Blog — immune boost

Here at The Elderberry Co, Elderberry Syrup is clearly a big part of what we do. You might be surprised, but we don’t spend our days only talking about Elderberry Syrup. I know, crazy right?!? We talk about our lives, our dreams, our hopes. We talk about you. We talk about how we can better our processes, and products to help our customers. For us, it is not just about the syrup. It is about empowering families to stay healthy, especially during this time of year.

If you’ve been around us long, you’ve probably heard Jenny Watson, the owner of The Elderberry Co, talk about the struggle when her son was young and getting earache after earache. She didn’t feel empowered on how to help him. If you’re a parent, you know that helpless feeling when your kid is sick and NOTHING seems to help. She found Elderberry Syrup and could see the impact that it made on her family's health. That is the biggest reason she created this company.

It may be hard to remember when you are ordering from a website, but we are a small business. There are humans behind this business. We have about six of us on staff and a few others that help periodically when we need it. From putting labels on your jars, to making syrup, to filling tea pouches, responding to emails and messages, all of that is done by our team.

When you support this business, you truly support our families and the community. If you were not aware, a portion from every jar goes to a ministry in Louisville, Ky, Safe Passage. Safe Passage is a faith-based organization working to open Kentucky’s first shelter for sexually trafficked children. Each person buying our products plays a role in providing hope and healing to young people who may not otherwise receive it! That's a HUGE deal!

This week is about being thankful for things in your life. We just wanted to take time this week to tell you how thankful we are for you. We are thankful you entrust us to help keep your family healthy. We are thankful you come to our store or email us to share stories about how our syrup has impacted your family.

We have big plans for 2020 and many ideas. Thank you for supporting us! From our Elderberry family to yours, we hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving week!

Let us know what you would love to see us come up with in 2020! Message us on instagram or Facebook or email us at info@theelderberryco.com!

A question we get asked a lot is why do we have a storefront now? Our storefront is a BIG deal for us.

 First: It gives us the chance to meet our customers face-to-face. Some of you all have been customers since Jenny started in her home. You trusted a woman with a baby on her hip and a toddler running around to keep your family healthy. Two years later, you still support her family, her hopes, and her dreams and that means more than you know. You believe in her. So getting to meet you all face-to-face is a joy for all of us. 

Second: We get to educate people on the benefits of all things Elderberry. We have so many people every day wander into the store and ask what an Elderberry is. We love that we get to explain to them what we do, why we do it, and how it helps!

Third: There are a few extraverts that work at The Elderberry Co. Most of us would feel trapped in a box behind those walls not getting to talk to the outside world all day. It’s just our personalities to want to talk to people. I know there are other extroverts who feel this, amiright!

At the Elderberry Co, we truly believe there are no stupid questions, only opportunities to learn. There are so many different facts to learn about Elderberry Syrup, especially our brand. We compiled a list of common questions that you all have asked and put them in one giant blog! Emphasis on giant.

Where are you located?
We are located in New Albany, IN. Right outside of Louisville, Ky!

What are the ingredients in your Elderberry Syrup?
Our syrup contains Elderberries, Aronia Berries, Ginger, Cinnamon, Cloves, and Honey.

Can you take this while pregnant/breastfeeding?
When it comes to pregnancy, honestly there are not a ton of studies done on it. We have a lot of pregnant/ breastfeeding mommas who use our Elderberry Syrup though! We do believe it is safe for both! We always recommend you do what makes you most comfortable though. For some that means only taking it when they’re sick and others like to take it preventatively. We are mommas not doctors. Not all pregnancies are the same, so we recommend talking to your OB if you have concerns! 

How much do I take? Kids?
We recommend a tablespoon a day preventatively or 2-3 tablespoons when actively fighting something for an adult. For kids 1 and older we recommend a teaspoon instead of tablespoon!

Is Elderberry Syrup safe for infants?
Our Elderberry syrup contains raw honey, so it is not safe for babies under 1. The good news is, we sell kits that you can make syrup yourself so that you can omit the honey to make it infant safe!

How many servings are in your jars and how long do they last?
We have three different jar sizes! 

8oz is 15 tablespoons
16oz is 30 tablespoons
32oz is 60 tablespoons

Our syrups best buy date is 45 days from the day it’s made. It usually last a couple weeks past the date on the jar. We don’t can our syrup or use any added preservatives. We want to keep it fresh and natural! We believe if you are going to choose a healthy alternative, it needs to actually be healthy. 

What if I can’t finish my syrup in time?
The syrup usually last a week or two past the date on the jar but if you can’t finish it in time, you can freeze the syrup in ice cube trays for 6-8 months! 

Speaking of ice cube trays. How many Ice cube trays will a Jar hold?
A standard ice cube tray is 12 cubes. Each cube is about 2 tablespoons. So one tray would hold 24 tablespoons. 

