Mommy Talk Show Candid Conversation with a TV Mom
We’re approaching the cold and flu season a little differently than ever before around our household. A.J. and I are both taking elderberry syrup in the morning to keep colds and sniffles at bay. Thanks to local mom groups, I heard about the elderberry syrup craze where so many families take it to stay healthy. I was initially hesitant to take it even though several friends in my circle were buying and selling elderberry syrup. I was concerned because is already on daily preventative asthma medication. At the start of the school year, he got sniffles and started wheezing which sent us to the pediatrician. She gave us the go-ahead to try elderberry syrup and we’ve been devoted ever since.
When I noticed more and more Georgia moms who were buying and selling elderberry syrup, I wanted to get a deeper look at the elderberry syrup craze. Moms I talk to no longer rely solely on pharmaceutical brands to stay healthy. I think that’s one of many factors for why elderberry syrup is gaining popularity for young families.
First, here are a few disclosures.
- All of the moms I’ve interviewed are personal friends who live here in the Atlanta-area.
- I am not a medical or legal professional. Talk to one before you decide to ingest elderberry syrup. Consult a lawyer before you establish a business and sell products.
- Each state has different guidelines for selling products. Consult your state government’s page.
- My commission-earning affiliate links are below.
Why is there an Elderberry Syrup Craze?
If you Google elderberry, you’ll find a wealth of information. But I chose to focus on how it’s described by a reliable online medical resource. According to WebMd,
“Elderberry is the dark purple berry from the European elder tree. The berries are used to make medicine….Elderberry might affect the immune system. Elderberry seems to have activity against viruses including the flu, and might reduce inflammation.”
When you walked through a drugstore, you may have noticed that more and more over-the-counter cold medicines or vitamins contain elderberries.
Each of the moms I interviewed started buying, making and selling elderberry syrup as part of their own efforts to keep their families healthy.
They’re each at different stages of their business. I hope you can learn from them.
Tracie Justus
Tracie is a college professor and Zumba instructor.
What personal benefits have you/your family noticed from consuming elderberry syrup?
“I’ve seen the biggest benefit in my 7-year-old son. He caught fewer colds than he had in the past and his pesky and constant sniffling went away for good. For my husband and I, we find that we tend to get fewer colds and even when we do, the window of illness is shorter and the symptoms do not get very bad.”
Why do you think so many Atlanta-area families are choosing elderberry syrup during cold & flu season? What other herbal remedies do you notice are becoming popular?
“I think Atlanta-area families are adding elderberry syrup to their health regimens because they’ve heard about how much power is packed into those small elderberries. Word-of-mouth has helped to spread the word about elderberry syrup and after doing their own research, many have decided it is something they need to at least give a try.”
How do you ensure the quality of your ingredients and your syrup-making process?
“To ensure the quality of all of my ingredients, I repeatedly use the same vendors and many of them are local. For some, I have established relationships and they are happy to supply some of the ingredients for my syrup and to be a part of this elderberry syrup movement. As for the process, the syrup is made in small batches, and I stick to what works and ends up with the product that people have come to know and love.”
If you’ve been a vendor at events, what questions do you get asked most often about elderberry syrup?
“The question that is most often asked is ‘how does it taste?’ The next most common question is ‘does your son like it?’”
What’s next for your elderberry venture/business?
Crazy Berry Town is excited to participate in some upcoming holiday vendor fairs which are great for exposure. In addition to the elderberry syrup and dry kits, we’re looking to debut some new products in early 2020.
Amy Parsons
Amy just started making her products in a commercial kitchen.
Why do you think so many Atlanta-area families are choosing elderberry syrup during cold & flu season? What other herbal remedies do you notice are becoming popular?
Elderberry has been consumed for centuries, for all of it’s “magical” and healing properties. In olden and current times, the Elder tree itself is revered just as a name implies, for its wisdom, and is a symbol for health and prosperity for many.
More recent research has studied and proven the efficacy of Elderberries for safe, gentle, year-round immune support. Thus these powerful, antioxidant-rich berries have gained more attention in mainstream media sources. As more and more people of learning of the benefits of Black Elderberry Sambucus, people are finding that all of the legends and claims, do indeed live up to be true!
How do you separate yourself and your business from the growing number of elderberry syrup vendors?
