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00:00No!
00:00No!
00:02No!
00:04No!
00:05No!
00:15Oh my gosh.
00:17I'm Imogen and this is Matt and we're from Cumbria.
00:20Hi dragons.
00:21Do you want some pasta?
00:23They all look like they could do some pasta.
00:25We craft British spelt pasta using regeneratively grown British grains and crafting it really traditionally.
00:33What's your favourite pasta?
00:35Oh, I hate to say it's just spaghetti.
00:37Spaghetti's good.
00:38Yeah, linguine's good.
00:40You guys are missing Tuka's Italian accent over here.
00:42We weren't, we were ignoring it.
00:43Oh, okay.
00:44We know better, Susan.
00:47We literally got married over a bowl of pasta.
00:49It's been part of our relationship story, so it was kind of inevitable that we ended up here.
01:09Hi dragons.
01:10We're Imogen and Matt, a husband and wife team and co-founders of Northern Pasta Co.
01:15We're here today to ask for £50,000 in exchange for 5% equity to help scale our business.
01:20A while ago, Matt and I moved to an island in Croatia.
01:24There, our food grew all around us.
01:27We knew where it had come from and we knew who grew it.
01:30During the pandemic, we had to move back to the UK.
01:33Then we'd go home and in the evenings we'd cook dinner.
01:36And like so many of us, that would be pasta.
01:39It would have high food miles, it would be untraceable, bland, forgettable.
01:43And that disconnect really stuck with us.
01:46So we set about sourcing incredible British spelt grown regeneratively by British farmers.
01:53And then we started making it all at our pasta HQ in Cumbria, where we've adopted several sustainability practices,
02:00including solar power and zero plastic packaging.
02:04We started really small on a market stall at a local farmers market.
02:08And now you'll find our pasta in a Cardo, Booths, Whole Foods and over 200 independent stockists.
02:15We've tripled our monthly revenues since May last year, all with a really lean team and without the major supermarkets.
02:23But now those major retailers are knocking at our door.
02:27But guys, we're still so new to this world.
02:29Just two years ago, I was still a builder.
02:32And before that, Amy was an interior designer.
02:34We're not only here today to try and raise the funds, but to find the right dragon to help us
02:37make Northern Pasta
02:39be the multi-million pound business we know it will be.
02:41Let's taste pasta.
02:45Pasta, grown and produced in the UK using responsible farming methods,
02:50is the brainchild of Imogen Royal and Matt Kenyon.
02:54Just any of them?
02:55Yeah, go for it, yeah.
02:56The husband and wife duo are asking for £50,000.
03:00Are they vegan?
03:01Yeah, it is.
03:02Lovely, thank you very much.
03:03In return for a 5% share of their business.
03:07No problem, thank you.
03:11Lovely.
03:12As the dragons tuck in, it's not just what's in their bowl that's whetting Deborah Meaden's appetite.
03:22Hi guys, I love the look of this.
03:26You've thought of everything.
03:29Even the packet, the way you've sealed it.
03:31You know, so often people go so far and then they use a, you know, an unpalatable glue or there's
03:38a window that is plastic.
03:40But you've thought about every single aspect of this.
03:43I love it.
03:44And much more important, that tastes delicious.
03:49Oh, thank you.
03:51So, how does it work?
03:52How much does it cost you to produce that finish?
03:55So we make a 50% margin on that at the moment.
04:00And who's making it?
04:03This guy.
04:04I am.
04:04We are.
04:05You're making the plaster?
04:06Yeah.
04:06Oh, I love that.
04:07How and where?
04:08So we've got a production facility in Cumbria.
04:12We use, obviously, traditional methods to make it.
04:14So that's bronze dyes, slow drying techniques.
04:17All right.
04:18How do you go from being a builder?
04:21What was your skill as a builder?
04:23Um, so I'm basically building trade, like all sorts of building.
04:27But my main thing was plastering.
04:29Oh, well, so you're used to mixing stuff.
04:31Yeah, exactly that.
04:32So how do you go from that to knowing enough to produce a plaster like that?
04:37Um, a lot of trial and error, a lot of sleepless nights.
04:40Um, yeah, I'm just, I'm a really determined person.
04:43So, like, I don't know, I'll probably get a little bit obsessive about it.
04:46And last question for a moment from me.
04:49Why the Northern Pasta Co?
04:51So we, um, we obviously are based in Cumbria.
04:56Matt's born and bred in Cumbria.
04:58And we love it.
04:58And we're really passionate about doing things up north.
05:01Um, but it really started back on the market.
05:05So we were talking about no-compromised pasta.
05:07It's got to taste really delicious because that's what we all want,
05:10but not to the sacrifice of our soils, not to the sacrifice of our farmers.
05:14And then there's the connotations of hearty, humble, honest.
05:17I'm going to be, sorry, I have another question now.
05:19And, um, you're, this is spelt pasta.
05:22Yeah.
05:23Where are you getting that from?
05:24So that's grown in, with single origin at the moment in the,
05:27grown in the Cotswolds.
05:29Oh, right. Okay.
05:31So it's, you've called it Northern Pasta, but it's really Southern Pasta.
05:36Oh, I know, that's conflicting.
