Health Update: Apothékary’s Shizu Okusa’s Wellness Product Recommendations – What Experts Say

The Expert Edit features interviews with specialists about the products they swear by in their chosen field. For the latest installment, we spoke to Apothékary’s founder and CEO Shizu Okusa, who shares her top wellness product recommendations here.

Shizu Okusa’s career started like most corporate power players, working around the clock in “high-performance environments like finance at Goldman Sachs and the World Bank,” she tells Popsugar. In that frenzied environment, her desire to dive deeper into the wellness space began to take shape. “I was constantly searching for ways to stay energized and sleep better while living behind a desk.”

Hers is a challenge many can relate to — but her solution couldn’t be more distinct: she’s less concerned with chasing the next wellness craze and more with returning to nature and tradition. “My [Japanese] upbringing taught me that wellness doesn’t need to be loud,” she says. “It’s often about minimalism, consistency, respect for nature, and letting the product speak for itself.”

Her wellness brand, Apothékary — beloved by our editors for its bestselling wine replacement — is rooted in that very ethos. “We aren’t looking for ‘hacks.’ We are building intentional rituals that honor nature’s pace. My purpose is to bridge that Eastern sense of longevity with the Western need for efficiency, creating a brand where ancient wisdom meets modern science.”

My [Japanese] upbringing taught me that wellness doesn’t need to be loud. It’s often about minimalism, consistency, respect for nature, and letting the product speak for itself.

Okusa practices what she preaches, turning to age-old wellness practices when it’s time for her to unwind: sleep, movement, and joy. “I recharge by disconnecting from my phone and reconnecting with my body,” she shares. “If I’m anxious, movement is my fastest reset. Movement reminds my nervous system that I’m safe and that I can take action.” She also appreciates a good, warm bath when she’s experiencing a creative block. “If I need more creative, flowing energy, you will often find me in the bath — or in Japan, we call ‘onsen.'”

Much like downtime in the bath, Okusa views sleep as an essential part of her routine. “I’m very protective of sleep. I try to be in bed by 10 PM, because nothing good happens between 10 and midnight — it’s usually just scrolling, overstimulation, and not actually resting.”

She finds it equally important to balance rest with play. “[Self care] is not only discipline and routines,” she explains, “it’s also play. Joy, laughter, and being fully present with people I love. The more I protect that, the more grounded and motivated I feel.”

Keep scrolling for Okusa’s health, beauty, and wellness essentials — and more advice for embracing a wellness routine you can actually stick to.