I have crossed paths with some wonderful and beautiful souls, who also make and share natural healing and herbal care products. We all try to support one another, in all of the ways we can. There are so many unique qualities that we all contribute to our own recipes and blends. I think just like with any “art” people find what calls to them. Crafting Elderberry syrups and other small-batch, artisanal foods, is an art that allows us all to learn, grow, and create unique blends to express love, in each bottle
I either purchase ingredients from local farmers, grown my own herbs, sustainably wildcraft when possible, or source my ingredients from trusted producers in the United States. Part of My Elderberry Fairy’s mission is to support other local growers and producers as well. I am currently sourcing my honey through Sweetwater Creek Honey Farm, and also have plans to continue partnering with Grow With the Flow, moving forward.
How do you ensure the quality of your ingredients and your syrup-making process?
I either purchase ingredients from local farmers, grown my own herbs, sustainably wildcraft when possible, or source my ingredients from trusted producers in the United States. Part of My Elderberry Fairy’s mission is to support other local growers and producers as well. I am currently sourcing my honey through Sweetwater Creek Honey Farm, and also have plans to continue partnering with Grow With the Flow, moving forward.
Contact Amy through My Elderberry Fairy.
Faith Nash
Faith is A.J.’s former preschool teacher. She co-owns a fitness company with her husband.
How did you hear about the benefits of elderberry syrup? What prompted you to make it yourself vs. buy it from a brand?
I first learned about the benefits of elderberry on several of the natural and holistic facebook groups I’m a part of. I began purchasing a couple of name brands of elderberry to try it out. The problems we were coming across was that either the taste of the syrup was too sweet to handle or we were not seeing any real results and the syrups were pricey. I considered it an investment for my family’s health. After a handful of times of purchasing I decided to try to make it myself.
What personal benefits have you/your family noticed from consuming elderberry syrup?
Since making my own syrup for my family we have noticed that sickness has been shortened or curbed completely. With school aged kids all kinds of germs come home. I’ve done maintenance doses of elderberry to keep their immune systems up and at other times I’ve given it a few times a day once I noticed signs of sickness beginning to take place.
How do you separate yourself and your business from the growing number of elderberry syrup vendors?
First I’ve created Faith’s Signature Elderberry Syrup using 6 immune-stimulating and immune-modulating herbs in addition to the standard elderberry syrup recipe. Standard recipes include filtered water, elderberries, cinnamon, clove, ginger and honey. My signature recipe uses those ingredients and also includes nettle, astralagus, echinacea purpurea, echinacea Angustifolia, rosehips and star anise. I worked with different herbal combinations over the years and perfected my recipe in July 2019. In my journey of learning about each herb and how to prepare them to get the most benefit from each I had a strong desire to educate others.
Additionally, from a cultural perspective, there are not many women of color selling elderberry syrup. As a woman of color, my desire is to educate families on the benefits of Faith’s Signature Elderberry Syrup, especially those in a culture who traditionally do not rely on or understand the benefits of herbs.
Contact Faith Nash: Faith Signature Organics
Talkback to me in the comments: How much do you know about elderberry syrup? Have you tried it? What benefits (if any) have you noticed?
Pin this to your favorite board about health and wellness:
A lot of my friends make their own elderberry syrup. Me on the otherhand, I buy mine at the organic market because my time just doesn’t allow for me to make it.
I can understand that too. If I didn’t have moms in my circle who made it themselves, I’d probably buy it from a reliable market.
Mom Blogger, Christine St. Vil put me on to Elderberry sometime last year. I hadn’t heard of it and I shocked at all of the benefits it had to offer. We are a family that doesn’t get colds, despite that I give my daughter elderberry vitamins to take. It can’t hurt to boost her system.
I’ve read so many things about elderberry. Good things at that. I haven’t yet tried it myself, but will eventually.
I have not tried elderberry but it definitely was something alot of Moms were swearing by a year or so ago. I do like the bhoistic approach to combating colds/flush but just have not had the need or desire to try this yet.
Wow, I had no idea that there was an Elderberry craze going on. I just received a pack of the gummies in the mail and I’ve heard that they were good for colds but I’m really going to try them now!
We tried elderberry for the first time this year, amd I really do think k that it lessened a cold that was going through the family. I am sold!
Lots of my mom friends rely on it to keep their families healthy. I’m glad it works for you.
We use elderberry here and love it.
Oh wow! This is interesting. Funny enough this is the first time I have ever seen or heard about elder berry. I should try it out sometime, the syrup sounds like a great idea.