An ailment fixer elixir in the heart of Minnesota

In the winter of 2020, Ben Machlitt bought 1,740 dormant elderberry cuttings. He didn’t know where he was going to plant an acre’s worth of shrub stems, but he could sense that he was onto something.

That February, some land near his home in Clearbrook, Minnesota, went up for sale, and he made a purchase that would turn into Popple Tree Creek Farms, a family business served by Clearwater-Polk Electric Cooperative.

“We have around 30 varieties of elderberry here. That's a variety, that's a variety,” he said, pointing over the tops of rows of more than 5,000 plants. “See how each one looks a little different?”

Ben and his wife Kori have been farming elderberries here since that spring, when the cuttings first hit the Minnesota soil. Over the first couple of years, they spent a lot of time discovering what makes the plant tick. Even though elderberries are regionally successful, a grower must learn how each plant wants to live in the particular soil in which they’re set. Even now, Ben continues to experiment with different irrigation systems, weeding methods and pH-balancing fertilizers.

His attention to detail is paying off. The goods produced from his crop have become nationally known, with signature bottles of Popple Tree Creek Farms elderberry syrup being shipped to nearly every state. Over the past five years, the company has recorded an average growth of 25% year over year as more customers experience the firsthand benefits of elderberries, which are known as a cold and flu remedy. But that’s only the start of their power.

“We make something that is truly functional. It’s high quality, it's minimally processed and it has a lot of the concentrated content that people want to buy it for. Once people realize what we make, they latch onto it,” Ben said. “Forty percent of our online sales are through recurring subscriptions. People figure it out and they're like, ‘This is the good stuff.’”

A berry good plan

Ben, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, was employed as a safety manager in Bagley, Minnesota, when the world slowed down due to COVID-19. Working from home, he started making syrup from the few elderberry plants the Machlitts had in their yard. It was good enough that friends and neighbors started requesting it.

They made elderberry syrup in their kitchen for six months, charging only what it took to make it. But the demand kept growing. They eventually moved into a local commercial kitchen and obtained a license, selling a few bottles a week on the side of their day jobs.

At one point, a friend of Kori’s family in Illinois wanted to try the syrup she’d been hearing about. She posted her experience on TikTok. Then everything changed.

“My phone started just going off. I called Kori and I was like, ‘What the hell's happening?’” Ben said. Kori told him about the video, which was getting traction online. “We got, I don't even know how many orders – 100, 200?”

“It was super overwhelming, because I was doing daycare and he was out of town,” Kori added. “We didn’t know what to do. We were not prepared for it.’”

The orders didn’t slow. They were barely able to keep up, running their entire packaging and shipping operation out of their basement. “It got to a point where I was like, I have to either back off this or quit my job,” Ben said. “And I chose this.”

Ben left his job in December of 2023, and Kori did the same six months later. With help from their two daughters, Caroline and Amelia, the family put everything into Popple Tree Creek Farms. They invested in a new building on the site of their elderberry plot that includes a commercial kitchen, packaging area and product storage space, and moved the business into it earlier this year.

Clearwater-Polk Electric was a partner in bringing electricity to the site. Member Services Manager Matt Rendahl assisted with the new service, which now helps power the 60-gallon elderberry kettle, large walk-in freezer space for berry storage, and all the other appliances needed to create elderberry syrups, honey varieties, teas, lip balms and other products.

“I think one of the really nice things about being in a smaller community is that, even though large cities have more available to you, nothing beats having that more intimate relationship with the electric company and other services,” Kori said.

“It’s important for us to be here when small businesses need us,” Rendahl replied. “It’s the co-op way.”

Believers in the benefits

The Machlitts are also there for Rendahl when he needs them. He and his family are recurring patrons of Popple Tree Creek Farms.

“If one person is sick in my family, we’ll all start taking the syrup,” he said, noting that the rest of the house either escapes illness or experiences less severe symptoms. “I was skeptical of it. It was my wife that talked me into trying it. Now I’m a firm believer.”

Ben says sales of their elderberry syrup begin to climb every fall as students go back to school and begin to pick up sickness. They hit their annual peak in January and February, when cold, flu and COVID season is at its pinnacle.

“Ever since COVID, there's been a lot more money put into researching elderberries because they've become more popular,” he said. He explained that elderberries are rich in polyphenols, which inhibit viral replication and reduce inflammation. “They always say an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. The earlier you take elderberry when you're sick, the better off you'll be.”

Ben himself uses elderberry to help with arthritis in his wrists, which can act up after long days on the farm. The entire Machlitt crew puts in hard work, with Ben caring for the plants, creating new products and hitting the festival circuit, Kori overseeing social media, marketing, packaging and shipping, and Caroline and Amelia stepping up where needed. They anticipate adding staff as the company continues to grow, but for now, it’s elderberry syrup that runs through the family’s veins.

“Doing it the good way is excruciatingly hard,” Ben said.

“But it’s worth it,” Kori quickly added, looking to her husband of 20 years. “This isn’t something he makes quick because he can make money off it. This is something that truly does help families … and he cares about what the product is because he cares about the people who are receiving it.”

Learn more about Popple Tree Creek Farms and see available products at poppletreecreekfarms.com.

MAIN IMAGE: Kori and Ben Machlitt stand amongst their elderberry plants near Clearbrook, Minnesota. (Minnkota/Michael Hoeft)