OEM • Journal • Incense Launch

• 11.07.24

We moved to Los Angeles in 2016—a Canadian-Japanese couple—and discovered Nonaka-Hill Gallery not long after. There are countless galleries in LA, but few as welcoming as this one, where Rodney and Taka make each visitor feel at home, sharing the stories behind every piece with such care. Their artists—whether iconic, emerging, or undiscovered—are mostly Japanese or Japanese expats, with an occasional American name like Sterling Ruby.

Our shared love for Japanese art deepened our relationship, and with each visit, we found connection in the space. When we proposed collaborating with OEM, it felt entirely natural; while others might question why a “new drugstore” and a gallery would partner, for us it couldn’t make more sense. Health isn’t only what you put on or in your body but also your environment—it involves every sense, each integral to mental well-being.

When we invited Nonaka-Hill to interpret “Care,” they thoughtfully selected Megumi Shinozaki, Keita Matsunaga, Takuro Tamayama, and Jiro Nagase. Keita’s Palm 掌 holds our incense, his Cocoon 繭 acts as a diffuser, Jiro’s plate_10mm fits our balms and precious trinkets, Megumi’s dried flowers brighten the space with subtle scent and beauty, and Takuro’s 2 Shapes evoke an elder supported by a younger figure. Each piece brings the theme to life through sensory, visual, and emotional expressions of care.

It’s an honor to be part of Rodney and Taka’s intimate world, showcasing artists we’ve admired for so long. To everyone who joined us on opening night, thank you—and to those still planning to visit, we hope you experience the “Care” radiating from every piece in the gallery.

• 09.06.24

The other day we had one of our quarterly meetings — our opportunity to zoom out and think about the big picture. We talked about the concept of collective psychology. Much of psychology and mental wellness today is focused in on the individual, which is certainly important, however, if you zoom out on the Earth, what impact does individual therapy really have on our collective wellbeing? Perhaps if there were more community based projects aimed at psychological healing we wouldn’t only improve the mental health of one individual, we’d create stronger social bonds, more understanding of diverse perspectives, better communication, less conflict — we’d improved the mental health of many.

How can OEM do this?
Group runs / exercise
Group meditations
Communicating us > me
Encouraging exploration / travel

• 02.08.24

We just ran our largest and most efficient production yet… on our 4th run… made in Los Angeles. We refined our formula which decreased the number of vendors and costs, updated the packaging to look better on the shelf, switched to a new warehouse… it’s taken us years to figure this beverage industry out and we’ve only just scratched the surface. We have new energy behind this product fueled by new partners keeping their communities hydrated — District Vision, Arc'teryx, Little Tokyo Table Tennis, Usal...

OEM Rehydrating Drink Production

We are now offering subscription on our website. Try our best tasting Rehydrating Drink yet.

• 11.14.23

We’ve been working on this product since 2021, it took too long, frustratingly long, we had twins in this time, so much has changed… It did give us time to let things seep, give it more thought, bring in more hands… and we are grateful. It’s finally ready… We hope you love it as much as we do 💚

• 06.28.23

Two years ago we started OEM. We mapped out five years of product releases, category expansions, milestones. We kept this long piece of paper taped on the wall by our desks, up in our little office loft. It was a reminder of the ambition, the vision we have for OEM. Of course everything changes after launch. COVID happens, formulations take longer than expected, CBD ironically becomes a headache, production issues, misprints, flakey suppliers, etc… But the vision remains. Even though we might take a different route to get there. So this message is to you. Thank you for following our journey. For subscribing or purchasing. We’re a two person team and your support means everything to us.

• 06.26.23

All we want to do is build things. Kids with legos. But seeing an idea come to life has a price tag, and after a while you start to see your ceiling — there’s no time, not enough money, you aren’t good enough… What if we push an idea all the way to the cusp of reality. Let it teeter on that edge. We’ll sit on our cliff with one finger at its back. Maybe a crowd will form down below, ready to catch it. First time we met Vadik was at a coffee shop in Hollywood. We talked about being immigrants and dealing with visas, Rivians, our upcoming trade show, audio helmets, a future that felt out of reach. His calm demeanor and thoughtful responses made everything feel more attainable. The OEM + Vadik “Frequency” PDF explores a few of these ideas — for the individual, for your environment, for the community, and for the world. We imagine an experience that isn’t just about healing the self. It’s about creating a healthier life for everyone.

View PDF

• 05.19.23

When we first formulated our drink we thought it was perfect. As we grow and tell our story we welcome more people into our extended team: brokers, distributors, formulators, ingredient manufacturers, co-packers (facility that helps us blend and fill our cans), warehouses, logistics. We learn so much from everyone we talk to at demos, trade shows, events — hundreds, maybe thousands of people — and through all of this we’ve discovered better ways to do things, better ingredients, refined our taste buds, and obsessed over every detail.

