Launch Date: January 2020
Geography: Lorton, VA, US
Founder: Shizu Okusa, Founder + CEO
Executive Team:
Tina Shim, SVP of Marketing and CommercializationEllen Kang, Director of Growth Charlene Tsang, Head of Operations and New Product Development Jenelle Campbell, Creative Director Daniel Abell, Digital Technical Manager Melanie Wass, Director of Sales (Natural)Laura DeFusco, Director of Sales (Specialty and Beauty)Shirley Wong, Director of R&D
Advisor: Bryan Goldberg, Bustle Digital Group
Board Members:
Notable Investors:
Anne Mahlum, Founder, [solidcore] Andy Dunn, Founder, Bonobos John Abele, Co-Founder, Boston Scientific Shiseido Strand Equity Venrex The Venture Collective Trousdale Ventures50+ other prominent angel investors and operators
Apothékary secured an $8 million pre-Series A round oversubscribed by 30%, including a strategic investment from Japanese beauty giant Shiseido with participation by Stella Capital, Solidcore founder Anne Mahlum, Bonobos founder Andy Dunn and existing investors Mahlum and Stella Capital. This investment round brings the company’s total funding to $15 million in equity and $6 million in debt funding via Walden Mutual Bank.
2026 Full Year Projected Revenue: $30M – $50M, according to industry estimates
Primary Category: Wellness
Funding: Venture Capital
Primary Distribution Channel: DTC
Other Distribution Channels:
Key Retail Partners:
Whole FoodsUlta BeautySprouts
Key Markets: United States
2026 Projected Offline Distribution Points: 1,700
After a demanding career in finance, I returned to my Japanese roots and the plant-based healing traditions I grew up with. I recognized a major gap in the Western wellness industry: Consumers wanted natural solutions, but the market lacked truly effective, culturally grounded remedies that addressed the root causes of stress, sleep issues, digestion, and hormonal imbalance.
In 2020, I launched Apothékary, a first-of-its-kind brand pioneering clean, alcohol-free liquid herbal supplements formulated through a proprietary dual-extraction method inspired by Japanese and Ayurvedic medicine. Five years later, Apothékary has grown into one of the fastest-scaling modern wellness brands, transforming a centuries-old practice into an accessible daily ritual for a global audience.
In 2025, Apothékary expanded into Whole Foods Market and Ulta Beauty, with a projected 1,700+ retail doors in 2026—proving that ancient medicine, when paired with modern science, can create an entirely new category in mainstream wellness.
Insights: Shizu Okusa, Founder + CEO
Why now and why you?
The convergence of rising chronic stress, hormonal imbalance, and consumer demand for cleaner healing has created a major tailwind for our brand. Apothékary is uniquely positioned to lead this shift.
In the last year alone, we expanded into Whole Foods Market, Sprouts, and Ulta Beauty; launched six innovative products; and saw Blue Burn become the #1 product in the Diet and Energy category at Sprouts within months—clear validation of mainstream demand. With projected 40% year-over-year growth, a rapidly scaling retail footprint, and a product format poised to replace powders, pills, and gummies, Apothékary is leading the liquid herbal movement in the US wellness category.
Our differentiation—authentic cultural wisdom, modern clinical rigor, and category education—positions us not just as a brand but as the category creator shaping the future of herbal medicine in the West.
What fuels your competitive advantage?
A Proprietary Dual-Extraction Method: We craft alcohol-free liquid supplements through a unique extraction process that captures the full spectrum of herbal actives for maximum potency and bioavailability—far more effective than powders, pills, or gummies.
Cultural Authenticity and Clinical Rigor: Rooted in 5,000 years of Japanese and Eastern medicine, we pair cultural tradition with clinical testing. We are one of the few wellness brands investing in our own clinical studies to validate efficacy, build trust, and lead category education.
A New, Scalable Form Factor: Our liquid delivery system meets consumers where they are— easy, fast-absorbing, travel-friendly, ritual-based, and compatible with modern routines. We are building the next generation of supplements—one that is clean, simple, absorbable, and clinically backed.
What’s your proudest accomplishment to date?
We are most proud of translating our mission into a real-world, transformative experience with The Journey East, our immersive wellness retreat in Kyoto. From a 14,000+ waitlist, we selected 14 customers to join us for a week-long nervous system reset rooted in Japanese ritual, temple practices, herbal medicine, and daily ceremony.
This was more than a retreat. It was a living expression of our brand ethos: authentic cultural wellness, community education, and modern healing grounded in ancient traditions. It demonstrated our ability to create experiences, not just products, and deepened customer loyalty in a way few wellness brands achieve. We want to create a wellness brand that isn’t just about a lifestyle or product; it is a safe place for belonging and community.