05:38I, I understand your point entirely.
05:41Our plan is to have more and more farms across the UK, um, growing our grain forest.
05:46Great, because I think that's really, really important.
05:48For me, it's like saying what it does on the tin.
05:50It's a bit like mutton dressed as lamb.
05:53Yeah.
05:53You've heard of that saying.
05:54Yeah. Yeah.
05:54And I feel like immediately it's a bit disingenuous to suggest that this is Northern Pasta,
05:59but it's actually from wheat from the south.
06:01Yeah.
06:02I would expect that to be then, if it's Northern, let's go Northern and make sure it's Northern.
06:06Yes.
06:07Yeah.
06:07I understand that.
06:09Matt Imogen.
06:10Yeah.
06:11Could you give me your numbers for the last couple of years?
06:13So in year one, we had a total revenue of £35,000, a net loss of £1,300.
06:20Yep.
06:21And then in year two, we had a total revenue of £160,000 and a net profit of £6,800.
06:30And then in year three, our total revenue was £226,000 and a loss of £68,000.
06:36Loss of £68,000.
06:38And are we in year four now?
06:40Yeah, we are in year four.
06:41And what are you forecasting for this year?
06:42£680,000.
06:44£680,000.
06:45And what's responsible for the jump up there?
06:47So we're tracking our average growth quarter on quarter being 30.5%.
06:53So that doesn't quite take us to the £680,000.
06:55So that £680,000 also comes from the fact that our Ocado launch was actually only last month.
07:01So we've not maximised on that yet.
07:03And we're growing efficiencies with our D2C as well.
07:05Okay.
07:07Imogen and Matt, I'm sitting here with a big smile on my face
07:11because so much of your journey resonates so deeply with how I started.
07:15Yes.
07:15At a market stall, making it yourself.
07:18I love people who make their own product.
07:20So you're on this journey.
07:21It's brilliant so far.
07:22Take me into the future.
07:23How will your range develop over time?
07:27I think, yeah, that's a really great question.
07:30We have, since the beginning, been so strict about staying focused because, I mean, even when we were stood on
07:38the market stalls,
07:39it was when are you going to make your tomato sauce and when are you going to...
07:42And it's like just tunnel vision on it because if you get distracted, your energy goes elsewhere.
07:47So we have been really focused.
07:48I think that there is huge potential in terms of, you know, long pasta and different shapes
07:55and obviously other aisles of the supermarket when it comes to this product.
08:01However, this is, you know, a growing £800 million category.
08:05Mm.
08:06I think there's enough to be done within it without getting distracted.
08:10I get that.
08:11You know, when I first started my business, I had one body scrub that I actually sold for £20
08:17and that body scrub that I had in the beginning, I sold for many years.
08:20That was the scrub that bought my mum a house and paid off her mortgage.
08:24So that one product, I get it, honing your craft and really owning it, I get that.
08:29I think this is so good.
08:32I think you've come up with something probably better than you probably even know yourselves,
08:36which is also makes it really good as well.
08:40This has sort of...
08:41I don't know whether you know a product we've taken and sold millions, actually, Bare Naked Foods.
08:45Do you know that product, the noodles?
08:47There's lots of other products, food products.
08:49We do a lot of... This is my niche, really.
08:51So as a dragon, I'm absolutely...
08:54It's like the perfect dragon because there's none of these guys
08:58could ever, ever, ever have a conversation without a bit of BS
09:02saying that they sell more in this market than me.
09:05So this is kind of like a gloating moment,
09:07but that doesn't necessarily mean that I'm going to get it,
09:10and I appreciate that because you really keep looking at Deborah as if I love you, Deborah.
09:14Oh, my dear.
09:16So I have to mic play Matt. Come on, we've got to stay together, Matt.
09:19We've got to be... Yeah? This is it.
09:22Oh, my God. We've got to do this.
09:23We've got to do this.
09:24So you asked for £50,000 for 5%.
09:28I'm going to offer you all of the money for just 10% of the business
09:31because I think that that's truly where we're at.
09:35Thank you. Thank you so much. Yeah. Thank you.
09:41Good morning, Deborah.
09:44Well, unsurprisingly, for many reasons, I completely agree that that is actually...
09:50That's lovely.
09:51But do you know what I love most of all is you talking about the soil?
09:56We have six inches of soil across our world,
10:00and if we don't protect and value that, we are completely screwed.
10:05Yeah.
10:05So that's my heart saying that's an amazing thing.
10:09Yeah. But actually, in a business sense,
10:11anybody who isn't recognising that, that's the way the world's got to go.
10:14So anybody who isn't recognising that is way behind the pace anyway.
10:17So it's kind of the whole picture, isn't it?
10:20It's actually, you know, my heart says it, but business sense says it too.
10:25So I'm going to offer you all of the money,
10:29and I'm going to do the same as Peter.
10:30I want 10% of the business.
10:32Thank you so much. Thank you.
10:39I'm going to make it easy.
10:42I think you're great.
10:45The fact that you've had two good offers,
10:48in this particular case, better dragons than me.
10:52I've always respected your honesty.
10:55They are.
10:56But Peter and Deborah are much more involved in this sector.
11:00So I wish you all the best, but I'll leave it for the others to help you.
