When COVID hit, marketing executive Emily Onkey started to reevaluate her career path. Then, she launched a category-leading hemp-infused spirit. After years at Bonobos and Soludos, she’s successfully navigated the changing tides of consumer attitudes towards alcohol, blending her marketing acumen with innovative product development. This Q&A dives into how her personal experience has shaped Aplós, her views on our evolving drinking culture, and her aspirations for her brand in a rapidly changing market.
Emily, before Aplós, you held marketing leadership roles at major brands like Soludos and Bonobos. Tell us a bit about making the leap to start your own company in a nascent category. What gave you the conviction?
This is a great question. My ultimate conviction to take the leap was from my relationship with my co-founder, David. I’m really grateful for that. We’ve always had a beautifully complementary work relationship and hold common values on how we want to build a company. The quietude of early COVID days gave me an opportunity to reflect and take agency over my own career path just as David was doing the same. Our experience dove-tailed with shifting consumer attitudes toward alcohol consumption. Isn’t that how the best results come together? Micro goals and macro trends align at the right point in time.
Aplós was early to the scene and, since your launch, we’ve seen a wave of non-alc products. What do you think has changed the most about the space since you’ve been in market?
I love watching our category evolve together. I came from mature categories of fashion and beauty. Our growing space has a unique camaraderie that I really treasure. We’re all building a new category together—a win for anyone benefits all of us.
We were first to the scene as a hemp-infused spirit and the innovation happening in functional beverages fascinates me. We built Aplós on the belief that people drink for the ritual and the effect. The shift from non-alc proxy beverages to products that address functionality and innovative taste profiles is impressive… and so fast!
How has your marketing experience influenced how you’re building the Aplós brand? Is there anything that’s surprised you about marketing in the alcohol alternatives space?
I’m passionate about creating an emotional connection with our community. We want people to dream a little. To have permission to slow down for a hot second and read a long caption. Or to see something they haven’t noticed before and smile. Those moments often get lost in a world of notifications and schedules and screens.
I’ve been most surprised to see who is attracted to our brand. We have a customer segment we call Dorothea, who is 80+, and then we have a host of 20-something male biohackers who optimize every waking (and sleeping) moment of their life experience. In the end, the through line of our consumer base is emotional: people who want to drink a bit less.
What role do consumer insights play in the development and positioning of new products at Aplós?
In our time at Bonobos, David and I grew up in the direct to consumer world where customer insights are everything. The data, the first-hand relationship, and the feedback loop are critical to identifying our product roadmap, our customer experience, our pricing—you name it.
In your opinion, should we do away with the term “mocktail”? How should we think about and define the adult non-alcoholic beverage space going forward?
YES. I talk about this a lot, but there is nothing “fake” about our cocktails in format, flavor, or function. I really hope the term mocktail will cease to exist as consumer education expands—and the understanding that alcohol is just one functional ingredient option is normalized.
How do you envision the evolution of social drinking culture and Aplós’s role in it?
I suspect the bar is going to look really different in five years with a host of functional beverages, ranging from traditional alcohol to functional botanicals to other compounds. Aren’t options our greatest luxury?
I’m not anti-alcohol. Since starting Aplós, I’ve really gone by the ethos of being “weekday sober.” Having Aplós as an option gives people permission to keep the rituals and the relaxing feeling they enjoy, and do it without the negative effects. Which makes it a sustainable life change. That’s the dream and we are here to support.
Dry Atlas is a media company focused on alcohol alternatives. We deliver non-alc insights, news, and recs to over five million people annually. To stay up to date on all things non-alc, subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
