We were lucky to catch up with Erica Jones recently and have shared our conversation below.
Erica, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?
The stories of the people I’ve helped is what motivates me to continue. Here’s the short version of how we got here….I initially started taking sea moss gel to help with anxiety and to help boost my immune system in 2020 during quarantine. A friend and I went half on a small bag and said we would make sure our daughters would take it every day. Since I finished my batch first, I gave her a sample, so we could all start at the same time. She made a post about it in her Instagram story and within minutes, someone wrote me asking for my rate. To this day, I wish someone could have taken a picture of my face, because I had no clue what to tell her. So I got on Google real quick to see how much people were selling it for. Then I called her to tell her, and this was her response… “Yeah, I know that’s my cousin. I don’t think you realize that you’ve got a business sitting in your lap and I know you need something to do and to keep you busy. while we’re all stuck inside.” What’s funny about this is that her cousin never placed an order. Lol!! But what’s amazing about this is that, because of her, the rest is history. I became somewhat obsessed with researching all the ways you can use sea moss gel. I started giving some to a few of my friends who lived close to me and asked them to post it. Once they did that, the clients started pouring in. A couple of months later, I started hearing success stories from family members, friends, and people I had never met before. Some of their stories brought me to tears. I mean from helping with hair growth to fertility to gout and more…. it was mind blowing. To learn that I’ve helped people in this way showed me why God allowed me to do this. My mission is to holistically change lives one jar at a time and each of the stories I’ve heard is the reason why I keep going.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
Sure. I like to say it like this….. sea moss gel is one of the most effective multivitamins in the world. They say our bodies need 102 nutrients to be in its healthiest state and sea moss has 92 of those nutrients. It’s known for pulling the mucus out of your lungs and boosting the immune system. It works by helping your body to flush out what it doesn’t need and replenish whatever it’s lacking. Sea moss must be taken every day to do its best work. It helps with inflammation, sinuses, heart health, hair & nail growth, skin conditions, and so much more. I also blend my sea moss with other natural products that are also remedies in their own right. I now sell 8 different blends of sea moss gels. Here they are: Raw Sea Moss Gel, Chlorophyll Sea Moss Gel, Elderberry Sea Moss Gel, Turmeric Sea Moss Gel, Turmeric, Ginger & Honey Sea Moss Gel, Bladderwrack Sea Moss Gel, Black Seed Oil Sea Moss Gel, and Blueberry Sea Moss Gel. Some of these can be used as a face mask or a hair conditioner. Some are good for people who suffer from eczema and psoriasis. Oftentimes, I get the question, “What’s the best one to get?” My answer is always that they’re all great, it just depends on what your body needs.
We’d really appreciate if you could talk to us about how you figured out the manufacturing process.
Yes, I manufacture my own products. So like I mentioned before, a friend and I had decided to go in on a bag. The thing was, we had both been looking around to try to find the best places to get it from. Well I’m in a group chat with a couple of friends I went to Fort Valley with and we make it a point to check in from time to time. One of them asked us in the chat if we knew where to get some from. One said Amazon and I looked online, because I was still trying to find it myself. Shortly after she remembered that her cousin has a Caribbean grocery store in Decatur. When I looked it up, it was literally a couple of blocks away from where I lived. One of these amazing ladies sent us a YouTube link of a guy making it. I studied this and several other recipes online and eventually came up with my own process and consistency I felt most comfortable with. I researched the best ways to clean it properly and the best ways to prep it before blending it into a gel state. I still get my products from that same store. I still follow the same process I came up with after practicing for weeks until I got it right.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
When I started this business, I had recently lost someone very close to me in a very tragic way. Due to depression and anxiety, my health had started to decline and I had lost a lot of weight. I definitely was interested in taking sea moss for myself to get back healthy. What most people don’t know is that I didn’t really have much energy and would get tired while I was cleaning the sea moss. That’s a pretty tedious process, so I would have to take breaks at times. But, something about cleaning it and making it into a gel was therapeutic for me, so I never stopped. I made sure I took my dose every day and never stopped. I was healing myself with the same products I was making to help my clients. That’s something I don’t really share, but I do feel that shows my resilience.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.theseamossplug.com
- Instagram: @theseamossplug
- Facebook: @theseamossplug