11:04For that reason, I'm out.
11:06Thank you so much. Thank you.
11:09Imogen and Matt, I think you guys are brilliant.
11:12And I know you're going to be successful with these investments from these dragons here already.
11:18And I'm actually, like Tuka, going to step out of the way,
11:21because I think they will help you drive your business from a sales perspective more than I can help you
11:27with.
11:28And so for that reason, I'm out.
11:30Thank you so much.
11:32Matt, Imogen, it's absolutely delicious.
11:37Is it gluten free?
11:38It's not gluten free.
11:39Yeah, I didn't assume it would be.
11:42And when I reflect on my own passion for this product category of pasta,
11:47it's just not there because I don't eat it because I'm gluten free.
11:51So I'm going to say that I'm out, but I wish you guys the very best and you're going to
11:54be tremendously successful.
11:55Thank you so much.
11:57Decision time.
11:58Decision time.
11:58Yeah, decision time.
12:03Okay.
12:04We would definitely love for you guys to split it.
12:08I was just wondering if there's any wiggle room on the 10% and if we could reduce to an
12:138% split between you both.
12:18I think 5% is a, I would be happy to give you half the money for 5% and
12:24it would be amazing to share it with Deborah.
12:27I'm saying, are you happy?
12:29I think we need to check with me first.
12:31Are you happy? Sorry Deborah.
12:32Deborah might not be willing to share.
12:33Am I, am I happy to share with Peter?
12:36Peter and I have got a lot of investments, successful investments together and we work very well.
12:41But no, I wouldn't, I wouldn't drop below the 5%.
12:46Happy?
12:47Yeah.
12:47We're really happy.
12:49Excellent.
12:50How am I?
12:52Honestly, that is amazing.
12:54Well done.
12:55Honestly, I got chills when you were talking about what you were doing.
12:59It's just brilliant.
13:01It's just brilliant.
13:02Thank you very much.
13:04It's a win for the entrepreneurs.
13:08With a double helping of investment from two dragons.
13:16Oh my God.
13:19Well done.
13:20That's sure to get their business boiling over with success.
13:23I mean, wow, that just couldn't have got any better.
13:26The whole thing was just incredible.
13:29I knew from very early on that you two, I can see, I was, I turned to Deborah and went,
13:33Deborah, you're nodding.
13:35I think I've got a poker face. Apparently I don't have.
13:44OK.
13:53My name is Richard, I'm from Kent and I run an inflatable pub company called The Air of the Dog.
14:01Surreal this is.
14:06Which dragon is most likely to put a pub in their garden, Peter?
14:11probably me
14:15here we go
14:16I think the dragons would be interested in investing in my company
14:19it's a quirky idea and I feel like the brand is ready to go the next step
14:34hi dragons my name is Richard
14:36and I'm the owner of and founder of the heir of the dog limited
14:40I'm here today to ask for 50,000 pounds for a 10% equity of my business
14:47it was during the pandemic that the heir of the dog was born
14:51me and the family like to go for a weekly drink down the local to decompress and chill
14:57however with lockdown in place pubs and hospitality had to close
15:02it was then I decided to buy a battered old inflatable pub in need of repair for 650 pounds
15:09I repaired it my dad built a pallet bar and we moved the fridge inside
15:14before you knew it we had our own backyard boozer and the family tradition could carry on
15:20this 650 pound investment has grown into a multi-award winning family-run mobile bar business from Kent
15:27we have a wide range of mobile bars that include free inflatable pubs of different styles and sizes
15:36kitted out with a rustic bar and additional extras that include benches fridges draft beer and fruit machines
15:43we also have a range of quirky mobile bars that include black London black taxis with beer pumps on the
15:50side
15:50self-service piano bars and many many more
15:53we cater for private events of five people to public events of five thousand people
15:58we also have our own range of exclusive IPA beer and a spirit range that includes spice rum vodka and
16:06gin
16:08with your investment we could help other entrepreneurs fulfill their potential by investing in this unique franchise opportunity
16:16as well as the opportunity of rolling out these unique bars into venues across the country
16:25before I open the floor for any questions is there anyone who would like to try
16:28yes
16:32no hesitation
16:35an inflatable pub hire business with its own drinks range and the potential to be franchised nationally
16:42is the offering from richard martin thank you what is it it's a ipa it's a citrus ipa
16:50and one of the only one cheers no i'll join you peter the entrepreneur is seeking fifty thousand pounds
16:58in exchange for a ten percent stake in his company cheers cheers deborah richard may have already raised glasses in
17:08the den
17:08but can he go on to raise an investment
17:15hello richard
17:16so just so i understand
17:18yes it your revenue streams are rental
17:23and then you've also got sales of your drinks
17:26yes of course so the uh the business is like dry hire of inflatable pubs and the bars but we
17:32can
17:32also attend events with staff and stock and seller drinks as well and we've also got a line of beer
17:38and spirits and
17:38that has helped reduce the cost but grow our gross profits great okay and just so i get an
17:43understanding of the size of the business what's your turnover at the moment so in 2022 return
17:49revenue was 50 400 and a net of 2 200. in 2023 the revenue was 63 200 and a net
18:02of 28 900
18:04and in 2024 revenue was 63 200 and a net loss of 883 okay so um listening to you to
18:16describe the
18:17business i was kind of expecting a higher turnover um and and it sort of stayed the same between 23
18:25and 24 so obviously as an investor what i probably am more interested in is what's the plan because
18:32at this level it's not really an investment so in 2024 um i had three months out because i went
18:39traveling i took some dividends out that's why the the revenue stayed the same um but to to grow the
18:46business so it's only obviously myself um my wife and my dad and my mum helps with like detail so
