Meet Jodi Keegan | Small business owner, Jodi’s Elderberry Syrup

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jodi Keegan and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jodi, how do you think about risk?
Risk taking is necessary if you plan to own your own business. You need to just dive right in, strive to educate yourself and the best business owner you can be. Small business ownership comes with many ups and downs, especially in these times. I took a risk by starting a business backwards. I was making elderberry syrup for friends and family and saw an opportunity to help more people. I put myself out there with absolutely no knowledge of how to start a business or the steps that I would take to get my products in the hands of my customers. Taking risks has allowed me given me the courage to step out of my comfort zone, educate the public, market my products and provide wellness to customers both locally and nationwide.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Jodi’s Elderberry Syrup is an all natural wellness company that focuses on keeping families and individuals well through the power of elderberries. Jodi’s elderberry syrup is a woman owned and run company that provides top notch customer service with high quality products. Our line of products includes wellness syrups, infused honey, organic gummies, teas, jams and more.

When my children were young, we were sick often. Sickness triggered our son’s asthma and brought us to the emergency room on many occasions. A good friend turned me onto elderberry syrup after hearing my frustrations. Finally, we found something that helped to keep our bodies well! Our son’s sicknesses declined and his frequency of asthma attacks significantly decreased. (He has not used his rescue inhaler in 4 years!) I researched different ingredients and recipes until I found the perfect combination of health benefits combined with great taste. Each ingredient in my recipe has a purpose of both taste and health.

I knew others were struggling with the same issues and I wanted to help their families! Moms from the Clayton Moms Facebook page were reaching out to me to ask if I could make elderberry syrup for them. I would make the syrup in my home, pour it into mason jars and meet them at preschools, grocery stores, parking lots, etc.

In September of 2017, Blair Barnes of C.E.Barnes Store in Archer Lodge, NC reached out to me and asked if she could sell my syrup to her customers…..and Jodi’s Elderberry Syrup was officially born!

My best friend had experience with graphic design and offered to help me design a logo and labels, I researched to find out the steps to make my business a “real” business. I then moved my operation into a commercial kitchen, had my processes inspected by NC Department of Agriculture, got my LLC and insurance and I was off!

There was a lot of trial and error when it came to scaling up my processes to accomadate the growing number of orders. It took me awhile to perfect me sales pitch to potential retailer but once I did, I gained the confidence to grow my wholesale business. In 2020 when Covid shut the down the world, I lost a ton of product as my syrup was a refrigerated product with a 3 month shelf life and businesses shut down for months with my products in their refrigerators. At that point I decided to take the steps to make my product shelf stable.

The following year I added my online store and in 2022 I started attending farmers markets so I could meet the wonderful customers that supported me and trusted me with their health.

Now in 2024, my online store allows for shipping worldwide, My products are sold in 62 locations in North Carolina and Virginia and with the help of my husband, Joe and our kids, we attend Clayton Farm & Community Market, South Durham Farmers Market, The Flowers Plantation Market and The Bandwidth Farmers market each once a month from late August-mid June.

It has been a wild ride and I couldn’t do it without the help of my amazing family and helpful friends. Every bottle of elderberry is made by us, every bottle delivered is delivered by us.

Jodi’s Elderberry syrup is made possible with my dad, Russ, helping with deliveries, my mom, Bonnie and my husband Joe helping in the kitchen along with numerous friends that have helped me make and bottle syrup, bag DIY and tea kits, bottle honey and lemonade and help with social media and marketing and our kids, Bryson and Alexa helping out at markets. It truly takes a village to keep my business going.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I am originally from New York, went to college in South Carolina and settled down to raise our family in Smithfield, NC. We split our free time between the triangle and Lake Gaston (we have a permanent camper on the lake and really enjoy boating and being outdoors.) However, we also love the beach and the mountains! This great state has it all! If we were staying local, we would visit one area each day:

Smithfield-Breakfast & coffee: Gilded Pear, shopping in Downtown Smithfield to visit Twisted Willow and Oak City Collection, lunch: San Marcos Mexican Restaurant Watch a movie at Howell Theater, Then ice cream at Celtic Creamery

Downtown Clayton-Breakfast at Jones Cafe, shopping at The Market at Three Little Birds, shop Clayton Farm & Community Market 9am-noon Saturday then grab a beer and lunch from a food truck while listening to live music at Deep River Brewery. Top it off with pizza and arcade games at Fare Game. If you’re still not ready to head home yet, go next door to Revival 1869.

Raleigh: Breakfast at The Farmers Market restaurant-(home of the largest biscuit sandwich I have ever seen!), walk around and shop the many vendors from at the largest Farmers Market in the area-open 7 days a week. Vendors range from fruits, vegetables, honey, flowers, cookies, pastries, flowers, trees, ice cream, coffee, spices, cakes, pies, wine, breads…everything! So fresh and mostly all local! Then head over to Moore Square Park area to walk around, maybe hit up the Science museum or Marbles children’s museum and have a late lunch/early dinner at one of the amazing restaurants in the area! My favorites are Sitti (Lebanese) and Bida Manda (Loation) or head over to the Warehouse district for great Steak at The Oak or a casual meal at Parkside.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I want to dedicate my shoutout to my amazing friends, family and loyal customers that have made Jodi’s Elderberry Syrup possible, especially my husband, Joe. Without him, none of this would be possible. He is my rock, my partner, my supporter and my number one employee!

Website: jodiselderberrysyrup.com

Instagram: @jodiselderberrysyrup

Linkedin: Jodi Keegan

Facebook: Facebook.com/jodiselderberrysyup 

Image Credits
Casey Horst Photography and Tami Casalegno Photography