Day Trip: Emily Lawson, Pink House Alchemy

It was an intuitive, if circuitous, path that led Emily Lawson to build Pink House Alchemy in Fayetteville, Arkansas. An interest in both food and science led her to pre-med studies in dietetics and biology, while simultaneously consulting on culinary programs and raising her first child. While working a farmers market booth for a coffee roaster, Lawson decided she could improve upon the artificial syrups. She grabbed a bundle of lavender and made her own lavender syrup, discovering a fascination with botanical extraction in the process. Pink House Alchemy launched in 2012, with Lawson’s syrups, shrubs, and bitters gaining fans in the beverage industry. Today, they supply both international companies and home consumers, with cult favorites like their PH Delight—a honey syrup with vanilla and cinnamon. Lawson brings us along for a day at the Pink House property.

6 a.m.

I get up between 6 and 6:30. I have three children who are 17, 12, and 4. It’s a very blended home life, and that’s one of the reasons I work for myself—the freedom. I make us smoothies with blueberries (or whatever berries are in season), almond butter, dates, almond milk, turkey tail mushrooms, and collagen. The kids love them.

8 a.m.

I’m at the office by 8, and meetings usually start by 9. In the beginning, I was working as a consultant for folks who wanted to open coffee shops or restaurants, train a chef, or create a bar program. I would train people using my products, and then they’d adopt Pink House into their program, which is how the business grew. Today, we have just under 30 employees. The marketing team meets at 8, but I only drop in if they need me because I’ll get sucked in and want to brainstorm for hours. I head downstairs to the café and meet with my operations director, Stephanie King. She is my right arm. I grab an Americano and we troubleshoot from the day before.

10 a.m.

We have an all-team meeting with leaders from each department—production, shipping, retail, etc.—and discuss projects. We target the craft beverage market and lean in to what is needed. Lavender syrup was the first product, then vanilla, cardamom, ginger shrub, house bitters … there was a suite of products I made for the first five years before I simplified some of the flavors, thinking about what farms I could support and what products could go the furthest. We changed syrups like strawberry-rhubarb into pure strawberry. I figured I’d let the bartender or barista be creative with it. Today, we make nearly 20 core flavors, as well as seasonal products. Next, I meet with the executive suite of the company. We’re a highly effective team of five, but eventually someone asks, “Aren’t we hungry?” so we break for lunch.

1 p.m.

In the afternoon, I have a ginger shrub with grapefruit juice—it’s such a great pick-me-up instead of coffee. I meet with my head of R&D and compliance. We develop special products for companies like Intelligentsia and Blue Bottle, and also launch our own short runs, like a foraged lilac syrup. Or if a farmer has something they need to sell, like a few acres of lemons, we can consider producing a product for them. So we do extensive R&D all the time. We’re a completely vertically integrated business—we use the whole, raw botanical and break it down ourselves. We want to be hands on with our ingredients and, whenever possible, we build direct relationships with farms. All our berries come from McGarrah Farms here in Arkansas, which has grown exponentially, both with us and for us.

3 p.m.

I check in with our events team to see what’s coming up. We have some amazing clubs that have blossomed out of Pink House, such as the Queer Birding Alliance—they bird-watch every day at lunch. So I wander around and catch up with the groups. Our buildings are in downtown Fayetteville, and we do all of our production, bottling, and fulfillment on-site. Up front we have the café, which we use for special events and a private cocktail space in the evenings. Plus, if you come in on Wednesday, my R&D day, you can be sure to try something interesting.

6 p.m.

If there is an event, I might come back with the kids. Otherwise, we try to cook dinner together most nights. At home, the cardamom syrup is probably my favorite because it’s super versatile—I put it on vegetables, in stir-fries and curries, or I make a simple Cardamom Daiquiri with El Dorado rum and lime juice. It is literally the best Daiquiri you will drink. After dinner, we’ll play music or make an experimental art mess. Or we’ll just turn on Beyoncé and have a little dance party.