From Lily, with love

MILLER GROVE—Lily Neidhart is a sixth grader at Miller Grove ISD. She’s also a savvy entrepreneur with her own business empire. Lily is the maker of Lily’s Berry Cute Jams, which have exploded in popularity since she made her first batch for members of her family and church during the COVID shutdown.

During the first weeks of school closing, Lily’s mom, Jacque Sparks, bought the family’s five kids a flat of strawberries.

“They weren’t eating them very fast, and we didn’t know what to do with them,” Jacque said. “We thought, ‘Why not make jam?’”

Following the recipe on the pectin box, Lily added a few secret ingredients and some love and came up with her first batch. The family decided to share and weren’t surprised when the parishioners and family asked them how they could get more.

“All my mom’s friends started talking about it on Facebook,” Lily said.

“It’s really, really good jam,” Jacque laughed.

Lily has always had an entrepreneurial spirit, she said. At age 9, Lily bought and resold “silly band” rubber band bracelets at Miller Grove school for a profit. Several other students began to do the same. Her business venture was ended when school administrators realized the bracelets could be a choking hazard for young children, she said.

“She’s always had that money-making drive in her,” joked stepfather Ray Sparks.

Now, Lily is making a batch of jam a week. She’s created several flavors in addition to traditional strawberry, including apple, crazy berry, blueberry and summer medley. She’s also experimenting with watermelon and cantaloupe. 

In all, the process takes about 30 minutes, and Lily completes every step except for preparing the vacuum seal. That part is done by Jacque, who wants to make sure the hot steam bath doesn’t burn Lily.

“I mainly do everything,” Lily said. “But my mom makes sure I’m doing the measurements right.”

“The recipe stays the same except the type of fruits, and sometimes, we’ll add other things like a little bit of cinnamon in the apple jam,” Lily noted. “My favorite type to work with is blueberries; it’s my favorite fruit, and in jam, it tastes so good. I also like crazy berry because it has blackberry, blueberry, raspberry and strawberry.”

Right now Lily sources the berries from the grocery store but has a batch of strawberries growing to harvest in fall. The watermelon and cantaloupe are also homegrown, she said. Not only is the agricultural side of the business becoming self-sufficient, but Lily uses her own profits to run the business.

“She hasn’t spent a dime on herself,” Jacque noted. “Everything goes back into the jam business or into savings.” 

Lily’s currently trying to expand the business with plans on creating a special fall line with pumpkin and cranberry. She’s also trying to perfect the jam-making science so she can add less sugar, hopefully to make low sugar or sugar-free options for those in her family or church with diabetic issues. 

“We’ve heard it a lot that people want bigger jars because it’s so good,” Jacque noted. “I think the secret ingredient is love. It was kind of an accidental thing, because in quarantine, we were bored. It was a fun activity, and it just kind of went from there.”

Lily hopes one day to use her jam savings to buy a car, she said. When she grows up, Lily said she’d like to be an art teacher or a veterinarian. She’s not discounting the jam business, though.

“Maybe I could do that as a home job,” she mused.

“She’s always wanting to make more money,” Jacque said. “She’s always asking, ‘Is there an extra chore I can do on the side for some more money?’”

“This has spawned from her drive,” Ray said. “She’s always looking for a way to invest her money and make it grow. We’re super proud. I’m glad she’s taking the initiative. It’s her own energy, and we’re helping her, but it’s her work.”

“Everyone in my family loves it, so that’s why I’m proud,” Lily said with a smile.

To buy Lily’s Berry Cute Jams, visit SouthSpoon Farms on Facebook.