A new coffee-commerce business
Reynolds’ Zanesville venture Elk Eye has eye on conservation
ZANESVILLE — Jared Reynolds understands the challenges of building a business.
The West Muskingum graduate started his insurance company “from scratch” 14 years ago.
A different commodity — coffee — is Reynolds’ next venture as he opened Elk Eye Coffee, an e-commerce business, on Jan. 1.
The brand gets its name from the Delaware Tribe, who referred to the Muskingum River as Moos-kin-gung, which translates to Eye of the Elk.
“Like myself, many people thoroughly enjoy coffee so it’s a great industry to be in,” Reynolds said. “I had the ambition to build my insurance company, and it’s the same with this. I have a vision in place and a drive to keep going. There’s an end goal in mind so it comes down to tweaking little things and working on growing the business.”
Reynolds considered starting the business last April, but supply chain issues and packaging, among other setbacks, delayed it.
During the process, Reynolds got connected with roasters, a husband and wife in Virginia. They have suppliers from around the world, including some organic and mom and pop operations.
“When we were looking for roasters, they kept popping up. They offer great flavors and qualities, and we had matching personalities,” Reynolds said. “The blends I chose offered a fuller body and were more enjoyable to the palate. There were some bitter or acidic tasting ones, but these felt like blends many would enjoy.”
Reynolds tried around 50 blends before settling on the seven he currently offers. The blends are from several countries, including Colombia, Brazil, Ethiopia, Costa Rica and Guatemala, and can be purchased in a bag or as Keurig pods, which are 100% compostable.
Reynolds also uses 10% of the sales to go to environmental/wildlife conservation and Christianity organizations like Ducks Unlimited, Pheasants Forever, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and Gideons International, which distributes Bibles worldwide.
“I’m big into conservation. I like to give back to the Earth so our children can have a better future and world,” he said. “Supporting missions is also important to me. This is a good way for me to help other endeavors.”
The coffee is available online, elkeyecoffee.com, or can be purchased at Rittberger North Market. Reynolds expects his products to also be available at Rittberger’s Buckeye Lake location by this summer.
There are other things to work on as Reynolds grows the business. He is in the process of setting up Upc/barcodes so he can sell his product through other retailers, while other ideas are in the early phases.
“The feedback has been positive, and I’m always brainstorming new ideas,” Reynolds said. “I want to be able to sell it through retailers like Amazon, and I’m considering opening a storefront in the future. There’s options to help grow it so it’s finding the right fit for everything.”
bhannahs@gannett.com; @brandonhannahs