We source every ingredient ourselves — buying barrels of powders and liquids, empty cans and even the ends, printed sleeves, trays, and booking semi-trailers to lug our materials back and forth from LA to Vegas. We need legal paperwork and contracts, insurance, documentation, certificates of analysis of every ingredient. The number of moving parts involved in creating this single end product is... a lot. It’s also extremely capital intensive. We’re a two-person team, but the total number of people who touch this process could be in the hundreds. We were naive getting into this, but maybe that worked in our favor.

We ran this batch with a new co-packer in Vegas — one with a much better and bigger facility — but because our run was so small they had to squeeze it between larger jobs and couldn’t tell us exactly when it would be. They called us at 9am to tell us they’re running it at 3pm, so we packed ourselves in the car and drove 6 hours to Vegas. The run ended up being at 2am because their CO2 tank blew up.

As many would understand, we want to make things “perfect” before we put it out. Every little thing needs to be 100% just right. It’s tough to let go of this, but we’ve learned along the way that it’s actually better to put something out into the world and redesign and adjust as we go. MVP (Minimal Viable Product) allows for a greater capacity of feedback and consumer input. It’s just a V1. There’s going to be V2, V3, V4…

By no means is this journey complete, but we are happy to share our most recent iteration of the OEM Rehydrating Drink. After demo’ing our drink in grocery stores and events, we got valuable feedback about sugar preferences — we reduced our sugar to 5g, refined our electrolyte and mineral blend, and still kept our great taste. We also made the decision to remove CBD — an incredible ingredient, but also an expensive one that forced us to charge customers more. By removing it we’ve been able to lower our prices by 30% to $3.49 a can, making them more accessible. Without the CBD, we can also sell our drink to more retailers, making it easier to buy off-the-shelf.

Recently we’ve been fortunate enough to be part of amazing local shops like Psychic Wines, Ancient Ritual, Canal Market, Sip Snack, Regent Coffee, and more. The support we’ve had from a small group of people has kept us wanting to continuously improve our drink — it never gets old when someone tells us it’s the perfect drink.

• 11.24.22

We hand picked these Furoshiki from Kyoto while we were in Japan earlier this month. Furoshiki — traditional Japanese cloths used to wrap and/or transport goods — play a beautiful role in Japan’s history, dating back as far as the Nara period (710-794). A Furoshiki could perhaps be the most versatile piece of cloth you own. I learned this when I watched the store clerk demonstrate countless ways of tying the cloth, to carry a lunch, to wrap a gift, to sling over your shoulder, to carry on your wrist. She grinned back at the customer who watched in awe — the customer coming up with new situations, the clerk bouncing back with a new tie, barely looking down as her hands worked magic. Japan has an abundance of people who are passionate about niche things — the focus and dedication is admirable to someone like me who comes from a place where passions are scattered amongst hobbies, businesses, clients. This holiday season we won’t be doing a sale for OEM. Bottom line is, we’re a small business and we just can’t afford to do it. But also, we believe our products are worth every penny. We’ve invested so much into the development of these products and the brand that houses them and we’re so proud of the outcome. Instead, we will be hand wrapping any order over $100 (our new Incense Holder, Care Pack, and Hinoki Pack are great items that qualify) with the Furoshiki we picked out. We’ll also provide a blank card so that you can personalize a message to your loved one if you decide to gift it.

• 09.18.22

“I truly believe we’re only put on this earth to hang out.” — @arjununcle

Thank you to the old friends who followed our journey, the new ones who stoked the flames, the virtual ones who boosted our algo, and the friends of friends who just came for a good time. Seeing your face, shaking your hand, hugging you, made this all more real than it has ever felt before.

Love, OEM

• 11.26.21

We’ve been a little MIA over the past 2 days because power was out at our place. While it definitely made life a little more difficult and stressful, it also forced us to slow down and appreciate our non-digital world. You might have noticed us pushing this “listening to incense” idea throughout the launch. This notion is very special to us and even more so when we had no internet and no cellular, freeing up our senses to really appreciate this practice.

Incense is intricately tied to the introduction of Buddhism to Japan in the sixth century. With this came the Buddhist practice of using incense in ritual and spiritual pursuits. Those in charge of formalizing the practice adopted the term koh o kiku 香を聞く, or mon-koh 聞香 — to listen to incense.

The idea of listening to incense becomes clear when you consider the holistic values that incense brings. When we smell incense we open up our mind to all the stories it has to tell. We experience the ingredients and the journeys they made as materials that grew from the Earth. We experience the traditions of incense making that date back thousands of years. Finally, if we listen close enough we can let the fragrance free our mind of the past and the future, and guide us in this present moment.

We chose to feature Hinoki wood in our incense because of its rich, high quality fragrance known to calm the nervous system and slow down heart rates. We hope that in lighting your incense you find much more than a fragrance, but an opportunity for a meditative reset — an opportunity to find peace and clarity, to purify the mind and body.