18:53that
18:53that is that like at the maximum that i could possibly do without losing quality and standard
18:58so the idea is to franchise out all right let's look at this franchise model then going forward
19:04so what are you imagining that's going to look like so i'd like to hope to invest um for people
19:11to invest up and down the country because we're getting inquiries all over the uk um and it's a quick
19:16return on investment so talk to numbers around the franchise so it will cost 12 500 to start a
19:23franchise with that you get one inflatable pub and a rustic bar and the website all ready to go where
19:30you can do online bookings and payments and i would say 15 percent and what does that mean to the
19:37business financially going forward have you put those numbers into a model going forward um all right so
19:42we're on track this year to make 71 000 um in revenue with a net of 29 100 um with
19:53just one franchise
19:54we can more than double that right richard hi i'm peter i'm pizza lovely by the way thank you
20:03very much fantastic oh great the numbers you've given over the last two or two years
20:09it it doesn't look like it's making any money i'm just wondering if when you're getting to these
20:13events are you are you using the pub yourself no well my dad is yeah he likes to drink but
20:19um
20:20your dad likes to drink on national tv i'm just pointing out so you so you install these with your
20:25dad and then yeah he drinks this dry obviously no but uh no seriously um it's dry high is where
20:32the
20:32money's at and and i wanted to get the basis 22 and 23. just explain dry hire what's a dry
20:38hire so dry
20:39hire sorry is that we turn up to your house yeah we deliver the pub we set it up and
20:43we go home
20:44and then i'll collect it the very next day okay so it's like a bouncy castle but pub yeah that's
20:49it
20:49but then recently last year we started to do events i didn't really want to go straight into events
20:54okay so you're doing like a bouncy castle with staff yeah at weddings uh and also we've got the horse
21:01box bar which is like a built it's a horse box converted horse box with beer pumps fridges
21:06hot and cold water so yeah we turn up to weddings and we sell drink there okay how much were
21:11they
21:11did you say how much were they each the the the the original one so that's the sign from the
21:17original
21:17pub was 650 pounds each because that was a used one but i'll buy these brand new now for 1250
21:23pounds
21:23so 1200 pounds how many do you say you have i have three uh three different sizes and styles and
21:29how
21:29often are they rented out how often are they doing events in in this in the summer time i'm i'm
21:35doing
21:35at least three a week and how much would you make on average for an event that you do so
21:41uh i did a
21:42wedding last week um and it made 2700 pounds and out of that 2700 how much of that is profit
21:52so the net on that was 1800. richard there's another there's something there's something i'm
21:59about to become you know worst nightmare no problem you're not making 1800 pound a pop are you because
22:07if you were you'd be make you wouldn't be losing 800 pound so the 800 pound loss in 2024 um
22:152024 yeah it's
22:17because i withdrew uh dividends because of um traveling and i got married oh congratulations
22:23thank you very much i just came out of being your worst nightmare about to go back in again okay
22:27um
22:28because whatever yeah even if you were turning turning over your 63 000 pounds you made 28 000
22:36pounds profit which means that you only did 14 events 15 events and you're telling me you do three
22:42a week so i do a lot sorry i probably didn't explain myself very well no you didn't because
22:48i'm really quite good at numbers and that doesn't work dry hires where i'll go out and i'll put the
22:53pub
22:53up for 345 quid i do three a week cash bars is a new thing that i've started and like
22:59you say last year
23:00i think i've done just over i've done 12 done 12 cash bars last year okay but here's your other
23:07issue
23:07your franchisee cannot make as much money as you're making because you're taking 15 percent
23:13off them and they pay twelve and a half thousand pound for the franchise yeah so that isn't possible
23:19is it and if i'm just interested in an inflatable pub without the service and the product attached to it
23:29then really i i would just spend 600 pounds doing that as opposed to franchising why why wouldn't you
23:35just hire more people so you can keep up with the demand that you're talking about that you can't
23:39keep up with i personally i've i've done that in the past when i first started out and um people
23:46didn't
23:46have the same passion and they didn't set up the same quality so it's really put me off um paying
23:52people to do something when they don't really care about the brand or they haven't got an investment in
23:57it that's why i thought going franchisees for franchisees would be more beneficial because
24:02they've got a financial responsibility to make it work i i i have to say where i am um
24:11you said about you can't find people that are as passionate as you and you think the answer is a
24:16franchisee that isn't the right way to look at it you need to go and find those people there are
24:21plenty
24:21of people out there that would probably reddish working with you you then have to take responsibility
24:28for training them you have to take the responsibility for putting the passion into
24:32them you ignite that passion in them through your own enthusiasm and build a business for yourself and
24:38your wife but the last thing you want is an investor because literally you will be up against it at
24:44the
24:44moment so for that reason i'm going to say that i'm out but good luck to you
24:52um richard um one of the comments that really struck me was when susie asked why you weren't
24:57just employing people to meet the demand and you said you've um tried that but then got burnt in
25:03the past yeah um so that that answer was a little bit concerning for me because it
25:09there wasn't enough responsibility in it but also um you're not going to be able to get around hiring
