Monica Cornitcher built Medase, her zero-proof cocktail brand, out of friendship, grief, and a sharp observation about a gap in the market.

Now, after a year of major momentum, the brand is moving into a new phase marked by fresh capital, national recognition, and a lower price point that could widen its reach.

Medase launched in 2023 after Cornitcher’s longtime friend and Howard University sorority sister, Inga Dyer, found themselves leaning on each other through the isolation of the pandemic and Dyer’s cancer battle. Often, Dyer just wanted to sit and sip with her beloved friend.

“Every time we were together, we were drinking something. It was either water, tea, a fruit drink from Erewhon,” she said. We thought, “Wouldn't it be nice if we could have an alcoholic cocktail?" Cornitcher recalled, noting that due to Dyer’s illness, she couldn’t drink alcohol. And how at this stage of her life, Cornitcher also wasn’t drinking much alcohol at all, though she still valued the atmosphere and camaraderie that a good mojito or lemon drop could ignite. That’s when the idea for Medase slowly began to take shape.​

The two women wanted a nonalcoholic option that felt grown, nuanced like a traditional cocktail, and worthy of the occasion. Cornitcher said the shelves were full of drinks that tasted like “carbonated juice water,” so the pair decided to build something better. Medase—a brand name that translates to “thank you” in Ghanaian Twi—was conceived as a tribute to gratitude, resilience, and the bond between two women who wanted to celebrate life without compromising health or flavor.​

A Brand with Range

As a nonalcoholic cocktail, Cornitcher is careful to describe Medase as not just a watered-down substitute. “When you taste it, you love it,” she said, sharing that the brand’s appeal comes from using real ingredients.

“I use real lemon juice, real cherry juice, real pineapple juice, real lime juice,” she says. “I don't use any of those flavorings to make the drink taste good because if you were making a mocktail at home, you're going to go to the store and buy those things. You're going to buy lemon juice, you're going to buy cherry juice, and you want a real, flavorful drink.”

That approach has helped Medase stand out in a crowded retail category where too many products, in her view, still taste like soda in a fancy, overpriced can.

She pointed to the brand’s tasty Old Fashioned as proof of concept: “It smells like whiskey,” she said, adding that the drinks are made to deliver the aroma, texture, and complexity people expect from a real cocktail. Medase currently offers six flavors, and Cornitcher said the company is also developing a hemp organic extract and, eventually, a nonalcoholic wine. Something that will surely be a hit with mothers-to-be.

The Next Chapter

Cornitcher recently shared that the company secured a strategic investment that gives it access to capital capable of supporting more than $20 million in annual sales, while its four-pack has dropped from $28 to $19.99.

“If you know anything about the beverage industry, it's a very expensive industry,” she says. ​

Together, those changes signal a business preparing to scale beyond the scrappy, founder-funded stage. In March, Fast Company reported that Black Women are the fastest-growing group of entrepreneurs, this is despite receiving less than 1% venture capital funding.

“Access to this level of capital allows Medase to capitalize on market opportunities and accelerate our growth trajectory,” Cornitcher said.

That growth arrives with recognition too: Cornitcher has been named to Inc.’s 2026 Female Founders 500, a national honor she called “a blessing.”

She said the award affirmed not just Medase’s traction, but the work behind it—fundraising, operational discipline, and a plan built for national expansion, not just survival.

“I’m not talking about regional growth, I’m talking about national growth,” she said, highlighting the scale she now believes the company could soon reach.

What makes Cornitcher’s story especially compelling is how personal experience has shaped the business logic. Medase was born in the shadow of illness, and Cornitcher’s decision to keep going after losing Dyer in 2024 was also a decision to turn grief into a way to honor her friend.

​She said the goal now is simple: “We’ve got a good group of people buying Medase, now I need everybody to buy it.”

At a moment when nonalcoholic drinks are becoming a bigger part of the cultural conversation, Cornitcher’s passion for creating community without compromise is as admirable as it is ambitious. Though creating a product that bucks the trend is a feat in itself.

“I'm a brown girl who broke into this industry where there's not a lot of us,” she says. “I do not want to stay small.”