaching and I was then planning to go back to teaching my full five courses that following fall I didn't want to give up teaching, so I went back to work. My husband resigned from his job and stepped into the business. We hired our director of operations to take over my formulation of operations, to take over my formulation. And that's really how everything just started happening so fast and furious of just stepping into that calling and really helping the health of our community in such a profound and big way.

Speaker 1:

We very quickly got into the farmer's markets and I knew the product was great for immune support. I knew it was great as a natural remedy if you weren't feeling well. But what I didn't know is how it would affect joint health and inflammation and natural allergy and sinus relief and sleep and these underlying things that people had going on with their health. That really brought the power of nature as a whole in healing the body. So it's been such a blessing to be able to share the product with other people because it's really for whole body wellness and not just immune support, which elderberries are naturally known for.

Speaker 2:

Yes, they are, and when you sent me so you kindly sent me samples of your product which I have been taking. I've been taking it every night before I go to sleep and I will say I was shocked at the taste because when I poured it into a tablespoon I was like, oh, I just like Robitussin vibes from my childhood and I was like this is going to taste disgusting, but it actually didn't. So you are correct, it's a very interesting, unique flavor. It's a little bit sweet, but not too sweet, a little bit of ginger. It actually tastes pretty good and you do have it in gummy bites as well, which you sent me too, which is great for traveling.

Speaker 2:

So, before I dig too much farther, because I am really curious and I want to make sure we come back to the benefits of elderberry, because on your list that you sent me, it had benefits I never even thought of, such as inflammation and sleep. So I want to come back to that, but before I do, can you go back to something really basic what in the world is an elderberry and where do you get it?

Speaker 1:

So elderberries are naturally one of nature's most powerful herb.

Speaker 1:

They're one of nature's most top antiviral herbs. They're native to Europe, africa, parts of Asia. There are many different species and varieties of the elderberry which a lot of people don't know. But when you look at the research and what clinical studies support in PubMed journals, it is the European black elderberry that is supported to have the medicinal properties and the scientific name for the European black elderberry is Sambucus nigra. So typically that will be in parentheses on the ingredient list of an elderberry supplement that is using the European black elderberry.

Speaker 1:

So elderberries are an herb. Yeah, they're one of nature's most powerful herb. They're powerful anti-inflammatory, great for inflammation, antiviral, rich in antioxidants. They have properties that are called anthocyanins that actually create a protection barrier around our cells so that viruses can't penetrate them, and that's why a lot of people take elderberry during cold and flu season. Because of these unique properties, they have to almost work as a preventative right in keeping us healthy and then, as you take more of it, it actually prevents the cells from replicating, which is the virus, and that's why a lot of people have such a faster recovery or shorter duration of symptoms when they compare using elderberry to people using a placebo symptoms when they compare using elderberry to people using a placebo, interesting.

Speaker 2:

So in general, from like a best practices perspective, is it sort of like take a tablespoon every day, folks, and you will be healthier? Is it really that simple?

Speaker 1:

It really is that simple, because the simplicity of our particular formula is just nature itself. So you have the European black elderberry with all these amazing benefits. They're also rich in quercetin, which a lot of people turn to allergy and sinus health for. They have rutin, which is good for blood circulation. So if you look at the benefits of elderberries, they're profound and amazing. But you also are getting fresh, cut, organic ginger root, organic cinnamon sticks, organic whole cloves and only local raw honey as the sweetener in our product, compared to added sugar.

Speaker 1:

So it's more than just the elderberry, it's what's creating a synergistic effect of all of these ingredients from nature that are really elevating our health in a big way, especially if we look at the research for each individual ingredient and then bringing all of that together in one supplement and it's very hard to come by a supplement in today's market that is free of added sugar or artificial sweeteners or fillers or dyes or added flavoring or concentrates, which is typically code word for even more added sugar. And then you have things like gelatin and preservatives, and so this formula, with it just being nature's medicine chest essentially in a bottle that you're then supporting and really supplementing your health with. It's just such a pure, potent and delicious way to bring whole body wellness within that supplement, like you talked about.

Speaker 2:

It's so interesting and it's refrigerated. That's right. Why, why? Why does it have to stay in the refrigerator so?

