A hipster-friendly Bible for the Instagram generation

[Valin]

Washington Examiner

Alexander James

March 19, 2019

When Brian Chung got his first Bible, he found it strange and intimidating. The paper was super thin, the text was dense, and it was difficult to know where to begin, Chung recalled in an interview.

He thought to himself, “There’s got to be a better way to make this.” Unlike many who have great ideas but never act on them, Brian set out to make a better Bible.

In 2016, Brian Chung teamed up with Bryan Chung (yes, their names are confusingly similar) to create Alabaster Co. through a Kickstarter campaign. The concept was simple: Nearly everyone is attached to their smartphone, and people these days are responding to visual mediums more than written mediums.

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Alabaster sells individual books of the Bible at a steep price. Gospels of Matthew, Luke, Mark, and John sell for $30 each; Romans and Psalms for $35 and $38 softcovers and $70 for hardcovers; sets of books start at $100 and can cost as much as $155.

This price model seems to be working for Alabaster, however. Last year, the company sold more than 10,000 products and made $300,000-plus in sales, The company projects its 2019 sales to hit nearly $900,000. The majority of their sales are in the 21-to-35-year-old range in major cities, and they’ve got an in with the megachurch Hillsong.

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