Ep.37 / Emily Onkey, Co-Founder & CMO, Aplos
Reinventing the Cocktail Without the Alcohol
Emily Onkey, co-founder and CMO of Aplós, didn't set out to make a drink for sober people. She set out to make a drink for drinkers. Launched in the heart of COVID in late 2020, Aplós crafts functional non-alcoholic spirits and ready-to-drink cocktails made with ingredients like broad-spectrum hemp, adaptogens and nootropics — designed to deliver the ritual, connection and unwind of a great cocktail without the cost.
In this episode, Emily talks about bringing lessons from Estée Lauder and Bonobos into an emerging category, why her real customer turned out to be nothing like the one she imagined, the surprising truth about working inside the alcohol industry's playbook, and why the health of her co-founder relationship has been one of the most important things she's built.
Key Themes
A drink for drinkers, not a label. When Aplós launched, non-alc was still a binary: drinks for sober people and drinks for drinkers. Six years later, the shift towards moderation has reshaped the category entirely. Emily has always positioned Aplós as a drink for drinkers — a small luxury at the end of the day — and believes the best thing happening in the space is that the judgment around not drinking is starting to fall away. "Ethanol is one of many functional ingredients that can make a great spirit."
You can't own a formula, but you can own a world. Aplós comes from the Greek for "simple," and the brand was built as an antidote to always-on productivity culture — a reason to pause and notice the ordinary things that carry the most meaning. Taking cues from luxury beauty and fashion, Emily and her co-founder David set out to make something sophisticated, sexy and aspirational. "Beverage in many ways can be a commodity. You can't own the formulation, but what you can own is building out a world around it and a feeling."
Your customer will surprise you. The team expected a coastal, wellness-oriented millennial — "very Goop." Instead, their early champion was "Donna": 55 to 70, a lifelong daily Chardonnay drinker who found that Aplós Calm gave her everything she loved about the ritual, without the poor sleep and empty calories — and told all her friends. As Aplós has moved into retail and RTDs, the audience has gotten much younger, which is why Emily thinks about customers psychographically, not just demographically.
Disrupt one thing, then work within the system. Aplós was DTC-only for its first 24 months — Emily admits they stayed there too long. Today e-commerce is their high-LTV subscriber channel, while growth comes from retail and on-premise, with teams on the ground in three key markets. Working with renowned mixologist Lynnette Marrero raised the bar from "best non-alc" to "the non-alc mixologists respect." And while non-alc doesn't technically have to follow alcohol's three-tier system, that's where the buyers and distributors are. Her advice: "You can't efficiently innovate on every front of your business."
Fundraising never stops. No one starts a brand to fundraise, but in beverage especially, it becomes an always-on part of the founder's job. Emily also shares a candid truth about milestones: closing a round isn't the peak-happiness moment you'd expect. The real joy shows up when you least expect it.
There isn't one way to lead. Emily went through business school believing there was one right way to be a leader. Surrounded by a community of female founders, she's learned to embrace her own coach-style, self-deprecating approach. She also credits the longevity of her partnership with David to treating it like a marriage — including executive coaching together. "Those relationships are worth investing in. Choose carefully."
Failing is fine. Not learning isn't. For Emily, being a founder means loving uncertainty and making the best call with half the information. "I don't mind failing. I mind not learning."
Who Is Emily Professionally Jealous Of?
Laney Crowell, founder of Saie. "I always tell her she's the Roger Federer of founders, because she makes it look so easy." Emily admires Laney's focus, work ethic and what she's built as an operator — and makes a point of telling her often.
Check out https: https://www.aplos.world/
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