Alchema

Alchema is a smart device that provides customers with a hassle-free solution for making hard ciders, wines, and other alcoholic brews.

Its patented technology solves the problems faced by home-brewers and takes the guesswork out of the fermentation process.

The air-tight device self-sanitizes using a built-in, medical-grade UVC-LED light to prevent contamination—a common, difficult problem to overcome for home-brewers.

In 2016, Alchema raised $344,231 from 899 backers on Kickstarter. Its product is slated to ship in Fall 2017 at an MSRP of $499.99. (Pre-orders are available now for $429 at alchema.com.)

The company has stated that when it has enough volume, it will be able to bring the retail cost down to make Alchema more affordable.

The next phase of the company's go-to-market strategy will focus on selling its product through online retailers like Amazon.com.

* Market Analysis *
In the U.S., there are an estimated 1.2 million home-brewers that collectively brew more than 2 million barrels per year.

Compared to beer, hard cider is a relatively untapped market for homebrewers. Yet the cider industry has grown rapidly over the past five years:

Since 2012, the number of U.S. households with cider drinkers rose to 18 million from 6 million. In 2015, U.S. cider sales increased 10.8% to $523.6 million.

Cider is also popular overseas-in the UK, cider accounts for 22% of the beer market, versus just 1% in the U.S.

By 2020, the global cider market is projected to reach $12.9 billion. While Europe is expected to remain the largest cider market, the U.S. is forecast to experience the highest growth, with an estimated 13.9% compound annual growth rate.

Team Background

Oscar Chang - CEO

Oscar's background is in Electrical Engineering, and he earned his PhD at the National Chiao Tung University (NCTU).

NCTU is one of Taiwan's leading public research universities.

Hanning Tung - Brewing Director

Hanning earned a Master of Science in Microbrewing from the University of Sheffield.

Beer and cider making processes was his major.

Angel Huang - COO

Young Yang - CTO

Hanning Tung - Brewing Director

Jack Chiu - Software Director

Co-Investors