Rural Missouri - July 2023 - 9

by Sara Schafer | sschafer@ruralmissouri.coop
L
iving on a farm was Susan Smith's dream. Little did
she know that dream would come true as her second
career - all because of one powerful little berry.
For years, Susan and her husband, Mike, owned a
commercial and industrial HVAC business in the St. Louis
area. After putting in the long hours required for operating
their own business, they sold the company and retired.
As that chapter ended, a new one began. Enter Emilia
Rizzuto. Through a mutual friend, the two women met.
As their friendship grew, they traded stories about various
medical challenges, from Emilia's longtime battle with
Crohn's disease to Susan's stress-related ailments.
During a harsh flu season, Emilia was desperate to find
a more natural remedy for herself and young children. Her
research led her to elderberries. Known for their immuneboosting
qualities, elderberries are naturally high in essential
nutrients, antioxidants and vitamins A, B6 and C.
In her home kitchen, Emilia pulled out a stockpot,
boiled some elderberry juice and sprinkled in a few spices.
She tasted and tweaked until she had the perfect elderberry
elixir. She liked it, her two young children liked it
and Emilia says it helped them stay healthy.
Emilia shared her homemade elixir with a few neighbors
who enjoyed the product and felt its health qualities. Word
of the product spread and soon Emilia was selling it out of
the trunk of her car in the church parking lot - with 200
customers lined up. Something big was brewing.
After meeting Susan, the pair combined their business
sense, nutritional focus and passion for the product to
create All Things Elderberry in 2019. They hit the farmers
market circuit to reach new customers.
" At first people assumed we were selling elderberry
syrup for pancakes, " Susan says. " I told them, 'No, this is
an elixir - a medicinal product.' "
In the quest to buy the best elderberries, Susan and
Emilia met Dave Buehler, owner of Elder Farm in Mount
Vernon. He could see their drive and vision for their business
and encouraged them to grow their own elderberries.
In March 2020, the Smiths along with Emilia and her
husband, Scott, bought a 150-acre farm near Berger. The
property featuring rolling hills was homesteaded in 1845
Above: Emilia Rizzuto, left, is founder and CEO of All Things
Elderberry. Susan Smith, CFO and executive elderberry enthusiast,
runs the farm. Top: The pair work the elderberry farm near Berger.
Opposite page: Daniella Rizzuto, Emilia's daughter, samples the
company's flagship product, the elderberry elixir.
and previously owned by only one family.
" I knew it was the farm for me when I drove down the
driveway, " says Susan, a member of Three Rivers Electric
Cooperative. " When you go up to the top of the hills, you
want to start singing 'The Sound of Music.' It is truly a
healing place. "
On 5 acres, Susan, Emilia and their families, along with
their farmer friend Dave, planted 9,200 elderberry plants
in 2021. The patch includes five elderberry varieties in
organized rows. The native-to-Missouri plant grows 6-feet
tall and 4-feet wide. Its delicate white blooms appear in
June and produce dark purple berries in August.
" Every part of the plant is medicinal, " Susan says. The
flowers, fruit and leaves can be transformed into elixirs,
salves and gummies to reduce pain and promote health.
" Elderberries have been embraced by influencers such
as Martha Stewart and Dr. Oz, " says Patrick Byers, University
of Missouri Extension horticulture field specialist.
" A trend is to manage your health through your diet with
natural products. Elderberries have a niche in that area. "
JULY 2023 | RURALMISSOURI.COOP 9
http://www.RURALMISSOURI.COOP
Rural Missouri - July 2023

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