Jack & Co.’s Sweet Path to Growth

Have you ever ever heard of elderberries? They’re among the many most useful fruits for fighting colds and boosting immunity.

Nikki Schoeny and her husband tapped into the wonders of this berry and founded Jack & Co. Elderberry Syrup, a company selling organic elderberry syrups and products. 

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 arrange a website quickly and easily.

They’d no experience with ecommerce and it took off fast. Nikki states, “we were type of constructing an airplane in the sky while it was flying.”  

And so they selected  Ecwid to help guide them to their destination. Their business quickly became a success, and Ecwid was and still is by their side throughout their journey.

Jack & Co. Sprouts Exponential Growth 

When COVID hit a yr later, their sales skyrocketed. As the illness spread and uncertainty grew, people desired to avoid it at all costs and construct immunity.

Jack & Co. would get calls from customers saying nurses really helpful their products. Their customers would stop shoppers in the cold and flu section and tell them to buy Jack & Co.’s elderberry syrup as a substitute. Even the local news featured them on their station.

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

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

We interviewed Nikki Schoeny to find out how Ecwid by Lightspeed helped their business handle the crazy high demand by reducing manual tasks, saving costs, and rapidly constructing their online empire.

Let’s dig into the sweetness!

A Fruitful, Sleek Storefront

As mentioned,  Nikki and her husband needed a website for their business — and quick. Nikki arrange her Ecwid website in only one afternoon.

 It just worked so well for us to be in a position to quickly get something on the market because we didn’t have time; we needed to work on our business. I didn’t have time to be a web designer at the time. It worked great for us to just be in a position to keep moving. Nikki Schoeny

In addition they desired to offer the choice to pick up in-store and pay money upon arrival since many purchasers would still prefer to do so. And with Ecwid, they will provide that option at checkout. 

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

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

A Cost-Effective, Efficient Payment Solution

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

They hesitated to switch initially, as they didn’t want anything to go unsuitable.  But they decided to go for it and regularly moved from Square to Lightspeed Payments. As they are saying, you’ll never know unless you are attempting.

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

As an example, Nikki enjoys with the ability to process refunds and manage the whole lot from one place, the Ecwid admin. 

Beforehand, she would must remember her password to log in to Square, find the order, and go through the process; “it’s so nice to just be in a position to open the same app that we at all times use for the whole lot else and be in a position to refund someone super quickly.”   

Running a Business on the (Grow)

Ecwid’s mobile app has been a game-changer for Jack & Co. Given their busy schedule, the ability to manage operations from wherever they’re is invaluable. With the mobile app, they will view sales, edit orders and products, add discounts, and much more—all from their fingertips.

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

In-House Customization to Further Develop the Storefront

Did you understand you possibly can leverage in-house Ecwid developers to customize your Quick Site beyond the features already offered? Depending on your plan, a certain variety of customization hours are included, or you should purchase additional hours for a fee. 

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 desired to be in a position to show all locations on the map displayed on their website. Due to this fact, 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:

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

Support, At all times by Your Side

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

Support has taught them about many recent functionalities they didn’t know Ecwid offered. That’s why it’s at all times good to ask!

 Along the way, I’m at all times like, I wish I had this. Then, I hop on a chat with a support agent, and they tell me that they do even have that! Nikki Schoeny

Let’s 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 arrange only to serve direct customers, not wholesalers.  As a result, wholesalers would order by texting, calling, and emailing — which is inefficient and error-prone. 

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

The Ecwid 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.

Shipping Locally and Globally

Elderberry was initially local and regional, but they began selling nationwide when sales grew. They’ve sold to people in Guam, Alaska, and Hawaii. But at first, they didn’t know how one can handle this.

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

 “We relied on chat support a lot because I wondered, “what do I do for this? And the way do I add on different shipping options?”

Our support team helped them through their shipping expansion, “it was almost such as you were my right hand; I really relied on you to be in a position to get our product on the market.”

Seamless Business Growth on Ecwid

Ecwid has enabled Jack & Co. to manage its growth and expand even further. When complexities arise, Ecwid is there to help. Running a business doesn’t must be overwhelming—with the right solution, you possibly can give attention to what matters most. 

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