When my husband, Dave, decided he wanted a career in the culinary scene, we never imagined it would start with our five-year-old son’s love for a jar of farmers market jam. Dave and young Jonah met Jackie of Jackie’s Jams at the market one weekend and bought a jar; Jonah loved it so much he ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich every day that week. When the jar ran out, Dave used store-bought jam instead, but Jonah brought his lunch pail home having only taken one bite of his sandwich. He told Dave, “You didn't use Jackie's Jam, and this other stuff is horrible.”
We went back and bought the 16-ounce jar so we’d never run out again. We became very loyal customers, and when Jackie was looking to retire, I suggested to Dave that he consider taking over. He apprenticed with her to hone the craft, and by April 2010, we purchased the business. We knew we were onto something good because she was already in a major retailer with strict vetting.
Over the last 16 years, we’ve grown Jackie’s Jams into a brand used by chefs and local hotels and expanded to thirty fruit-forward flavors. We’ve also increased our reach by doing custom orders and partnering with local farmers to handcraft their ripe fruits into jam for their own branded labels. Through it all, we’ve kept the core values of the company, with everything made by hand with all natural ingredients.
We’re still a small family operation. Chef Dave is still in the kitchen, our son, Jonah, is now 24 and serves as our operations and purchasing manager while I handle marketing, accounting, and communications. As a small business owner, I’m always looking for windows of opportunity because we’re just so busy. I took a Grow with Google class last year through the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce and it changed me. I was a little hesitant about AI at first, but I realized that Google Gemini could give me more time back and help us elevate the way we show up.
A big focus for us this year is increasing our social media presence. Engagement is everything, and Google Gemini has been a game-changer for our feed. I can upload a simple photo of our jam jar, and Google Gemini helps me create a beautiful, elaborate post.
Google Gemini is helping immensely behind the scenes, too.
When I needed a training manual for our demo program, I gave Gemini our brand talking points and prompted it to outline every step. It anticipated questions that might come up and organized a comprehensive guide in minutes; it was such a relief.
I’ve also been using it to help with research, like analyzing industry trends, which led me to the clean foods movement. Once I realized our product is clean, I began weaving that messaging into Jackie’s Jams marketing.
Gemini gave me the direct information I needed. As a result, I was able to have a more meaningful discussion with a buyer. I even put together a summary of talking points for Dave to take to his meetings, too.
Looking ahead, I’m already using Google Gemini to help map out our 2026 holiday campaign, brainstorming strategies to grow our business in ways we never thought about before. We can’t always work off the same old playbook, and AI gives us the flexibility to expand our brand. We still have a lot to learn about other ways we can use AI to work more efficiently, but I’m excited that I can now do things I never thought I could do before.