Speaker 1:

our liquid is refrigerated because we don't add any preservatives to it. So if we added preservatives to it, it would bring down the pH level and then it would become refrigerate after opening, which is most supplements or condiments on the market right. In addition, to become refrigerate after opening, you typically have to thermally heat process a product which is bottle filling at extremely high temperatures, and that's actually part of our processing that we choose not to do, because, from our own research, local raw honey shouldn't get above around 100 degrees. It starts breaking down the enzymes and the different benefits that you're reaping out of raw, unprocessed, unfiltered, untreated in terms of unheat treated raw honey. And so that's why we don't thermally heat process our product and why it is refrigerated upon arrival, because we choose not to add any preservatives and we also choose not to thermally heat process it.

Speaker 2:

It is fascinating. I'm listening to you talk and I'm thinking to myself. You're a mother of three, you're a teacher and now you are in this completely different manufacturing field where you have had to learn all of these terms, this science. I mean, you're manufacturing a bottled product that you also, by the way, ship in a box with ice packs because it has to be refrigerated. How did you learn all of this?

Speaker 1:

Well, it started very early on, fortunately. I love to dig in and jump right into learning. I want to figure it all out and that's what it kind of started from the very beginning of calling all these different agencies and learning about the process of even bringing a consumable to the market and what that looks like, and then, of course, learning the backside of everything in terms of the processing, of course, also stepping into hiring a director of operations that has much more education in terms of certifications and food safety handling and all the things I didn't. And that was really important to me because, putting myself in the shoes of customers on the other side, if I was them, I would want to make sure that a product was third-party lab tested which a lot of supplement companies don't do, and we can get further into that if you want to but also that it's not made out of someone's kitchen, right, and that you have to learn all of these different things to better understand the formula. That way, when people are asking questions, you have answers for them, and there has been a lot of opportunity for us to change the formula. That would actually save us a lot of money on labor costs or overhead expenses, especially with shipping a cold product right With specially made boxes and insulation and ice packs and all those things.

Speaker 1:

But again it would change the taste of the product by adding preservatives to bring down that pH level and then it would also change the benefits of the product by adding preservatives to bring down that pH level, and then it would also change the benefits of the product to thermally heat process it, if we were choosing to do that, to become refrigerate after opening. And I didn't want to do either one of those things and that's why the formula has always remained the same and I always tell people you know, what I trust for my own family is what I also offer to yours, in the sense that, yes, I am a mother of three children and I want the best for my kids and I've always been into holistic health from the very beginning and organic, non-gmo and without all the added dyes that I know has an effect on behavioral health that so many different over-the-counter medicines have in them. And, yeah, all of those things definitely played a role in wanting to learn more. To go back to what you had asked, yes, that is so impressive.

Speaker 2:

So I don't want to skip over something that you said because I don't know anything about this. So I want to go back to it, because you mentioned it really quickly. In terms of third party testing, talk to me about what that is and what does that mean. Because there are so many and I asked this because you brought it up and I never even thought about it but B because there are so many products out there on the market that claim to be natural, that claim to be healthy, that have lots of health claims, and it's really hard as a consumer to know the difference or know the things that they should be looking at when they're going to look at products. So if you could talk about that, that would be great.

Speaker 1:

Yes, and it is so hard as a consumer to try to navigate through all the marketing claims and the labels that are flashing before our eyes sharing this or that. And what do we actually look for on the label? That's the most important thing to look for, and I would say that third-party lab testing is the most important thing, paired with that ingredient list which tells us more about the product than anything else on the label. But what third-party lab testing done? What it is is shipping your product and formula several, several different batches off to a third-party lab that actually tests for microbes and bacteria and fungi and all those things that you don't want in your product because they have health risks of people that would consume the products with those things in them. And they test the product over a period of time to actually better understand the biology and the makeup of the product, but also to make sure that it's safe for consumers. Up of the product, but also to make sure that it's safe for consumers. And third-party lab testing is also where companies will get what their best buy date is right, because once it hits a certain point and okay, it's not safe anymore to consume. The best buy date is then determined based off that science and the you know microscopes of analyzing the product.

