When there’s trigger for celebration, attain for a can of “MEDASE”, an natural, premium mocktail model based by finest buddies Monica Cornitcher and Inga Dyer. The phrase “MEDASE” originates from the Ghanaian Twi language, which means “Thank You”.
Dyer and Cornitcher first met thirty years in the past as college students at Howard College.
In the course of the pandemic, whereas Dyer was battling breast most cancers and Cornitcher was experiencing challenges together with her psychological well being, their friendship deepened and so they grew to become protected areas for one another, with out judgment.
When requested in regards to the origin of the enterprise, Cornitcher informed the Sentinel that when she and Dyer mirrored on their most enjoyable instances, they realized that many gatherings typically embrace drinks and a celebratory toast. Nonetheless, since they didn’t drink alcohol, they tried a plethora of non-alcoholic drinks. Unimpressed by the present number of mocktails in the marketplace, the pair started the method of making their very own.
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With Dyer’s background as a lawyer and Cornitcher’s expertise working her personal know-how firm, the road sisters (Cornitcher and Dyer are members of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.) knew they’d be distinctive enterprise companions.

In efforts to create the right mocktail, the pair labored with meals scientist, beverage marketing consultant, and chemist Patrice Newsom for over a 12 months to make sure the flavors have been as much as par. Cornitcher provides perception into the formulation course of to make sure that the mocktail flavors together with the “Hey Sunshine Margarita”, “Goodnight Moon Moscow Mule”, “Hey Huge Dipper Previous Trend”, “Solar Kissed Lemon Drop”, “Heavana Can’t Wait Mojito”, and “Golden Hour Jamaican Rum Punch” bore an genuine resemblance to their cocktail namesakes.
“We knew these flavors have been going to be natural, however if you happen to take, for instance, natural apple juice and concentrated apple juice, they style so otherwise. We would have liked to construct a mocktail that didn’t have an aftertaste, and generally natural drinks have that, so it was a labor of affection to get thus far in our journey the place we’ve obtained six non-hemp flavors in the marketplace.We’re going to do a manufacturing run of our hemp flavors within the coming months, in order that we’ll have all 12 in the marketplace on the similar time. Most individuals have one, perhaps two flavors, however we’ve obtained the complete lineup, and we’re able to go,” raved Cornitcher.
“That is greater than only a drink, it’s an expertise,” she added. “We’re not telling individuals to not drink [alcohol], we’re giving them a distinct means of experiencing ingesting, which is why our mocktails actually are curated to style like a cocktail, whether or not that be our Moscow Mule, the margarita, and if you happen to’ve been to Jamaica, a Jamaican Rum Punch that has the additional nutmeg in it. All of these issues have been vital to us after we determined to work with Newsom as our chemist.”
Cornitcher shares how she had the resilience to persevere with MEDASE after the passing of her Co-Founder, Inga Dyer, to breast most cancers, in addition to the sudden passing of her brother to pancreatic most cancers.
“I’ve a daughter with a tremendous spirit who’s pushing me by means of and giving me all the braveness and unconditional love that simply makes you need to stand up, smile, chortle, and be joyful. Within the midst of all of this grief, residing is vital for the one who’s nonetheless right here in addition to persevering with to construct a legacy, and generally it’s of their title. So whereas part of me didn’t understand how I may go on, I additionally felt like I couldn’t let Inga down as a result of we had a plan. It’s all written down. It took us a 12 months to jot down our five-year plan. So I can’t let her down. I needed to stand up and discover a means.”

Cornitcher continues, “So what I might say to entrepreneurs overcoming a loss is to verify your plan throughout that point may be very clear. As a result of what can occur, and not using a clear plan, you fall into entrepreneurial frustrations after which your grief comes again. So it’s important to make it possible for your plan is ready in stone, so that you simply keep motivated to perform your targets.Let the particular person you misplaced encourage you. Let the individuals who don’t assume you can also make it occur encourage you to maintain shifting ahead.”
Cornitcher’s unwavering dedication to her and Dyer’s enterprise has resulted in lots of celebratory moments for his or her model, together with MEDASE being one of many official non-alcoholic drinks on the famend Martha’s Winery African American Movie Competition.
After experiencing success with a direct-to-consumer enterprise mannequin, Cornitcher shares that her subsequent objective for MEDASE contains all 12 skews being out there in big-box retailers like Publix and Costco.
Cornitcher imparts these closing phrases of knowledge on aspiring entrepreneurs. “Take your time and don’t rush to make all the pieces occur so quick that you simply begin promoting your organization off. Inga and I personally invested plenty of our personal cash into the enterprise, and we knew if we needed to proceed to develop, we would have liked cash, however take your time. We’ve had influential individuals say, ‘If I get 10% of your corporation, then I can do xyz for you.’ We may have bought off an entire lot of percentages even earlier than we even obtained out the door, as a result of individuals knew we had a good suggestion, an incredible technique, distinctive packaging, and we wow individuals with the style.”
“After all, everybody desires to make one million {dollars}, however take your time, be strategic in regards to the choices that you simply make as a result of there are people who find themselves solely related to the title of their enterprise, however they’re now not the house owners, so take into consideration the kind of offers which are finest for your corporation long run.”
You should purchase MEDASE at http://MEDASEcocktails.com and on Amazon.