 8oz Jar = ¾th of an ice cube tray
16oz Jar = 1 full tray and ¼th of an ice cube tray
32oz Jar = 2 full trays and 1 half of an ice cube tray

How much does the shipping cost and how long for shipping?
We offer free shipping to anyone anywhere in the US no matter how little or how much you order! We ship our syrup within 1-3 days of you ordering and shipments take 1-3 days to arrive at your door!

Do you ship it cold?
We test our batches to ensure they are safe out of the fridge during the 1-3 days of shipping! The most it would do is knock the shelf life down a day or two. 

We do recommend to get it in the fridge when it arrives to ensure the longest shelf life! 

Does it need to be refrigerated?
Yes, we recommend the syrup be refrigerated to ensure the longest shelf life! 

Do you have a sugar free option?
We offer our Elderberry Kit that you can use to make the syrup at home on your stove. This way you can omit the honey and it would make it sugar-free!

What is your Subscription Program?
We offer a Subscription Program where you can subscribe and save 10% on all your orders. You can choose your products and how often you want to receive them. Choose from as often as 1, 2, or 3 weeks or 1, 2, or 3 months. You can change or cancel your subscription at any time through logging into your account on our website.

Why should we choose your syrup over another one?
The biggest difference between our syrup compared to big brand store bought syrups is going to be the fact that we do not use any preservatives or artificial sweeteners and they do. We make our syrup fresh in our store each week and use only organic ingredients. Our syrup is made with 6 simple ingredients, Organic Elderberries, Aronia Berries, Clove, Ginger, Cinnamon, and Honey. 

 I mentioned this earlier but at The Elderberry Co, we believe that if you are going to take a healthy alternative, it needs to actually be healthy and have ingredients in it that are good for you and your health!

 Another big difference is going to be the cost. 

For 16oz of our syrup, you would pay $29.99 online with free shipping anytime to anywhere in the US. According to what I found on amazon, for 16oz of one of the big brand syrups, you would pay roughly $63. 

So these are obviously not the only questions we get asked. However, these are the questions we get asked the most! Are we missing any questions that you have? Please let us know in the comment section of our Facebook page! 

We will be announcing our Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday deals Friday! If you’re not already on our email list, get on there! You’re not going to want to miss that update. You can get on our email list by going to our website theelderberryco.com, scroll to the bottom and you can sign up there! 

Here at The Elderberry Co we say our syrup taste like Christmas. That clove taste makes us want to snuggle the softest blanket with a warm cup of coco while watching the every Christmas movie Netflix has to offer next to a dimly lit tree… OK so I can’t speak for the other ladies that work here at The Elderberry Co, but thats how it makes me feel. Before we get to Christmas, we have a couple Holidays in between. (I didn’t forget about you, you pumpkin and turkey lovers) Halloween is this week and we want to share the Tricks and Treats of getting your kids to take Elderberry.. Or for you to take Elderberry if the Christmas taste doesn’t float your boat. 

One of my favorite things about working at the Elderberry Co is getting to see all the customers who have never tried it and are shocked that it “actually taste good?!” It excites us too!

If you watched a recent Facebook video of ours, clearly you can see how happy it made us that when we moved into our new facility the taste actually seemed to improve with our new brewing methods. Along with the people who love it, we have a few clove haters who are not the biggest fans. Don’t worry, you won’t hurt our feelings! We just want you to be healthy. So if that means we needed to compile a list of ways to hide the taste of Elderberry so that you can take it, then we will!

Elderberry syrup is incredibly good for adults but its health benefits for kids are great too! Kids can be reckless and know no bounds. Things go in their mouth, they share snacks, sippy cups, toys, you name it. Germs are so easily passed at a young age, ESPECIALLY if your kiddos in school. Bless schools and daycares, but man are they a breeding ground for germs. Giving your kid something to help boost their immune system when they are around other kids all day will help them tremendously!

Here is a list of ways to mask the taste of Elderberry syrup. These are tricks that either we have tried or that our customers have said they have tried!

Juice

Smoothies

Applesauce

Coffee

Tea

Popsicles 

Freeze in fun ice trays

Mix with Waffle syrup

Yogurt

You could also try these tricks!

“I’ve got this special juice that you only get once a day!”

Think about yourself, if someone told you that you could only have something once a day, it makes you want it a tad more. Especially kids. They ALWAYS want what they can’t have!

“If you help me clean your room you can have some Elderberry Syrup!” 

Make it a reward! Kids love to win something. Why not make the win healthy? 

Use a special small cup just for their syrup.

Take the syrup together with them!

‘Cheers’ your cups as you take it!

9X’s outta 10 if you make it fun, they will jump on board. If they don’t you can always resort to using the tricks above to hide the taste!

Now for the treat!

The treat of taking Elderberry syrup is that you and your family are putting things in your body to help fight against you getting sick. Elderberries have many different ways that they can help you. 

Immune - Booster

Anti - Inflammatory 

Anti - Viral

Cuts the duration of colds and flu.