25:15people if this business is to scale so i'm going to say that i'm out but it's a an incredibly
25:20fun
25:20business and i think it's going to be a great business for you but not for an investor okay
25:23thank you very much thanks richard can i ask the um where does most of your revenue come from at
25:29the
25:29moment dry hires of the dry hires i'm glad you said that um because actually i don't think you should
25:39get bells and whistles on anything just keep it simple and throw all of your efforts when your
25:45customer is most likely to book the dry hire that's easy you turn up you deliver you plug it in
25:50you blow
25:50it up you go away you come back you take it away yeah job done you'd have a cracking business
25:55doing
25:55that richard lovely so but it isn't an investment and i kind of don't want you to get investment because
26:00you don't need it that's a simpler business than you think it is so i i won't be investing i
26:06really wish
26:06you all the luck thanks for your work i'm out i'm gonna give an alternative view to deborah's um
26:16i actually think it's a great idea that you do diversify and i love the fact that you're creative
26:21with your own little piano bar and you've got your own brand of alcohol and that might give you revenue
26:27outside of those summer months because if people like your beer they'll be drinking it throughout the
26:31whole year so there's a lot more opportunity for you there but i do agree with deborah that this
26:36is not for me anyway an investable business because it's it's not something that i don't
26:42think that a franchisee would work because they could just do it themselves so for that reason
26:48i'm out thank you cheers rich cheers yeah i'll give you 10 for trying that's for sure yep but to
26:58me
26:59when i i've heard you that you your dad your mom and my wife your wife it's a family business
27:06i love
27:07that yeah that's great you don't want anybody in that business it's your business they're all very nice
27:15you let me drink it all night i wish you're the best and i'm out thank you very much thanks
27:23richard thanks i appreciate all your comments you value it thank you richard's hopes of teaming up
27:30with the dragon may have been punctured but the purveyor of pumped up pubs isn't completely deflating
27:40obviously i didn't get the investment you know i'm not upset about it i've learned a lot it's been
27:45a great experience and i've took some valuable information from all the dragons so yeah very happy
27:49about it cheers all right see you our new franchisee there's three more glasses there yeah i'll talk to you
28:01about my business another day
28:20i'm ben beavers and i'm from smarter plants so the idea originally came because my partner was saying
28:27that she she had this vision of a green oasis in our living room but she's killed every house plant
28:32she's ever owned smarty plants smarty plants yeah i think it's the thing that you stick in the soil
28:43isn't it because that's the waterer maybe it's for people like me who absolutely love plants but kill
28:49them all the more the time i'm feeling nervous but excited and really looking forward to hearing
28:57what the dragons think of of what we're building
29:10hi dragons i am ben and i'm the founder of smarty plants and we're looking for a 50 000
29:17pound investment in return for three percent of our business the uk is a nation of houseplant lovers
29:25nearly half of us buy them each year unfortunately every 18 months half of us kill five the problem
29:35is we don't know what we're doing at smarty plants we help people understand how to look after their
29:41houseplants our smart sensors measure what a plant needs from light temperature and humidity and in the
29:51soil moisture and nutrients we analyze this and we give tailored recommendations through our app so our
30:00customers know what to do to get their house plants to thrive we've had a successful pre-launch campaign
30:07we've sold over 140 000 pounds in pre-orders to nearly 1500 customers and we did that in just 30
30:14days
30:15we've had outreach from a number of plant retailers and we're looking for a dragon to join us on our
30:20mission
30:21to help turn a nation of serial plant killers into the green-fingered palm parents they were always meant to
30:27be
30:30a sensor sending live data to a phone app that helps people look after their house plants is the
30:37proposition from ben beavers that's yours so this is uh just to call out this is prototype packaging as
30:45well he's asking for an investment of 50 000 pounds for a three percent share of his company
30:52thank you first to find out if this idea can take root is deborah meaden
31:05ben thank you um so indoor plants only uh so there is uh definitely potential that it could be used
31:14in
31:14the garden but there's a battery that we want to ensure that that will be robust enough to handle
31:19temperature changes okay all right so into at the moment indoor plants that's a huge market so that's
31:24fine um and um this is a prototype uh the product is a late stage prototype uh so we are
31:32entering into
31:33manufacturing in the next few months uh and aim to be fulfilling uh our pre-orders in q4
31:39and what what would that sell for uh so on average at 30 pounds and but in bundles it will
31:46be uh lower
31:47and and singles it will be slightly higher all right 30 pounds so um one one one of those one
31:54plant yes
31:54one of those one plant okay and just so just so i can understand the information you can get from
32:00them
32:00so i buy a plant there's a little sticker on the back that says all of this it needs this
32:04much sunlight it
32:05needs that much water it needs to be in a humid environment so what's this giving me over and
32:11above the information i'm initially given so you'll be given general plant recommendations when you when
32:17you buy your plants and the problem is different environments can vary those needs somewhat so you can
32:22get a general idea but to have the real understanding of what's actually happening in the environment
32:28that's what we're able to provide okay thank you