Speaker 1:

But what's unfortunate is that not all supplements go through this third-party lab testing, because if you're not registered and inspected by the FDA as a supplement company which many companies don't do on their own then they're not going to step into compliance and regulations that they should be doing as a supplement company, because who's watching over them to make sure that they do right?

Speaker 1:

So we actually stepped into third-party lab testing on our own because we wanted that consumer safety and quality control and to know that the best buy date that we're putting on our bottle actually has something behind it, versus just looking at the product internally within our own company and tasting it and looking at it to determine if it's safe for somebody to consume which, even if you were to do that, it's not necessarily even a safe route to go, because something can smell okay, or even maybe taste okay or look okay based on what you're looking at, and still not be safe for the end consumer.

Speaker 1:

So what's unfortunate, though, is that there's not actually a logo that the FDA gives to companies to actually share that same logo across all brands that do third-party lab testing, which I don't really quite understand that. I'm so surprised. Yes, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. So we do have a third Prey Lab testing logo on our product, so it might look different on other products is what I'm getting at, because there's not a universal logo that's being used for companies that go through this process, even though I think there should be.

Speaker 2:

Yes, best by date. I had no idea how that was derived. I kind of always considered it to be like when you go to the pharmacy, when you get your prescription, the best by date is always a year from the date that you pick up your product, and so I'm sure I am like so many consumers that are like the best by date. Oh, that's a guidance. It only means a little bit of something, but it's a guidance. It only means a little bit of something, but it's so fascinating to hear from a supplement perspective how it even got derived in the first place.

Speaker 1:

Right, and it is different when you're looking at food versus supplements. There's not as much regulation when it comes to supplements that there is food. Also, the food is going to be regulated under the usda or the department of agriculture versus the, the food and drug administration. Um, so there's different agencies that are overseeing whatever it is that's being done and, unfortunately, when it comes to supplements, that's where there's a lot of gray area in terms of what a company might be doing and whether or not it's actually compliant with what they should be doing. Um, I'm sure there's many people making supplements and throwing them on the internet that aren't even made in a you know, a commercial facility. They might be being made out of someone's home, uh, with no regulation over. So they always say you know, it's kind of like the wild, wild west out there when it comes to supplements, and being in the industry, I can definitely see why, from everything that I've learned, Wow, Well, and kudos to you.

Speaker 2:

I love how you took the approach for your product from the consumer perspective and from the perspective as a woman, as a mom, as someone who's interested in wellness. I think that shows in your product and it shows as you tell your story and what your end product is, because you are looking at it as a consumer, not necessarily as the person trying to sell a product and make a lot of money. It's like your intention for why you're doing what you're doing starts at a much more healthier internal spiritual grounded space and a space of goodness and giving back, as opposed to just I need to make money.

Speaker 1:

Absolutely.

Speaker 2:

It's a wonderful story.

Speaker 1:

And really going back to what I shared before, of all these different opportunities that have come to save money, but I choose not to step into those because it is from the heart. It's a mission-driven business. There's intentionality behind why we do what we do. This is a product that my own family takes every single day, and so I always tell people what I want for my own family, I also want for yours.

Speaker 1:

No-transcript. Helping people restore their health in ways that we never imagined possible, and I do fear that is. If anything were to change, would it still have such a profound effect on people's joint pain and inflammation? Would it still help them let go of things like Zyrtec and Claritin for their allergies? Would it still work the same way if things were toggled with? And I don't want to take that step to see. I would rather just keep everything as it always has been the way that it works for people, including my own family, and knowing that you know the integrity is there to keep up such a high quality product no-transcript, but I do take it all year.

Speaker 2:

And so now you've made me personally think about huh, maybe I could cut that out and replace it with elderberry, which would be a much more natural way, and I too, like so many of your consumers, would love to find more natural ways to achieve the same health benefits and achieve the same relief, and do it in a much more holistic way. So thank you for mentioning that in particular. I appreciate that. I'm going to give it a try.

