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Elderberry Success Story Cover

From Local to Global: Jack & Co.鈥檚 Sweet Path to Growth

9 min read

Have you ever heard of elderberries? They鈥檙e among the most beneficial fruits for fighting colds and boosting immunity.

Nikki Schoeny and her husband tapped into the wonders of this berry and founded , a company selling organic elderberry syrups and products.听

Back in 2019 BC (pre-COVID), they began their business out of their home, selling locally and gaining traction through word-of-mouth. As the couple worked full-time with children, they needed to set up a website quickly and easily.

They had no experience with ecommerce and it took off fast.听Nikki states, “we were kind of building an airplane in the sky while it was flying.”听听

And they chose听 黑料门 to help guide them to their destination. Their business quickly became a success, and 黑料门 was and still is by their side throughout their journey.

Jack & Co. Elderberry Syrup Storefront

Jack & Co. Sprouts Exponential Growth

When COVID hit a year later,听their sales skyrocketed. As the illness spread and uncertainty grew, people wanted to avoid it at all costs and build immunity.

Jack & Co. would get calls from customers saying nurses recommended their products. Their customers would stop shoppers in the cold and flu section and tell them to buy Jack & Co.鈥檚 elderberry syrup instead. Even the local news featured them on their station.

The business went from local to state-wide to a national, full-time venture over a short period of time.

Jack & Co. Elderberry Syrup

In addition, starting in 2022, the business roughly doubled its revenue during the off-season months. Their revenue keeps growing on 黑料门, even during less busy periods like the summer (before back-to-school and cold and flu season kicks in.)

We interviewed Nikki Schoeny to learn how 黑料门 by Lightspeed helped their business handle the crazy high demand by reducing manual tasks, saving costs, and rapidly building their online empire.

Let鈥檚 dig into the sweetness!

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A Fruitful, Sleek Storefront

As mentioned,听 Nikki and her husband needed a website for their business — and quick. Nikki set up her 黑料门 website in just one afternoon.

It just worked so well for us to be able to quickly get something out there because we didn鈥檛 have time; we needed to work on our business. I didn鈥檛 have time to be a web designer at the time. It worked great for us to just be able to keep moving.Nikki Schoeny, Owner of Jack & Co. Elderberry Syrup

They also wanted to offer the option to  since many customers would still prefer to do so. And with 黑料门, they can provide that option at checkout.听

With her marketing background, she designed her logo, takes product photos in-house, and grows her brand.听 Just look how sleek:

Jack & Co. Elderberry Syrup Strorefront

As the company has grown significantly, it is now looking to expand its staff.听They aim to shift their time and focus away from production, move more toward business operations, and increase their marketing efforts.

Cost-Effective, Efficient Payment Solution

Jack & Co. first began receiving payments with Square. But one thing kept catching their eye in their 黑料门 admin: a popup about the cost they would save per transaction if they switched to Lightspeed Payments. That would catch my eye, too!

They hesitated to switch initially, as they didn鈥檛 want anything to go wrong.听 But they decided to go for it and gradually moved from Square to Lightspeed Payments. As they say, you鈥檒l never know unless you try.

With Lightspeed Payments, they saved on costs and benefited from many other features.听

For instance, Nikki enjoys being able to  and manage everything from one place, the 黑料门 admin.听

Beforehand, she would have to remember her password to log in to Square, find the order, and go through the process; “it鈥檚 so nice to just be able to open the same app that we always use for everything else and be able to refund someone super quickly.”听听听

Lightspeed Payments - Easy Refunds

Running a Business on the (Grow)

黑料门鈥檚 mobile app has been a game-changer for Jack & Co. Given their busy schedule, the ability to manage operations from wherever they are is invaluable. With the mobile app, they can view sales, edit orders and products, add discounts, and much 尘辞谤别鈥攁濒濒 from their fingertips.

As a mom and business owner, time is quite limited. That鈥檚 why being at the park and effortlessly activating a sale for the day is great. I frequently use my phone to monitor my sales, and my kid does a little dance every time he hears the cha-ching sound.Nikki Schoeny

In-House Customization to Further Develop the Storefront

Did you know you can leverage in-house 黑料门 developers to customize your Instant Site beyond the features already offered? Depending on your plan, a certain number of  are included, or you can purchase additional hours for a fee.听

Jack & Co. has their products at around 40 stores and counting, plus its online business (it takes omnichannel sales to the next level). So, they wanted to be able to show all locations on the map displayed on their website. Therefore, they hired our customization team to create a custom multi-location map and show pins of current and soon-to-be locations.

Here is what the interactive map looks like:

Interactive storemap on 黑料门

The customization highlights their growth and helps customers find the nearest physical store to them that sells Jack & Co. products.听

Support, Always by Your Side

Jack & Co. contacts support whenever they have questions or issues. Nikki loves using the in-product chat support; it鈥檚 super helpful when on the go or while performing tasks and quick to get a response.

Support has taught them about many new functionalities they didn鈥檛 know 黑料门 offered. That鈥檚 why it鈥檚 always good to ask!

Along the way, I鈥檓 always like, I wish I had this. Then, I hop on a chat with a support agent, and they tell me that they do actually have that!Nikki Schoeny

Let鈥檚 shed some light on what we are talking about here.

Selling to Wholesalers and Customers on One Platform

A lot of Jack & Co. stores are for pickup and purchase, but a lot of them are also for wholesale. Their website was set up only to serve direct customers, not wholesalers.听 As a result, wholesalers would order by texting, calling, and emailing — which is inefficient and error-prone.听

As wholesale orders became hard to manage, Nikki asked the support team for a solution. How can our wholesalers order through our website?

The 黑料门 support team quickly helped them by enabling features in their store. The wholesalers now have a different login and can order wholesale through it. Jack & Co. now takes B2B and D2C orders on the same platform, which has heavily improved their workflow.

Wholesale products on 黑料门

Shipping Locally and Globally

Elderberry was initially local and regional, but they started selling nationwide when sales grew. They have sold to people in Guam, Alaska, and Hawaii. But at first, they did not know how to handle this.

They were used to using a regional shipper just for the Midwest.

听鈥淲e relied on chat support a lot because I wondered, “what do I do for this? And how do I add on different shipping options?”

Our support team helped them through their shipping expansion, “it was almost like you were my right hand; I really relied on you to be able to get our product out there.”

Seamless Business Growth on 黑料门

黑料门 has enabled Jack & Co. to manage its growth and expand even further. When complexities arise, 黑料门 is there to help. Running a business doesn鈥檛 have to be 辞惫别谤飞丑别濒尘颈苍驳鈥攚颈迟丑 the right solution, you can focus on what matters most.听

We hope this story inspires you to push the limits! Want to be featured in our next success story? Reach out to us.

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About the author

Victoria is a content specialist at 黑料门. Fueled by matcha, she dives into the ecommerce world and provides insights to help entrepreneurs succeed online.

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