32:34ben um what does it cost to produce one of these uh it's just over eight pounds okay quite expensive
32:44for
32:44what it is uh yeah we've got i think quite good margins in the uh in the product there are
32:53certainly
32:54ways to strip cost out of the sensor but the decisions that we've made to put some of the
32:59more expensive components in are based on feedback from the customers about things that matter to them
33:05okay here i am i'm a layman i buy a plant for 10 pounds i'm going to pay another 30
33:12just to protect it
33:13does that make commercial sense so you've hit on a really strong point there we found that
33:20about 20 pounds is the threshold that people start to see value in in buying the sensors so no if
33:25you're
33:25if you're buying plants for five pounds ten pounds economically it makes sense to replace it if you feel
33:30attached to the plant because you bought it for your mental health or you quite like it then that's a
33:35slightly different reason that that you're buying the sensor so if i've got 30 40 plants it's an
33:43expensive occupation it would be because i think you will struggle in the commercial world if you want
33:51to go mass um you struggle i think took has hit on a really key point very very quickly and
33:59that's
34:00obviously the price point of the product because if you've got 20 plants you're going to know what
34:06plants they are and you you love your plants and you know how to look after them so you're not
34:10going
34:10to buy this product is is the answer that people won't buy this product in the volume that you want
34:17until you come out with the product that comes in at three or four or five pounds per pot or
34:22do you
34:22truly believe in this product we we truly believe in this product we know that this isn't going to be
34:28a
34:28product for absolutely everybody but this is definitely a product for most people because
34:33there are loads of products out there already that do the moisture testing the temperature they're
34:38already they've been existing for years they do part of the challenge with that is you have to
34:43understand uh you have to understand what moisture levels are needed you have to go if i've got to go
34:48on your app i just use google it will tell me how to look after my plant yeah but this
34:54makes it much
34:55easier this is giving you live data live feedback i mean i'm your typical customer because i've got
35:0020 30 plants in my house but i totally get it i wouldn't put this in every single plant because
35:05i don't care about all of my plants to the same degree but there are some plants that i'm very
35:09attached to i can see that you've got some plants you've got hannah hedra finlay ficus i know
35:15my plants got charlie the cheese plant that i've had for many many years i've got a great fig tree
35:20that is very expensive he was like 180 pounds and so those are the plants that i want to keep
35:27alive and i would very happily spend 30 pounds 20 pounds on a device that is going to keep those
35:31guys
35:32alive ben that unless there's something that i'm missing that's proprietary which i don't think there
35:42is i'd be very very confident that you can get this price down quite substantially peter i think you can
35:48get
35:49that all in four dollars that because this is my main issue i think it it's it's basically a price
35:58point for me i think it's it's clearly inventive it's a great product um however you need somebody
36:06that can understand how to get that product price down but i don't see this as a big business a
36:12big
36:12opportunity and for that reason i'm out thank you so this is an interesting one ben for me because um
36:24when i think about who would use it actually use it not think they're going to use it
36:33what worries me is that it is going to become a little bit of a disposable
36:39non-used product that gets bought once i've been sitting quietly because i've been wanting this
36:48to be the thing that i think oh yeah yeah yeah that'll save all of those plants but i just
36:55don't
36:55think it's going to drive the change i just think if you if you've been neglecting parts forever and a
36:59day now this is going to tell you why you're neglecting your plants but i'm not sure it's going to
37:05drive
37:05change so you can hear where i'm going i'm afraid i i don't want to be creating more bits of
37:13plastic
37:14that don't actually change people's behavior and that's what i worry for this
37:20so i'm afraid i won't be investing i'm out
37:26ben there's there's so much to do here
37:28you know and i do like the products the the big thing is the cost i believe i believe that
37:39i have
37:39the technical team on the ground in hong kong and china to come back to you very quickly
37:47to bring the price of the existing product right down right i've also got amazing contacts in retail
37:55so i know what i could bring to the party
37:59so you've asked for 50 000 pounds for three percent i'll offer you all of the money
38:07but i want 15 percent
38:10thank you i appreciate the offer you know my experience
38:15we'll we'll supercharge this little gadget thank you
38:24okay ben i'm going to tell you where i'm at i'm sitting here thinking about how i could potentially
38:30help you and your business because i really love your product i'm chinese i speak mandarin i was born
38:37in china if you're talking about sourcing from a factory in china that is my bag so um you can
38:44tell
38:44that i'm going to make you an offer so i'm going to offer you all of the money um but
38:48for that i would
38:49like 10 of your business thank you
38:57ben is there a subscription model here it's a very good question and i'm an investor in two
39:03companies that are doing this for i guess for humans one of them you put on your wrist yes you'll
39:07probably know that one and then the other one you kind of stick on your arm yes we we love
39:12the idea
39:12of this being a whoop for your weeping pig um so sorry um so yes there's definitely potential for
39:20a subscription model for us to be able to get the business off the ground hardware sales was the best
39:24way to get those initial orders in so it feels like the right thing to start with we see a
39:29subscription
