We recently connected with Deborah Clemons and have shared our conversation below.

Deborah, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

How I Got Started:

In early 2016 my best friend was diagnosed with cancer. In an effort to help, I would prepare her meals so she could easily cook for herself. To simplify the recipes, I combined my spice rubs for steaks into butter for her to use on her meats. She began using them on stir fry veggies, in her pasta, and as a spread. This inspired me to begin producing my own line of spice-infused artisan butter.

I began selling my butters at local farmer’s markets while teaching myself along the way how to build a successful business. From setting up manufacturing to marketing and product fulfillment. I was doing it all. Within a year, Infusion Blends was being sold in national supermarkets!

Creating Infusion Blends has been one of the best journeys of my life.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Infusion Blends began with my desire to give everyone from novice cooks to expert chefs the ability to add flavor and excitement to meals in minutes. I have created a line of amazing gourmet butters that are free of hormones, preservatives, and artificial additives. We source the highest quality spices, herbs, fruits, and Butter in order to deliver on our commitment to producing the freshest, best-tasting butter.

I started with flavors that consumers are familiar with, such as Rosemary, Cajun, Peach, and Blueberry, and then packed them with tons of flavorful ingredients that spark the imagination with endless ways to use them with any appetizer, main course, or dessert.

Our Flavored Butters is filled with herbs, spices, and real fruit so that you don’t even have to use salt when seasoning your meals. That’s why we say “It’s All In The Butter”. Our Flavored butters are made to use as a marinade, cooking, as well as a spread. It’s so convenient and cost effective that there’s no need for multiple spices, mixing, or measuring. So our customers save money, save time and enjoy gourmet-tasting dishes in minutes!

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

I knew I had a business when I realized people loved my butters and would actually pay money to purchase them. What I didn’t know was the food manufacturing business. as my background was in sales and marketing.

So, Google became my teacher and I taught myself the food manufacturing business. Everything from understanding food safety standards, and state and federal food regulations, down to the packaging, and promotion.

Getting the initial capital was somewhat complicated. In the beginning, I was still working at Xfinity. Each week, I would take a portion of my pay and put it towards whatever I could to get set up. I started with $50.00 one week to get a PO Box and continued with each period to set aside funds to get business licenses, a website, and purchase raw ingredients. I also got a booth at my local farmers market to help offset the cost so I could take a Food Establishment class at Georgia Tech.

By the time I was ready to sell to the general public, I was legal, ready, and excited to go into this new adventure. I began selling at my local farmers market every Saturday morning, I was up at 6 am. It was an instant success. From there I expanded to include 5 additional farmers markets in my area and hired and trained staff to manage each one.

We were recognized by a food critic from the Atlanta Journal Constitution, who visited my booth and loved my product. They did a feature in AJC and we really began to take off. By word of mouth, someone found out about my butters and loved them. This person was instrumental in getting my product into the hands of a Kroger Regional Buyer. We were picked up in Kroger starting with 2 stores and then just a few months later was given an additional 48 stores in the Metro Atlanta Area.

The next thing I know a representative from QVC reached out, and Infusion Blends was booked on QVC. We sold out in less than 6 minutes. 13 airings later we sold 10s of thousands of jars of our butter. Our Instagram account is where a representative from Good Morning America reached out and we have been featured twice on the Deals and Steals segment of their show. Our first show with GMA sold 36,000 jars of butter in less than 6 hours.

In addition to these two giant accounts, our product can be found in gourmet markets across the US and online. Our latest accomplishment, we have acquired 100 Walmart stores throughout the State of Georgia.

With the company’s proven track record demonstrated through sales and visibility of a viable product that consumers want, it is becoming a bit easier to find investors who are interested and willing to risk putting money into the business.

Do you have any stories of times when you almost missed payroll or any other near death experiences for your business?

Like many businesses during 2020 with Covid shutdowns in full swing, many businesses suffered the loss of income and or shut their doors. Even though the food industry grew as more families cooked at home, the gourmet butter business was not seen as an essential item that stores wanted to stock at that time.

As a small business just getting its footing, this was a frightening time and it looks as if Infusion Blends would be one of these companies that did not make it through to the end.

That was until my Butter Distributor, who was also one of the initial supporters of the company from its inception, extended the opportunity to be a contractor in the Farmers to Families Food Box led by The Secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Sonny Perdue. Hungry families thought the South East received monthly boxes of fresh produce and dairy products, including Infusion Blends Butters through their local Community Food Banks. The Food Banks gave out over 10, 000 boxes a month. This opportunity not only allowed Infusion Blends to survive and finish the year with a profit, but the company was able to contribute to the community.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.infusionblends.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/infusionblends
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/InfusionBlends/