Kweku Larbi and Ross Smith appeared with a portable and innovative product that brews coffee anytime and anywhere in the 11th episode of Shark Tank season 12.
Though the sharks were impressed by the idea and Kweku, they were very displeased with the valuation of the company. As a result, Brumachen had to walk out of the tank without a deal.
Kweku Larbi, a former civil engineer by profession had to travel to a coffee shop from work daily to get a cup of coffee which wasted a lot of his time.
In response to this problem, he came up with the idea of a portable coffee brewer Brumachen. Brumachen is currently in business, selling the product on its website.
Though they did not see the exponential growth after the show aired and they didn’t make their product available on any retail platform and continued to sell on their website.
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What is Brumachen?
Coffee is one of the most popular drinks in the world, and for good reason. Not only does it taste great, but it also provides a much-needed energy boost.
It wasn’t until the 17th century that coffee made its way to Europe, and from there it quickly became a global phenomenon.
Today, coffee is grown in more than 50 countries around the world. The majority of the world’s coffee beans are produced in Brazil, Vietnam, and Colombia.
Coffee is typically brewed by adding ground coffee beans to hot water. The resulting mixture is then strained and drunk. Coffee can also be made by brewing the coffee beans with cold water, a method known as a cold brew.
When it comes to coffee, there are two types of people in this world: those who love it and those who need it.
We’ve all been there – we’re running late for work, or we’re on our way to meet a friend, and we need to grab a coffee.
So we pull into the drive-through of our favorite coffee shop, and then… we stall. The car ahead of us takes forever to order, and then even longer to get their coffee.
By the time we finally get to the window, we’re so frazzled that we can’t even remember what we wanted.
Why does this happen? Well, there are a few possible explanations. Maybe the person in front of us is new to the drive-through and doesn’t know how to order quickly. Or, maybe they’re just taking their time because they’re not in a hurry like we are.
Whatever the reason, it’s frustrating when we’re trying to get our coffee fixed and we have to wait in line for what feels like forever.
But you’re not completely helpless, there are solutions to get coffee anytime and anywhere you want.
We’ve all been there before – waiting in a long line for coffee. It’s a frustrating experience, especially when you’re in a rush. But why do we do it?
For many of us, coffee is a daily necessity. We need it to wake us up in the morning or to get us through the afternoon slump.
So even though we may grumble about the wait, we’re ultimately willing to put up with it because we know we’ll get our fix.
And let’s face it, we’re often willing to pay a premium for convenience. That’s why we’re more likely to buy coffee from a shop that has a long line than one that doesn’t.
We know we’ll get our coffee faster, even if it means shelling out a few extra dollars.
So the next time you find yourself waiting in line for coffee, instead of sheeling a few extra dollars you can buy a Brumachen coffee maker.
It is portable and you can take it anywhere with you. Now you can get a cup of coffee anytime and anywhere you want in a matter of minutes, thanks to the portable Brumachen.
For coffee lovers out there, portable coffee makers are a must-have. They allow you to make your coffee on the go.
Whether you’re a die-hard coffee lover or you just need your morning cup of coffee to get going, the portable coffee maker Brumachen is a great option for you.
Brumachen is also very environment friendly because of the environment-friendly coffee pods they have created.
Coffee pods are single-serve, pre-measured packets of coffee grounds that you can use to make a quick and easy cup of coffee.
While typical coffee pods are certainly convenient, those coffee pods can also be a major source of waste. They are typically made of plastic or aluminum, neither of which are particularly eco-friendly materials.
And because they’re designed for single-use, most coffee pods end up in landfills, where they can take centuries to decompose.
But it doesn’t have to be this way! Brumachen makes coffee pods that are made from sustainable materials and can be composted after use.
So if you’re looking to be more environmentally conscious, consider making the switch to eco-friendly coffee pods with Brumachen.
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Brumachen Shark Tank pitch (What happened at the show)
The pitch starts with Kweku Larbi, founder of Brumachen entering the tank and telling sharks that he’s gonna introduce them to the most revolutionary and innovative coffee maker in the world.
He introduces Ross Smith in a funny manner and they both reveal the product to the sharks. Kweku tells sharks how Brumachen can make a hot cup of coffee at a single push of a button, which saves you from waiting in long lines and stalling in the drive-throughs.
Ross joins Kweku in the pitch to let the sharks know how portable it is by telling them how he has taken the Brumachen all around the world, from boats to camping, you name it. It is extremely portable.
Kweku then demonstrates to sharks how Brumachen is used. Robert and Lauri seemed impressed with the product, or at least, they enjoyed the demonstration.
After demonstrating how the product works, they make ask about how much money they are here for.
They ask sharks for 1 million dollars in exchange for 10 percent of their company. To which Kevin seemed very surprised.
