We were lucky to catch up with Shanda Amundsen recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Shanda, thanks for joining us today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?
Eight and half years ago, I had two small boys that started to bring home the wealth of germs from daycare and school. They shared their germs with my husband and I on a frequent basis. We ended up with a household of sickness that would rid itself of one sickness and on to find another. Due to my passion of incorporating natural medicine into our daily lives, trying to keep my family well, and the fact that my husband and two sons had kidney disease, I started to research a natural option that would boost our immunity. I stumbled across Medical Research studies on the efficacy of elderberries and how it prevented or decreased symptoms of the common flu, H1N1 (the pig flu), cousin strains of Covid, viruses, colds, and allergies. I decided to trial my entire family taking elderberry syrup every day for a couple of months. The trial outcome was remarkable. My entire family stayed well during our trial.
We decided to implement taking elderberry on a regular basis, but I did not want my family to continue taking the commercial brands for a few reasons. First, the commercial elderberry syrup brands were loaded with artificial preservatives and ingredients, fillers, and thickening agents not necessary for our bodies. Secondly, I couldn’t find a brand that was all natural with clean (organic, non-GMO) ingredients. Thirdly, the cost of elderberry syrup brands to take on a regular basis for a family of 4 was exuberant. Lastly, the variety of commercial brands we did try, tasted awful. The couple month trial was a battle to get everyone to take their daily dose of elderberry syrup.
My experience personally and professionally, it doesn’t matter how beneficial or heathy something is for someone, if it doesn’t taste great, chances are, taking it long term will not fare well and it will be discontinued due to taste.
Growing up, I had the opportunity to get in the kitchen with my family and make recipes or create recipes from scratch. I decided to make my own elderberry syrup recipe that was clean, all natural and that my family would love and embrace taking on a regular basis. I enlisted my husband and boys to be my taste testers to get the right recipe formulation that tasted great. My recipe was born 8.5 years ago.
Throughout those years, I would share with friends and family my passion of wellness and our personal experience with the benefits of elderberries. I was used to making food in large batches so I would often bless friends and family with elderberry syrup to help them experience what we had experienced. I was just happy to bless others with the gift of getting well. I kept receiving a common theme of feedback. “Your elderberry syrup tastes amazing.” “The other elderberry syrups in the market are so gross.” “I love that your elderberry syrup is 100% natural.” “You should totally get your product in the market. It would sell great.”
Two and half years ago before we knew Covid was here and that we were living in a pandemic, I offered up my elderberry syrup to anyone that would like it to help get well. I kept receiving the same feedback theme about the taste and purity of my syrup as well as the improvement in one’s health. Everyone kept coming back wanting to get their elderberry syrup from me. At that point, I was ready to develop my recipe into a product and create a company. After becoming a stay-at-home mom,
a little over 2 years prior, I was missing the challenge of a career and feeling like I was accomplishing something for the greater good. After all the requirements necessary to start my company were completed, I was able to launch at the end of 2020.
I originally sought out to start the company so that I could legally sell my product to friends and family and to do something for myself after missing working a career of 24 years. After reviewing all the money, I had invested to launch my product, I decided to see if a few stores would sell my product to recoup my investment much quicker. After word of mouth grew, stores were reaching out to me to carry my product after trying my product or hearing about it from others. In 6 months, my product was in over 30 retail locations. My company grew much quicker than I anticipated. I found a new passion and purpose in the work I was doing. I have had the opportunity to pitch to two large grocery store chains, my product was accepted into a local grocery chain of 3 stores in NE OH and Columbus, OH, I was able expand into more stores and to share about my product on local television, Fox8 NEW DAY twice and another segment coming up in January 2023. My company just celebrated its 2-year anniversary with being in over 50 locations. I am blessed.
G.R.A.C.E. Elderberry Co. does have a secondary mission besides promoting health and wellness. Many people will ask what G.R.A.C.E. stands for in the company name? It is an acronym for God Restores All Children Everywhere. Initially when I was praying about what the name of the company would be called, G.R.A.C.E. kept coming to me. I really couldn’t understand why at that time but now I do. As I am out at stores or events sharing about my product, people will ask what G.R.A.C.E. means and what that means to me. I share with them that we are all God’s children and that he loves us all the same. God’s love is full of grace, redemption and forgiveness and it is for every one of us. I will have people tell me how they have lost hope or thought they messed up too many times in their lives. They believed that there was no redemption and never heard about God’s love explained to them like that before. I have had people tell me that I have no idea what they are going through, and how encouraged they were to talk to me that day. So, if I don’t sell 1 bottle of elderberry syrup but I change someone’s life for the better and I give them hope and share about God’s love, then it was time well spent.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I worked in Nursing and Clinical IT at the Cleveland Clinic for 24 years. I have always had a passion for Health and Wellness as well as Alternative Medicine. Throughout the years, I studied holistic medicine, gained experience during my career, and implemented natural medicine into my everyday life. My passion always led me to share the positive impact of natural medicine with friends, family, and others.
G.R.A.C.E. Elderberry Co. brand is set apart from all other elderberry product brands in the market. There are many factors that set our brand apart from other elderberry product brands in the market both locally and nationally.