39:30model being a bit of a win-win for us and our customers in future and where people buy plants
39:36they either tend to have a few or they accumulate and have tens and tens of plants and buying 10
39:4220 30
39:43of these is is is prohibitive it's something that people will maybe not be able to get as many as
39:48they
39:48want okay i love this kind of business because i'm involved in this kind of business with both
39:58zoe and also with whoop as you know that's the the type of business that i've worked on and looked
40:03at for many many years now um i think you're really really investable uh you remained calm composed and
40:11i really liked how you handled the the grilling today so i'm going to make you an offer and the
40:16offer's going to be slightly interesting i'm going to make you an offer of the 50 000 pounds that you
40:21asked for um for 10 of the business um but also i'll offer you another 50 000 pounds for five
40:30percent
40:31of the business once you go to production if you want it and i say that the reason why i've
40:38given you
40:38that offer is i actually like to fund the businesses further than just the initial investment but my offer
40:44for you today based on the request you made is 50 000 pounds for 10 of the business thank you
40:54um firstly thank you for all of uh your offers
41:01but i think
41:05given given the uh the network uh steven that you have and the connections that would be able to
41:11provide and perhaps help us tackle that sourcing challenge and i would love to accept your offer
41:18thank you well done mate thank you you're done well done i'm really excited to work with you
41:25really excited well thank you well done good luck
41:30success for the green-fingered entrepreneur and with steven bartlett's backing he's created the ideal
41:40conditions
41:41to help his business truly flourish wow that was a real experience to have the opportunity
41:50to work with steven is incredible and i am so excited for the journey that we're going on with him
41:56on
41:56board wow i think you made the right choice well i do i don't i don't know a lot about
42:03sourcing myself
42:03but i can introduce him on a daily rate 10 pounds a day
42:21my name is bella akland and i'm here with my business soul kitchen
42:27we're championing real ingredients and delicious natural flavor to make it easier than ever to fit
42:32one of your five a day into your busy day
42:37tomato soup oh is it like dehydrated soup like a powder that you rehydrate i just don't know about
42:45powdered soup you have powdered gravy so why would you not have powdered soup well you do have powder
42:50soup it's called cup of soup oh is it yeah it already exists there will be samples for the dragons
43:01to try and we've worked
43:03really hard on the recipes so i hope they love them
43:16hello dragons my name is bella i'm the founder of soul kitchen an award-winning instant soup brand on a
43:23mission to reinvent what convenience foods can be i'm here today seeking 40 000 pounds in exchange for
43:3110 percent equity in my business the idea first came to me during my final year at university at the
43:39time i loved cooking and i was interested in nutrition but like many other students i found
43:44myself grabbing instant foods out of convenience at the same time the wellness space was booming
43:52with matcha protein powders and superfood blends but in my opinion there was nothing linking this
43:58category to real comforting food and that is when i had my light bulb moment what if i could take
44:05the
44:06convenience of an instant soup and reimagine it using high quality dehydrated vegetables and delicious
44:13natural flavor leaving out any artificial flavors gums emulsifiers added sugar or palm oil to create
44:21something that was truly nourishing but so easy and since our launch in march 2024 we've sold over 40 000
44:29units of soup the majority coming from our own website and amazon but my long-term vision for
44:36soul kitchen is to explore further opportunities within retail and food service i want to see the
44:42soup stock on airplane menus in office kitchens and of course the supermarkets thank you so much
44:49and you should all have some soups to try in front of you oh
44:55a reinvention of cupboard staple cup soup is the offering being served up from bella ackland
45:02i love that peter's soup the entrepreneur is seeking an investment of 40 000 pounds we've got three
45:12flavors i do recommend the thai beetroot and coconut which is at the front in exchange for a 10 percent
45:19share in her business and then the sweet potato pumpkin that's our curried flavor oh it's got a bit of
45:25a kick
45:26then there's tomato with taste buds tickled first up with the questions is guest dragon suzy ma
45:37bella hi thank you so much for delighting us with your gorgeous soups um really really delicious tell me
45:45more about this industry um obviously there is copper soup i've had the heinz rehydrated soup on an airplane
45:53tell me how your soup is different to theirs so we we use a significantly higher proportion of real
46:00vegetable powders and that's what's giving us the fiber content um the flavor really does come from that
46:06concentrated vegetable so tell me about the cost of this so how much would i pay for one of your
46:12soups
46:13so these are retailing in cases of 12 um for 20 pounds that's one pound 66 per portion of soup
46:19um it's a little bit higher than our competitors um but actually we do have that crossover with the
46:24wellness wellness market so um it's an area which people are willing to i believe pay for the value
46:31okay and you're the only ones doing this as far as quality as far as i'm aware yeah we've been
46:38re-educating consumers on these vegetable powders and and by leaving out the cheap ingredients which is
46:44how our competitors are bringing their prices down hi bella hello can i just say they're delicious
46:54absolutely delicious so where are you having it manufactured so they are made in a manufacturing
47:01unit based in shropshire and are they coming off fully packaged or are they just making ingredients
47:06making they are they're sourcing buying blending co-packing and fulfilling all in the same site
