Garret Osburn created Osburn Acres in 2017 after a friend tried and loved his home-made pepper jelly. While his inspiration for the small business comes from observing his family’s farm since 1945, the reason he feels so passionate about growing his company is to leave his kids with a legacy. “I want to build something that my kids can be proud of, and work on if they want,” says Osburn.
Osburn grew up in Lake City, Florida, on a family-owned farm and, after finishing high school, went to culinary school and got a job at US Foods after graduation.
The core values of Osburn Acres embrace quality and clean ingredients to offer high quality products at a fair price. “Everyone should be able to enjoy a white tablecloth product,” Osburn says, describing his signature jellies. Apart from allowing people to try something new, one of the biggest beauties in running Osburn Acres for Osburn is working with his wife. While he acts as the face of the business, taking point on tastings and pushing their products in front of buyers, he couldn’t do it without her manningthe marketing side.
All the beauties aside, running a small business doesn’t come without its challenges, and Osburn Acres has not been immune to a multitude. Osburn considers their biggest challenge just getting their jellies in front of the right people. Subsequently, a lot of Osburn Acres success and challenge comes from, in Osburn’s own words, “being at the right place at the right time.” The other half of his success can be attributed to hard-invested work as Garrett spends hours upon hours learning the retail space, asking the right questions, and always pushing his business further.
Some of Garrett and Rachel Osburn’s proudest work is their pink grapefruit jelly that stands as their personal household favorite. Osburn explains the best way to enjoy the jelly is to “glaze it over a piece of grilled meat.”
The couple behind Osburn Acres takes the most pride in their label as Southern Makers because their craft “comes from the heart and comes from the home,” says Osburn. They take great pleasure in hearing people call their pepper jelly nostalgic, because recreating the flavors many Southerners remember from their childhood is a true art
While they’ve grown significantly since 2017, Osburns five-year plan for Osburn Acres is to become a national brand. He is excited to have seven more line items outside of the jellies on the near horizon and hopes to continue expanding. As a successful small business owner, Osburn’s best advice for new Southern Makers is to “not give up when they hear a no, and to use their platforms to their advantage.”
