After studying electronics and computer science, Sylvain Auvert set up his first company in the field of ophthalmic surgery and bio-materials. He sold it 16 years later and then managed a property in Dordogne. Sylvain co-founded Mywah in 2015 with Sophie Blum, and he lead the technical development of the Edgar Wine Butler. Interview.
How did Edgar’s idea come about?
Simply looking at the famous kegs of Puech Haut, signed by artists. With Sophie Blum, co-founder of Mywah, we thought that it would be disruptive to design a device capable of serving wine by the glass, at the right temperature, as quickly as possible. We were in the South of France, it was hot, and we drank rosé. Rosé is a wine you drink at a very cool temperature, otherwise it’s not good at all! The question of wine temperature became important as soon as we shaped our project.
How long was the development of Edgar Wine Butler?
Developing Edgar’s architecture and build the first prototype took 3 years. We knew exactly what we wanted: an appliance able to serve wine by the glass at the right temperature, immediately and continuously. The double requirement made the complexity of this project and our sweet spot is precisely here. Today, some devices serve wine by the glass at the right temperature, but no one serve as quickly as Edgar and without interruption. At first, we managed to have wine at the right temperature, but it would not flow continuously, or the wine would flow continuously, but not be at the right temperature. We had to develop the right technology, to find the right partners to help build up the prototype. Today, Edgar is the only wine dispenser able to serve 240 glasses per hour at the desired temperature without any interruption. And it is totally decorrelated from the storage temperature of our eco-refill pouch. Here is our key competitive advantage and our core innovation.
Is the temperature of the wine accurate to the degree?
Yes. Every wine is served at the right temperature and, obviously, temperature vary from a red to a white, or a rosé. Edgar is driven by an algorithm at the heart of the system, taking into account several parameters: the ambient temperature, the temperature of the wine packs, the quantity poured into each glass, etc. The algorithm, combined with the choice of the right cooling technology, allows to bring in a few seconds a wine from 20° to 7° Celsius for example.
Another advantage of Edgar is that it is a connected machine …
Yes, Edgar collects and sends to a computer server data on the number of glasses served, at what time, etc. The user – restaurant or hotel owner – has access to all the data, from his smartphone for example. Edgar sends an alert when a pouch is almost empty and needs to be replaced, or when maintenance is needed. In parallel, MYWAH keeps track on the inventory as every eco-refill pouch owns a RFID chip.
What are the next steps, from a technical point of view?
We have our first prototypes. Edgar gives great satisfaction so far and will keep evolving in the future. We are working on reducing the size and the weight, which means miniaturizing the cold group. We also want Edgar to accommodate different packs, up to 5 litre. And, ultimately, we want to be able to offer it to individuals. This will be the second floor of the rocket.