Speaker 1:

Oh my gosh. Yes, absolutely so. When we even just think about sinus and allergy health. Elderberries are rich in quercetin, which I mentioned before. Quercetin is a supplement many times people will turn to to help support allergies. But elderberries are also a powerful anti-inflammatory and that's also why they are supporting sinus health with the inflammation, and allergies are also an overreaction of our immune system. So when your immune system is being supported, naturally your allergies are also being supported, because they're directly affected to one another.

Speaker 1:

You also have the local raw honey and a lot of times people will say well, jessica, I don't live in South Carolina, so how can the local raw honey used in your product actually help with my allergies?

Speaker 1:

And this was very interesting because we early on had people from upstate New York and then clear across to California reach out to us and let us know that they no longer need their allergy medicine. So I actually reached out to the beekeeper because I didn't understand it. I said how would our product that's made here in South Carolina help people across the country in this way, especially with their allergies? So that's when I started really digging into the research and better understanding all the different ingredients that go into it and how they all help support allergies. But bees are pollinating on a lot of the same plants and trees all over our country, just as they are here in South Carolina, and also the raw honey paired with the elderberries, along with those other ingredients, are bringing such a profound anti-inflammatory benefit which a lot of people will start taking it every few hours as needed to get started. Then, once their body becomes acclimated with it, they can taper off their doses, where many times people just take one to two doses every day.

Speaker 2:

Oh my goodness, it sounds like a miracle drug. It really does. It's so cool and I love that you don't want to change it, because if it's working, don't change it. So I have a question about sales and marketing, because you are the face of the brand. So how do you handle being a mom, being a business owner and being the face of the brand as well being?

Speaker 1:

a business owner and being the face of the brand as well. Well, it's very challenging and hard, and I will say that it has taken You're honest, yeah, it has taken up to really getting to this point in the business for me to really embrace my role as business owner and shine. And if I can just be completely vulnerable and transparent in that way, I think that my I have been grieving leaving my teaching career for years. I thought I had my career path set. I went and got my master's degree to teach health education. I was teaching at the university 150 students a semester. I loved my job. So when I stepped into this calling, if you will, of creating this product and sharing it with other people, and then a couple of years later, in 2020, resigning from teaching to step wholeheartedly and full-time into the business with my husband, it took me years to really find my place. What is my purpose in all of this? What is my role? What is your role? How do I find joy and love in this, even though I know it's having such a profound effect on people's health, and step into my love and desire for teaching? How do I marry the two here? Because I don't want to just talk about elderberry syrup, like. Just like I would with my classroom. I had subjects every single week across the realm of personal and community health. So stepping into this in terms of just sharing my story in a much bigger way and being a guest on podcasts and God, really sharing, not pulling you out of your classroom, jessica, I'm just making your classroom bigger. So I kind of am at a place now with, in terms of sales and marketing, of really stepping into enjoying it a lot more and having really stepping in and putting my face more in the company. There was a lot of shifts in our business over the years with having other people support our marketing and sales, and I kind of got people support our marketing and sales and I kind of got pushed behind the scenes more, if you will, and now I'm trying to bring myself more out in the spotlight as the founder and wanting and having that desire for personal connection with our community.

Speaker 1:

It has been difficult with three kids, especially early on when they were very, very young.

Speaker 1:

It has been difficult with three kids, especially early on when they were very, very young.

Speaker 1:

My kids are 10, 12, and 14 now, so of course it makes it a little bit easier when they're able to take care of themselves a little bit more, but my husband and I try to still be very intentional with family time. They can obviously see the grit and the hard work that we put into doing this business. But it has been a blessing for them too, because my kids have never taken anything over the counter before, they've never been on the antibiotic, they've never been to a sick doctor's visit in their life. So the benefit for our family in terms of having healthy children and having something completely from nature that's natural that we can turn to if we need additional support for anything, even things as simple as like a stomach ache or a headache, like we use the product for everything. So I know that they have appreciation for the product itself and just being a part of this bigger purpose that we've been called to to support the health of our community and really beyond.

Speaker 2:

And you have a store. You have a physical store correct when you live.