Kweku then asks Ross to get a coffee cup from the tent cause he’s gonna make a brew right then and there. Ross opens the tent revealing tons of wasted coffee cups.
Well, one thousand to be precise. That’s the number of coffee cups an average American will use this year. Which is a lot of waste. And that’s why they made one more innovation to solve this waste problem.
They created a biodegradable coffee pod which is made of materials like sugarcane and tree fibers and takes only 180 days to biodegrade as compared to the traditional coffee pods which take 450 years to biodegrade.
Apart from valuation, all the sharks seemed pretty impressed by Kweku at this point. He guides sharks on how to use the product by telling them to step by step process.
Lori asks Kweku how he ended up doing this and how did he come up with this idea and Kweku tells her how it used to take him a ten-minute drive from work to go to the coffee shop to get a coffee. So, his goal was t bridge the gap between coffee and office workers.
Mark asks about the sales to which Kweku reveals that they have sold over 600 units in their Kickstarter campaign and did revenue of 42 thousand dollars.
When asked about their total sales Kweku replies that those 42000 dollars are the only revenue they have generated so far to which sharks were very disappointed.
Kevin asks them if they’re out of their minds to think that this is worth 10 million dollars. Mark says that you have asked for such a high evaluation but haven’t shown anything that justifies that so for those reasons he’s out.
Robert thinks the product is great but the design is horrible, Robert says they have to prove that it’s worth that much money and it’s ridiculous. He’s out.
One by one all the sharks point out the same problem they all have, which is such a high valuation of the company and for that reason, all the sharks are out.
Mark and all the sharks wish them luck and tell them goodbye. Brumachen walks out of the tank without raising any money.
Did Brumachen Get a Deal On Shark Tank?
No, Brumchane did not get a deal and walked out of the tank with zero money.
Brumachen Shark Tank Update (What Happened AFTER the Show)
Things did not go well for Brumachen in the shark tank. It is also being said that some customers who ordered Brumachen from the Kickstarter campaign didn’t even receive the product because Brumachen was facing some difficulties with International shipping.
| Company Name | Brumachen |
| Founder | Kweku Larbi |
| Product | Brumachen portable coffee brewer |
| Asked For | 1 million dollars for 10 percent of the company |
| Final Deal | No deal |
| Shark | No Shark |
| Episode | Season 12, Episode 11 |
| Air Date | 22 January 2021 |
| Business Status | In Business |
| Net Worth | Unknown |
After shark tank Brumachen was not even available on their official website for a long time, showing the product was out of stock. Currently, as of August 2022, Brumachen is available on its official website.
They are not available on major global platforms like amazon. So, based on the limited data available, it is safe to say that things did not go that well for Brumachen even after Shark Tank.
Meet the Brumachen Founders
Kweku Larbi, who helped create the company and is originally from Ghana, attended school in the United States and obtained a degree in civil engineering from Cleveland State University.
Ross Smith, a popular TikTok star with 15 million followers, is well-known for posting videos of his grandmother and dressing ridiculously.
Ross, who’d already previously worked with organizations such as the NFL and Burger King, firmly believed in Larbi’s product and became a partner.
Ross is currently sitting at 2.7 million followers on Instagram and doing good for himself as a social media influencer. While his Instagram is booming his Youtube has also grown to 2.68 million subscribers.
Kweku on the other hand got married to Sarah Larbi after his appearance on the shark tank.
While working as a civil engineer on construction sites, Kweku found himself in need of a hot cup of coffee but was unable to access any nearby coffee shops quickly.
Kweku came up with the idea and design for Brumchan and used a 3D printer to make an early prototype that brews coffee and tea virtually anywhere.
Smith and Larbi started their Kickstarter campaign in January 2020, and they ended up reaching $41,553 despite having a goal of just $6,000.
However, the business ran into production and delivery issues early on and was unable to deliver finished goods to customers in other countries.
Though there isn’t a lot of information available about Kweku on the internet we can surely see a recap of Ross’s history, education, etc.
Before TikTok purchased Vine, Smith first gained attention for his outlandish and unusual comic and prank videos.
Since then, Smith has dominated social media alongside his grandma Pauline Kane, widely known as Granny Smith and Cocaine Fro.
The pair’s @rosssmith TikTok account has millions of followers as a result of their humorous personalities and compatibility.
Although Smith’s $2 million valuation comes primarily from his work as a content creator on Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube, the realm of digital media and social media were not Smith’s first choice of vocation.
From an early age, Smith excelled in sports, leading his high school football team to the playoffs in just the second year of Olentangy Orange High School’s existence.
Smith was not only a key player on the football team but also a member of their track and lacrosse teams.
Because of his outstanding performance the previous year, Smith was given the opportunity to play for the Dayton Flyers at the University of Dayton in Ohio.
He began for more than three years, but he was drafted by a German American football team, thus he was unable to return for his fourth season.
