How Shizu Okusa Went From Founding a Cold Pressed Juice Company to Herbal Remedy Brand Apothékary

Looking for a new beauty brand to obsess over? For our latest Q&A series, Glamour editors introduce you to some of our favorite skin care and makeup products that deserve a permanent spot in your rotation. Ahead, Shizu Okusa, founder of clean herbal remedy brand Apothékary, shares how she went from founding a cold pressed juice company to launching a tinctures brand, the ways she’s celebrating Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and the one product from her line that she recommends for everyone.

Glamour: How did you become interested in beauty and wellness?

It wasn’t about opportunity or market size, because I started in 2012 and the herbal remedy market was non-existent at that point. For me, it was really following my own personal problem. I left Wall Street—I was working in New York at Goldman Sachs and I had no access to quick, healthy nutrition that was really clean. My first company was a cold pressed juice brand, so if you can remember the days of Organic Avenue and Liquiteria and all of that, I started my first company called Jrink based in D.C.

After eight years of running Jrink and getting acquired, I didn’t stop. I realized this is, in Japanese, what we would call my ikigai—my life purpose—and I was slowly approaching this new category of my age. I was entering my 30s, and I have different health issues. It’s stress, it’s hormones, it’s mental health, it’s digestion issues, all the non-sexy stuff.

What is the one product from your brand you recommend for everyone?

We launched Take the Edge Off featuring yuzu, so I would say that product. Not only does it taste incredible, but it’s one of our very first white wine alternative tinctures. But then there’s a little twist to it with yuzu in it, which is a Japanese citrus fruit. It’s my favorite. It’s really good and a refreshing pop and ode to summertime, but you can take it any time of year. Especially if someone’s looking to cut back on drinking or sober-ish, then I would say that tincture is probably the best. It plays well with other drinks mixed in, but you can also take it directly.

If I’m stressed during the day, I’ll take it directly on the tongue because it’s really fast-working. But if I want to have a fun mocktail moment, I’ll make a little drink. I do ginger beer every day. I like the idea of popping a sparkling water and hearing the can open and it feels like beer. I don’t like beer, so I do Never Been Bitter, which is our bitters tincture, and it has more bitter roots like burdock root that adds bitterness to the sparkling water. I add fresh turmeric and ginger into it as well, and a wedge of lime. It’s actually delicious and takes like beer.

What inspired you to start your own brand?