Speaker 1:

We do. Yeah, so it's actually we call it the petite shop. It's just a little area up front where all the manufacturing happens. We have it kind of curtained off to where everything's being fresh batches every single day in our commercial facility here in Myrtle Beach and then if locals want to come in and grab their product, they can and, of course, connect with us. My husband is over there today, so we just kind of tag team and make it work, and it's been great to just be able to stay connected with our local community, just like we were at the very beginning. I also still go to farmer's markets here and there, because that's been the best way to meet people from all across the country and grow our online business and share the product with more people. And we also have wholesale partners across the country that carry our product, as well as affiliates, and we have businesses that support the wellness of their employees that we partner with as well. So, yeah, we've expanded in a lot of different directions to serve more people.

Speaker 2:

And I love that in ways I would not have actually thought of for your product, and I'm a sales and marketing person. So kudos to you. That's great expansion. All right, everybody, welcome, welcome back. You might notice I have different headphones on than I did a few minutes ago. Both jessica and I had technical issues so we had to stop and restart. So evan, our amazing producer, is going to put this all back together, but I wanted you to know, if you're watching this, why I now look different than I did before, because my headphones died. So, jessica, before before we had our technical difficulties and we got disconnected. I was about to ask you that. I was on your website last night and I saw something that I thought was pretty interesting. And is it true that you are working on a product for dogs?

Speaker 1:

We absolutely are. In fact, we're not necessarily working on a new formula of our product, but we are working on the dosage recommendation for dogs using our bites formula, which many of our customers have been doing for years, and the packaging and the information on the actual packaging of the product is going to be a little bit different, of course, for dogs versus humans, but what we know is that every single ingredient from nature that goes into our product is not only safe for dogs, but dogs are also experiencing the goodness of what our product has to offer for their health as well. We have had people already share with us, using our signature bite formula, that it has helped dogs with allergies and dermatitis and hot spots and kennel cough and joint mobility and energy and a lot of the things it's doing for humans. So we are so excited to be able to share this product with the furry friends as well.

Speaker 2:

I love that. I have three furry friends and they're all large and so joint health is definitely always an issue, and we also have one of them is a labradoodle, and so allergies and skin is always kind of a thing. So I am so excited about that and I just want to make sure we talk about your Bites product, because you just mentioned it but we didn't actually talk about it before. So, just so everybody knows, explain what the Bites product is versus the syrup.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, so we have our signature elderberry syrup formula. That was created for my home kitchen back in 2018 that we talked about, and a couple of years into the business, I personally, as a mother, was like we need something that we can travel with. We need something that we can take our signature formula with us on the go, without refrigeration. That's easy to just take camping, vacations, work, throw them in the car, school lunch bags, what have you? So I looked at our director of operations and I gave him a list of all of our no ingredients that I did not want them to have. I did not want this to be your typical elderberry gummy on the market, full of added sugars and fillers and dyes and gelatin and all the things that we talked about before. So we created our elderberry syrup liquid formula into a solid form that we call our elderberry syrup bites and think of it as just a little traveling pod of our signature elderberry syrup liquid in a solid form. The only difference with our bites is we are adding non-gmo organic preservatives to keep them shelf stable, to lower that ph level, like we talked about before. So mold and mildew and bacteria growth and all that doesn't happen, but we're using the mildest form of a preservative in the in the fact that they are organic and non-gmo. We're also still only using local raw honey. Just like our signature liquid form has to sweeten the bite formula. So there is absolutely no sugar or artificial sweeteners that go into them, much like gummies on the market that have those ingredients. So it's really a traveling pod of our signature liquid. That's why we still call it elderberry syrup and just elderberry syrup bites, because it's our signature elderberry syrup, just in a bite form and very, very easy and convenient to take the product with you wherever you go.

Speaker 1:

And what's so incredibly fascinating is the bites work just the same as the liquid. Um, you would take two bites to every one tablespoon of our liquid for humans, one for a child. And the bites are very different than gummies in terms of texture, as you know as well. They're more of like like a jellied cranberry sauce. Like texture is kind of like what they remind me of, where they're just really soft. Your teeth just kind of slice right through them. They're not chewy and sticky, they don't get stuck in your teeth, there's no sugar in them and they're not coated in sugar. So we can't call them gummies because they're not a gummy, but they're very, very pure and clean as a chewable elderberry supplement on the market.

