Nine years ago, Andrea Leyerle was a stay-at-home mother of three young children who was interested in living a more self-sufficient lifestyle. Today, she is the owner of a growing business, Andi Lynn’s Pure & Custom Formulary
As Business Report covers in its new Entrepreneur feature, when her entire family came down with the flu in the winter of 2010, she learned about elderberry syrup, made from the dark purple berry produced by the European elder tree. The syrup is used to help with all kinds of sickness.
“I was sick as a dog and then I was 100 percent better. I was so impressed, I was convinced I never wanted to be without it in the house. It was going to live in the cupboard next to the Band-Aids.”
By the following spring, Leyerle was cooking up elderberry syrup in her kitchen and selling it at the Livingston Parish Farmer’s Market, where she quickly attracted loyal customers.
Leyerle admits she never really aspired to launch her own business; she just wanted to help people feel better. But eventually the demand at the farmer’s market became so great that she couldn’t pass on the opportunity to scale up.
Read the full Entrepreneur feature about Leyerle’s business. Send comments to editor@businessreport.com.