In December 2012 and April 2013, Smith made the decision to sign up for Instagram and Vine, respectively.
Initially intended as a vacation from his demanding schedule as a Division I athlete, Smith grew fond of the platform and the feedback he received from other Viners on his material.
When TikTok purchased Vine, Smith had already released a number of videos that had become popular and gained him over 250,000 followers. In his Vine days, Ross frequently worked with Patrick Barnes, another Viner.
The Potsdam Royals, an American football franchise based in Potsdam, Germany, selected Smith in the 2015 NFL Draft.
Before he made the decision to go back to the United States, Smith played in a number of games for the German Football League team over the course of a few months.
On July 11, 2014, Smith registered his YouTube account under the name Ross Smith, just after Vine was shut down and before he was selected by the Royals.
Smith’s Vine legacy continued on the channel, which also featured the same outlandish and peculiar pranks that starred his grandma.
His films still primarily focus on those bizarre pranks as of right now, and the majority of his most well-liked recent ones include two dwarves in them that startle people.
His use of models in his videos, paired with clickbait headlines and thumbnails that draw viewers in before moving into his trademark brand of prank/comedy that has his fans constantly coming back for more, is another mainstay in his toolbox.
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Brumachen Pros and Cons
Pros
- Portable
- Control the strength of your coffee
- Makes a great gift
- Easy to use
- Travel friendly
- Use it at home or work
- Easy to store
- Easy to clean
- Single-serve portion
- Adapted to produce coffee from any brand of pods
Cons
- Not patented
- Poor design and slightly bulky
- Comes with single-serve coffee pods
- One size only
- Noisy
What people are saying about Brumachen
Because Brumachen is not available on sites like amazon, it is hard to figure out what people exactly think about the product itself.
Upon doing further research, we found out that the design of the product is what people have a problem with.
People are saying that the idea is good, however, the design can be better which could make a huge difference in customers’ experience with the product.
There is a lot of chatter on sites like Reddit about the episode and what people think about it. However, there is not a lot of talk about the product itself.
Brumachen’s USP
Brumachne’s USP has been made very clear by its founder the moment he walked into the tank. Which is its portability.
The founders have reiterated this point time and again to drive home the USP of Brumachen in everyone’s mind. You can take it anywhere with you and brew yourself a cup of coffee without having to go to a coffee shop.
How to use Brumachen?
Though it can be confusing at first, once you get used to it, Brumachen is fairly easy to use. Y
ou just have to plug it into an outlet, pour water, insert the K cup, close the lid, and push the power button, and boom it starts brewing you a fresh cup of coffee.
It takes Brumachen to brew a coffee for about 5 minutes.
How is Brumachen powered?
There are three distinct power sources available from the Brumachen. You are able to consume coffee inside of your vehicle by using the linked car power port.
Prepare coffee at home or in the workplace with the help of the wall outlet adaptor that is included.
You can even brew without electricity by utilizing a portable battery that has been proven and tested. (Portable battery sold separately)
Brumachen Competitors
WACACO
Based in Hong Kong, Wacaco was established in 2013. It was registered prior to Minipresso’s official commercial debut. Started as a personal project in 2012 with the goal of developing a portable, lightweight espresso maker.
Prior to starting the creation of the Minipresso, Wacaco’s founder and industrial design master’s degree holder Hugo Cailleton was actively involved in the production of home espresso machines.
Having been let down by a subpar espresso shot at a hotel one morning while on a business trip, the concept of the portable espresso machine, allowing users to pull their own drink on the move, into his head.
When he got home, he began to research the offerings, purchase samples, and test them. But none of those goods completely satiated him.
They were too heavy, the extractions weren’t good, the shot temperature was too low, and they were too expensive for occasional use.
Having grown accustomed to sipping excellent shots every day, his inventive mind set out to design a portable tool that could rival home espresso makers in terms of performance and price.
He had a lot of issues to resolve, and there was a lot of space for better answers.
The desired device wasn’t easy to come true. To test various mechanisms, coffee extraction, product interface, and design, more than 10 prototypes were constructed.
The opinions of friends, test subjects, and experts in the coffee industry were carefully recorded and examined.
In the process, certain features were added and others were eliminated, necessitating numerous trips back to the drawing board.
Minipresso was finally within striking distance of expectations thanks to the persistence and dedication that brought about the conception.
The injection moulds were being produced twenty months after the journey that altered Hugo’s everyday routine. The product is now popular and well-liked by many consumers.
ESPRO
Two engineers who like solving problems formed ESPRO. They just so happen to love coffee problems. What began as a challenge to develop a better tamper transformed into a mission to minimize variation in everything people do when brewing coffee.
The Clover Brewing System, a device that combines vacuum press technology to make an impeccably controlled cup of coffee, was founded by Chris and Bruce in 2002.