Speaker 2:

Which is perfect, because one of the things about having a product that has to be refrigerated and I didn't know before you sent me a product that you had it in bites I just thought you know this is great, but what happens when I have to travel? So I love that you have both. And I also am excited about the dog thing, because the way I feed my dogs, I could also give them the syrup if I knew the amount of syrup to give them because of how their food works. They eat raw food and so how their food works I could just easily just add that right to their food and they would chow it down. It wouldn't even have to be in the bite format. So I will be following for more info about how to get the right dosage for these guys.

Speaker 1:

Yes, we're really excited to be supporting pets in that same way and, of course, as a visionary, I have all the ideas, because we have cats, so we're going to have to figure out a formula for them as well.

Speaker 2:

Cats. That's a whole different deal. I used to have a cat. That's a whole different deal. They don't necessarily love to take stuff. Yeah, that's different. Oh, but good for you for expanding into dogs. That is amazing. Dogs are near and dear to my heart, so I love anyone who loves animals who comes on my show. So I've taken up so much of your time. So I've taken up so much of your time, so I have two last questions for you. The first one is one that I like to ask every guest, which is I am a true believer that books change lives, and I love to know what the people on my show are reading, because everyone who comes on my show has an interest in wellness. So could you recommend a book for the listeners that has impacted you either personally or professionally that you think someone should read?

Speaker 1:

Absolutely. The first book that came to my mind was A Return to Love by Marianne Williamson. That is a phenomenal book. It was a turning point for me reading the book not just as a woman, but also as a mother and business owner Just someone trying to live more fully from a place of faith and authenticity. And the book reminded me that love just isn't an emotion, it's a way of being, and fear is often the only thing that gets in the way. I actually have a quote from the book that I wanted to share as well. It says our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate, our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. And that kind of resonated with me because I was afraid to step forward, to be visible, to shine. But stepping into my purpose is the most loving thing that I know I've been able to do for myself, my family as well as the people that we serve. So I would definitely recommend reading A Return to Love by Marianne Williamson.

Speaker 2:

That is a great one. I have never heard of that one, but I love the subject, the title, so thank you so much. I do buy all the books that everyone recommends and do try to read them all as well, so thank you for that. So, before we go, is there anything that I didn't ask you that you want to make sure you talk about, whether it be personally, professionally, the brand, your future vision, anything that I missed that you think is really important that we get out?

Speaker 1:

I think it's just to wrap it up, just to encourage the listeners to really step into their calling, and I know that it can be really scary. I can remember looking at my husband a few months in and saying you know, you either need to quit your job or we got to shut all this down. And I was so fearful and scared like can we really step into this and do this? It's such a big undertaking, but the parachute will open, especially when it's your calling and purpose that you're supposed to step into, and I would just leave people with that. And if they want to learn more information about our products, they can visit our website. We also have a loyalty membership to help support our customers that take our product year round, every day, to support their health in a bigger way and I will link all of that in the show notes for everybody.

Speaker 2:

So, jessica, thank you so much. Thank you for being persistent to get onto my show. Thank you for sending me product to try. I am totally hooked. Now I will be part of the loyalty program. I will be following to find out about what's going on with dogs. So I am completely hooked. I love things that are about wellness and I just love your mission and your platform to really find truly healthy ways to use nature's products to help us. So I thank you for the education and I thank you so much for your time and definitely stay connected. I wish you all the best.

Speaker 1:

Oh, thank you, you too. Thank you so much for having me.

Speaker 2:

You're welcome. Have a great day. Thank you for joining us for another episode of the House of Germar podcast, where wellness starts within. We appreciate you being a part of our community and hope you felt inspired and motivated by our guest. If you enjoyed this episode, please write us a review and share it with friends. Building our reach on YouTube and Apple podcasts will help us get closer to our mission to empower 1 million women to live all in. You can also follow us on instagram at house of germar and sign up to be a part of our monthly inspiration newsletter through our website, houseofgermarcom. If you or someone you know would be a good guest on the show, please reach out to us at podcast at houseofgermarcom. This has been a House of Germar production with your host, jean Collins. Thank you for joining our house.