Your family not attending extra doctor visits is enough of a treat but the fact that it can help with the things listed above is the reason we do what we do. Like we said, we want you and your family to be healthy so we’ve got a pretty big treat to let you in on. 

Today through November 8th we are having a Buy 2 jars get 2 free sale. Yeah.. I actually said that. You can buy two jars of any size and get 2 jars of equal or lesser value free. It’s our Birthday and we want to celebrate in a big way! You can get this deal online or in our store located in downtown New Albany! Have a happy Halloween from our Elderberry family to yours!

(For the sale, just add 4 jars to your cart and the sale is automatically applied!)

You ever wake up feeling like you’ve been hit by a freight train? You’ve got it all, headache, nausea, cough, sore throat, fever, chills, and sweats. The whole schbang. Your body is so achy, you are sure this is the ultimate end and this is how you’re going out. It hits you. You remember now that Karen from the preschool swore her and the kids allergies were just acting up, they “never get sick”. You realize, it wasn’t allergies, and now you have the flu. Eh, thanks Karen. The flu is this terrible bug that thrives on appearing at the most inconvenient time. But really when is there ever a convenient time to be sick, amiright?!

Well you stumbled onto the right blog. Elderberry Syrup does its job to stop the flu in its tracks and cut the duration of the time you are sick. You hear this and you might know this, but still you’re not sure how the heck it does this trick! No worries, we are going to break that down to you today!

So you know what the flu symptoms are, but what exactly is the flu and how does it spread? Influenza, usually known as the flu, is a respiratory illness that is very contagious. It is caused by a virus that infects the lungs, nose, and throat. 

Occasionally the flu can be spread when touching objects that someone with the virus touched, then putting your hands near your mouth or nose. That is less likely though, more often the flu is spread when people who are sick with the virus sneeze, cough, or talk. When they do these things, the little saliva droplets land in the mouth or nose of others nearby. Super gross right? That is enough to make you want to go to Target and buy ALL the lysol. (Like you need a reason to go to Target anyway.) 

So now that you know what the flu is, and how the flu is spread, we want to explain exactly why you NEED Elderberry Syrup and what it can do when you have the flu. 

Elderberries contain antiviral properties. Antiviral means anything that kills a virus. Antiviral agents destroy a virus by stopping its ability to replicate itself and therefore prevents its capability to multiply and reproduce. That’s a whole lotta science jargon. So here's an easier explanation. Think of an Elderberry with antiviral properties as a superhero in a movie stopping a villain. Without superpowers, superheros are useless. They’re just ordinary humans. The superheroes use their powers to stop the villain in their tracks and keep them from causing more harm to the world. A villains main job is to keep causing havoc over and over again. Right? In the case of Elderberry syrup, antiviral properties are superpowers, and the world is your body. 

According to verywellhealth.com “In a 2011 study published in BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, researchers found that people with the flu who used elderberry syrup for five days (15 ml, four times daily) saw their symptoms resolve four days earlier than those given a placebo.”

So lets talk about some specific facts with The Elderberry Co’s Elderberry Syrup. What makes us different from going and buying syrup from a drug store. For starters, most other Elderberry Syrups from stores are loaded with added sugars and preservatives. We don’t believe in that. If we are going to preach healthy living with Elderberry Syrup, we don’t want to load it with added sugars and preservatives. That defeats the point in using a healthy alternative. Our syrup contains 6 simple ingredients. Did you catch that? Only SIX ingredients to make the liquid goodness that keeps you healthy. It also taste like Christmas, but that's just a bonus. 

Our organic syrup contains Elderberries, Aronia Berries, Clove, Ginger, Cinnamon, and Raw Honey. It’s that simple.

Now you know why you should take it, but you’re not really sure how much to take. We get asked this a lot! We would suggest that an adult take a tablespoon a day preventatively and a child over the age of one take a teaspoon a day. Especially in the winter months when the flu runs rampant. If you feel something coming on or are sick, we recommend to double or triple your daily dose.

We make it easy for you. We have our ready made syrup in three different sizes. 

If taking one tablespoon a day as an adult here is how long our syrup would last you.

8oz- Contains roughly 15 adult doses.

16oz -Contains roughly 30 adult doses.

32oz - Contains roughly 60 adult doses.

We also have kits that you can purchase to make it yourself and omit the honey. We have many families who want to give syrup to their baby, but our ready made syrup contains honey, which is not infant safe. We also have many diabetics who use the kits to omit honey since they can’t have a ton of sugar. You can also purchase a kit and add your local honey in the city you live to help with your allergies! 

We believe there are no stupid questions, just opportunities to learn. We would love to answer any questions you have about Elderberry Syrup. If you have a question, send us an email at info@theelderberryco.com

Last but not least, put your coffee down and take a deep breath. You ready?

We are running a giveaway through November 1st, 2019 to win a FREE year’s supply of Elderberry syrup. Yes, an ENTIRE year worth of Elderberry Syrup. Woah. If you want to enter, use this link!  ELDERBERRY GIVEAWAY

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