The cost was $13,000. They questioned how they could provide that level of consistency to everyone and make it available at home.
They worked on ESPRO throughout the evenings and weekends while Chris was building fuel cell cars and Bruce was beginning his MBA at MIT. They gained interest in the French press after creating their first product, the Calibrated Tamper.
Chris and Bruce identified three crucial elements—temperature, extraction, and filtration—after distilling the essential components of a superb cup of coffee.
They began looking for techniques to guarantee that the temperature of the water flowing in and out was the same.
Separating the grinds from the water allowed them to try various strategies for “shutting off” the brewing process. They created an alternative, extremely fine filter in their minds.
After many late hours, the first ESPRO Press was eventually born. The vessel was double-walled, keeping the water at a constant temperature.
Coffee grounds couldn’t combine with the brewed coffee because a silicone lip established a vacuum seal. Two 9 and 12 times finer than usual microfilters were used to eliminate grit from the brew.
Today, ESPRO’s fundamental ideals continue to serve as the direction for each new product. And the team’s shared love of coffee inspires every new innovation.
Cafflano
Beanscorp Co., Ltd. was established in 2013 by five coffee enthusiasts and quickly gained recognition for its innovative line of brewing equipment that supports pour-over, espresso, and immersion brewing techniques.
Since then, Beanscorp has been creating cutting-edge, environmentally friendly, and portable coffee equipment under the name Cafflano and has amassed over 13+ international awards from the coffee, outdoor, and kitchenware industries.
These include four straight years of “The best new product awards” from the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) in 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2019. Cafflano is now accessible in 100 different nations worldwide.
Its goal is crystal clear: to create, produce, and offer high-quality coffee equipment that is simple, creative, affordable, practical, sustainable, and portable for all coffee enthusiasts.
According to them, they still have a huge amount of fascinating concepts for cutting-edge coffee equipment, and by continuing to spend on R&D, they will keep moving forward, differentiating themselves from competitors, and enabling coffee lovers in enjoying wonderful coffee whenever and wherever they want.
Aeropress
Alan Adler, an inventor and former engineering instructor at Stanford University, launched the business Aerobie, Inc. in 1984.
They produced high-performance sports toys for many years, such as the Aerobie Pro flying ring, which was used to establish a Guinness World Record for the furthest object thrown.
Then, in 2004, Alan started researching the brewing procedure with the straightforward objective of producing a better cup of coffee.
In 2005, The AeroPress Original made its debut with excellent comments; it is now available in more than 80 nations.
It even served as the inspiration for the World AeroPress Championship, an international phenomenon fueled by fans in which creative coffee lovers from over 60 nations compete to produce the finest cup of coffee using their preferred AeroPress formula.
They became AeroPress, Inc. in 2017 after selling the Aerobie sport toy line.
Since innovation and clever design have always been at the core of what they do, together with their clients, partners, and the World AeroPress Championship, the business is now entirely focused on motivating more coffee lovers to transform their daily ritual!
Alan Adler has more than 40 patents and has transformed a variety of fields. He has mastered coffee brewing. And he continues to be active in the company today.
Brumachen FAQs
Do I need to wash my Brumachen?
Yes, please follow these guidelines:
• You should always remove the used pod from the machine, and before you clean your Brumachen, you should unplug it.
• Rinse the detachable mug with water before using it.
• To clean the water heater, you should use a hairbrush.
• Do not use any detergents or alcohol in the process.
• Take care not to completely submerge the water heater.
Can I put anything else in there besides tea and coffee?
Coffee and tea are both appropriate beverages for the Brumachen bottle. However, brewing any other kinds of beverages in it is not something that we recommend.
How long does it take Brumachen to make a cup of coffee?
It takes around six minutes to brew a cup of coffee using water at room temperature, which is approximately 68 degrees Fahrenheit.
However, the process could take far longer if the water has a lower temperature prior to brewing.
Will Brumachen from shark tank succeed? Here’s Our Prediction
When Kweku entered the shark tank, everything appeared to be going according to plan—at least for a while. However, things began to turn for the worst in a relatively short amount of time.
All of the sharks were quite dissatisfied with the fact that the only sales they had accomplished up to that point had come from the Kickstarter campaign.
The product design has also been critiqued by not only sharks like Mark Cuban but also the users of Brumachen all over the internet.
The founder of Brumachen Kweku does not have any prior business or marketing experience. He comes from a background in engineering.
So, he’s not specialized in making or selling the product. As a founder, these skills come in very handy.
There is no question that the success of a company is dependent on a wide variety of factors, and this fact cannot be denied.
And it’s impossible for us to determine in advance what will work and what will fail. Nevertheless, while taking into account the circumstances surrounding Brumachen as well as a variety of other factors, we are forced to conclude that things are not looking promising for Brumachen.
Time will reveal what happens to the company in the long term but for now, the odds are stacked against them.