TASTE – G.R.A.C.E. Elderberry Co. brand currently has 1 flavor, Cinnamon. Research and consumer feedback has shown that it is not necessary to have multiple flavors and that consumers are driven by taste and quality. We have had customers switch from taking other elderberry brands based on taste alone.
FLAVOR – The Cinnamon we use is not your grocery store shelf Cinnamon. We have found that most consumers do not realize there are different varieties, grades, and quality of Cinnamon and that most brands on grocery shelves contain fillers. We use a top-grade Cinnamon that is 100% pure. The flavor always “wows” the consumers. We have won over consumers who thought they didn’t like Cinnamon but loved our product. They were able to get educated about Cinnamon and that they really do like Cinnamon after all.
QUALITY – Our product is 100% natural and clean with no artificial additives or ingredients, fillers or thickening agents. Most brands contain these in their products, and they are not necessary in a product or good for our health. All of our ingredient suppliers are certified organic, NON-GMO, gluten free and kosher. They all have 3rd party testing for quality and purity.
SIZING – G.R.A.C.E. Elderberry Co. provides a variety of sizing based on consumer need or want. The 3 sizes we provide cater to many lifestyles. The (3) sizes we provide:
4 oz. – The 4 oz. bottle is a great trial, travel and gifting size. This size was developed based on our personal experience as a consumer. This size is for the consumer who has already wasted money on other exuberant priced elderberry brands to only find the product going right into the garbage after the first try due to taste. This size is also great for the consumer who doesn’t want to invest in the cost of a larger bottle to see if they would like the product. Our experience is that the consumers that purchase this size always come back to purchase a larger bottle.
16 oz. – The 16 oz. bottle is a great size for individuals or families that will consume it on a regular basis. The bottle will provide roughly 1/2 of a month based on recommended dosing.
32 oz. – The 32 oz. bottle is a great size for individuals or families that will consume it on a regular basis. The bottle will provide roughly a month or so based on recommended dosing. This size is very popular for families.
PRICING – Our sizes are competitively priced for both local and national brands. For the price, you get a clean, quality, and great tasting product.
VERSATILITY – Incorporating a daily routine can be mundane and boring. If variety and spontaneity is not added to any routine, the longevity of the routine will fade and end quickly. We have tons of recipes to incorporate your daily elderberry intake. We have teas, cocoa, lattes, smoothies, parfaits, oatmeal, lemonade, ice cream, mocktails, waffle and pancakes, protein balls, popsicle recipes and more. We even have cocktail recipes for the lover of elderberry and spirits. We have quite a few customers who like to add our elderberry syrup to a cocktail or freeze the syrup in an ice cube tray and pour their liquor on top. We are always adding new recipes to make incorporating elderberry into everyday living FUN and not BORING!
EDUCATION – Education is key. It’s important to be able to share what the experts say. We provide the medical research and articles from physicians and pharmacists about the research so that they can read and learn about the benefits of elderberries from the experts. 
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
Starting a company during a pandemic was no easy feat. I started working on the business two weeks before getting quarantined in 2020. I was taking a course at the University of Tennessee online and exams while homeschooling my two children. I was helping them study and complete their homework while I was studying and completing my own. It was a chaotic time in general trying to figure out how to manage and process everything amid chaos. All our lives were turned upside down and we were all trying to figure out how to live a new version of life from how we knew it. Navigating everyday life and starting a business during that time had its challenges. I got to experience all the adversity of starting a company in a pandemic.
This was no small task with things like strict regulatory requirements, education, and licensure, setting up supply chains for ingredients and materials, and negotiation contracts and lease agreements to store and produce my product. Many long hours, late nights, and lots of research was required and multiple times I wanted to throw in the towel, but I tarried through with prayer and perseverance.
A funny story to share during that year. The bottles and sizes I had chosen for my product were the most popular for manufacturing across all industries in the United States. The two main manufacturers for the bottles are in China. Due to the US having import issues from China, companies across the US were hoarding bottles while people were hoarding toilet paper. This caused me to change bottle types and sizes a few times.
I continued to homeschool my boys the rest of the year and following school year while continuing to grow my business due to my husband and boys having kidney disease. In retrospect and even during that time, even though I faced much adversity, there were many blessings. I was forced to take risks that stretched me out of my comfort zone but offered the rewards of growth both personally and professionally. I have learned that we all are more resilient than we think.
Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?
The most effective strategy for growing your clientele is about building relationships. Healthy and strong relationships are important and are the foundation to a successful business.
It’s not about what can be done for you but what you can also do for your clientele. It really is about a collaborative working relationship. It is helping and supporting each other to help both sides be successful. You may have developed practices that meet most of your clientele’s needs but always keep an open mind on how you can meet the needs of the minority clientele as well. People want to know that you care and that you are listening to what they have to say. People may not remember what you have said to them, but they will remember how you made them feel.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://graceelderberry.com
- Instagram: https://graceelderberry.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GraceElderberryCo
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shanda-amundsen-b122a31a
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/g_elderberry