Culver City-based Steric, the beverage technology company whose electromagnetic process is designed to enhance wine and spirits without additives or filtration, has announced the successful closing of its $3.5-million Seed funding round. The round was led by a private equity group, whose manager, Dieter Gable, has joined the Steric board. The capital injection reflects confidence in Steric’s mission to disrupt the wine and spirits industry by solving key pain points for producers.
Producers rely on Steric’s patent-pending, highly scalable technology to rescue flawed batches, ensure consistency and elevate premium products by adjusting and improving flavor, aroma and mouthfeel.
“From the start, our mission has been to put better products – and better margins – within reach for makers of every size,” said Steric’s CEO, William Fay. “This Seed round lets us expand access to Steric’s technology, so distillers and wineries can solve real production problems in hours, not months, and bring their best expressions to market consistently.”
“Steric’s capabilities are not incremental but revolutionary with respect to creating opportunities for margin improvement and product consistency,” said Chris Alvarez, a former senior director at Suntory Global Spirits who is now advising Steric as part of the private equity group.
The investment will fuel increased manufacturing and deployment of Steric’s technology across North America and select international markets, while also expanding customer success initiatives to help partners dial in target profiles for new products and consistency between batches. The capital will also advance Steric’s research and development as it looks to expand its patent-pending process for broader use across categories.
Steric is the developer of the patent-pending Steric Process, which employs an adjustable electromagnetic energy field to break down and transform specific compounds in distilled spirits and wine. Winner of the 2023 Innovation of the Year Award from the Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S. (DISCUS), the Steric Process is designed to be highly scalable, accommodating the production needs of any size producer.