Cristian “See” Ellauri and Erin Beata, DC-based food entrepreneurs, began their venture into the food industry with a shared passion for herbal teas, chai, and holistic wellness. They created an adaptogenic chai and began selling their product locally under the company name Alchemyze. They made plans to open a Cafe. After quickly pivoting to a home delivery service in light of the COVID Pandemic, they realized they wanted to reach a larger audience. See and Erin decided to launch their chai concentrate as a packaged product to grow their brand nationwide. Fast forward and Alchemyze is rolling out their 32oz adapogenic chai concentrate and adaptogenic chai latte in stores in Washington, D.C.
See and Erin share a deep love for botanical alchemy, a practice of using herbal remedies to transform overall wellbeing. See is a Master of Ceremonies, possessing a deep expertise in tea from identifying the origin, aroma, taste, and mouthfeel. He loves to connect with community through tea and botanicals. Erin is a self-described kitchen witch with a love of herbal mixology.
After the COVID Pandemic hit, See and Erin retreated home to regroup and eat lots of ice cream. They decided to redirect their efforts from a Cafe to a home delivery chai service. The demand for their adaptogenic chai products was so high that See would drive all over the Bay Area - where they were living at the time - for 8 hours a day several times per week, delivering to thirsty customers. These customers craved a café quality experience while under the Stay at Home order and Alchemyze delivered that directly to their door.
See and Erin knew that their adaptogenic chai was solving a consumer pain point we can all relate to, a desire for community and belonging. They leveraged their high quality chai concentrates that provided the added benefit of adaptogens to bring the cozy coffee feeling home. Adaptogens are botanicals that have a long history of bringing balance to your body and offsetting biological, chemical, and physical stressors. After launching their home delivery service, See and Erin wanted to grow their brand further and reach more people with their chai. They moved to Washington, D.C., See’s hometown, and joined Union Kitchen’s Accelerator Program.
Alchemyze provides herbal, botanical drinks and concentrates that are rich in flavor and strong in wellness benefits. Alchemyze remains committed to sourcing locally grown botanicals, like Dandelion Root, an anti-inflammatory that provides health benefits such as blood sugar control and reduction of cholesterol and blood pressure levels. The Alchemyze ingredient list also includes Chaga Mushroom, a nutrient dense superfood, and Oatstraw, full of calcium and magnesium, a natural aid to your nervous system.
When reflecting on their product launch journey, Erin says recipe scaling and shelf life were challenging. “How do you take a recipe that’s meant to serve your friends and family and scale it? And not only that but how do you learn to extend the shelf life? We definitely have some funny stories about our chai tasting like lemon juice from too much citric acid.” After thorough recipe testing and tasting, Alchemyze is bringing their product to the DC market and online.
Alchemyze is launching two products: Adaptogenic Chai Black Concentrate, which is a full-bodied chai that can be served hot or cold and recommended to be mixed with equal parts milk. The Adaptogenic Chai Latte is a ready to drink brew featuring their chai mixed with coconut milk.
When reflecting on advice that the Alchemyze team would give to fellow food entrepreneurs, See says “It’s good to have a lot of patience. It’s good to take your time and really know your allies. Who is going to help you? No one is doing anything by themselves in the world. And if you really put time and energy into it you will create something but if you want to create something, make it fun, make it beautiful, make it the life that you want to be living and trust me I’m still learning this lesson every day.” Erin chimes in, “My advice is research! Really researching the market you’re going into and also just researching what it takes because everyone likes the idea of having a product out there in a really big way I think it’s really important to take that excitement and also really look at what it’s going to ask of you because I think launching anything in this arena is going to ask a lot more from you than what you initially anticipate.”
You can find Alchemyze products at Union Kitchen stores, on their website, and soon in other local retailers around the DMV.
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