47:13okay and what's the price of a uh your nearest competitor um a multi-pack of four
47:19heinz or bachelor soup is retailing about one pound sixty multi-pack of four yes so the same price your
47:27one is the same as their multi-pack of four yes it is
47:32that feels pretty expensive
47:39bella hi um can you tell me the journey that this business has been on you've been trading for about
47:44a year yeah just over yes and and what's the what's the revenue been in that year um we have
47:50done 59
47:50000 pounds in revenue yeah and a net of minus 17 in the last 12 12 months and what are
47:57you forecasting
47:57for this this year you're now in yeah so we're on target to reach 120 000 pounds revenue yep and
48:03a net
48:04profit of 15 000 pounds okay and where's the product being bought from for that 120 000 revenue so about
48:1280 percent of that is our own website direct consumer um and where did you come to dragonston
48:18um what what were you looking for today my area i love is is sales i love getting out there
48:25and
48:25pitching to smaller independents getting feedback i'd say the supply chain and the operations is
48:31probably where i need the most support and the mentoring and the and the obviously the financial
48:35support would unlock those channels i've got a fantastic energy thank you
48:41bella hi hi hello do you know what i think is really interesting is you you've come in asking
48:47for a reasonable amount 40 000 for 10 percent it seems quite reasonable so what my question is
48:53why did you ask for 40 000 40 000 i think is the the key to unlock the next chain
49:01the retail world
49:02so i want that to spend that to go towards my wholesale channel um and i think that's the perfect
49:08way to build brand awareness to then approach retailers and and get us ready for that that
49:13next level okay so at the moment you've got how many of the products is it four or five it's
49:21just
49:21three skis three skis at the moment yep what where does this go because at the moment it is very
49:27small
49:28yes i agree so at the moment i think of this as our core range and i'm already working on
49:33a functional
49:34range so we've kind of been evaluating trends coming through and actually um one of them is a high
49:40protein soup so we're looking at ways of getting more protein into a convenient diet um and then
49:46another trend that i've been really enjoying is is mushrooms so we're looking at sort of adaptogenic
49:50mushroom for clarity and focus so i've got a lot up my sleeve at the moment
49:59bella hello hi tika um when you're selling a one pound 66 product you've got to sell a hell of
50:09a lot
50:10to create turnover yes so this one soup yes at one pound 66 is one portion yes but if your
50:19aspiration
50:20is to get into supermarkets tomorrow then supermarkets are mainly shopped by families
50:28and uh they may look at this and say well i'm not going to pay one six six and i've
50:32got two children
50:34yeah so do you have a strategy for that or you're just waiting to see how the land lies so
50:39we've we've
50:40had it we've been in a discussion with a few supermarkets um we've discussed with co-op and what
50:44feedback did you get from the co-op they did want the price to come down okay so
50:49each run that you do at the moment is how many we're actually really lucky in that sense we can
50:55do 5 000 unit runs so what happens if you push it up to 10 000 does the price come
51:00down it comes down
51:01to how much about 26 percent well maybe what you should be doing is assume that you're going to do
51:0920 000 yeah i'll just supply if i got used 20 000 what would the price be use that price
51:16to go to the
51:16co-op yeah and say if you buy 20 000 of these i could do for this price i know
51:22i need to take need
51:23to take the plunge have you ever considered manufacturing yourself uh building a factory
51:30or doing no not necessarily building a whole factory with you know when we look at this
51:35product all it is is blending powders together you're buying the dehydrated powders right from
51:40different manufacturers and all you would need is a is a machine that blends the powders together
51:45and then fills that into these sachets obviously it's an initial investment but i just wondered if
51:52that was a route that you considered because this would save you a lot of money long term yeah
51:56no i totally agree i've i've looked into form flow filling machines which is the equipment we need
52:02um and i think it has just come down to this the scale we're at the moment
52:09you know when i look at low cost products you know 199 166 whatever it is you've got to sell
52:17a lot
52:19to even stand still and yeah this is hard work unless you get into a a major retailer that really
52:30backs
52:30you and then you need a lot of money um i think what suja says about having your own factory
52:37you only do
52:38that when your orders surpass your supply okay i'm not saying it's wrong i think it's a brilliant idea
52:47but i wouldn't i i wouldn't let the production run your business yes it's all about let the sales run
52:55the business then worry about the production because without the sales you've got no production yeah you
53:00know um now as far as an investment today i just think it's just the opportunity is very small you
53:08know and you're going to need a lot of mentoring so for that reason i'm not going to invest them
53:15out
53:16thank you so much tuka
53:22bella um i i want to say congratulations thank you very much i think it's it's really great
53:28the product i think it tastes really nice love the way you presented it um
53:37however this is quite a small opportunity at the moment and to make this a really bigger business
53:44that something i would want to get involved with i think there's a lot to do and i do think
53:49you're
53:49going to need a lot more money than 40k so i'm not going to invest and say that i'm out
53:56but i tip my hat to you too it's a really nice product and i hope you do well thank
54:01you thank you
54:02so much
54:06um
54:08i i i so i've been sitting here thinking you're you're really yeah i really like you you're really
54:13good um but i'm not convinced that you're going to break this in a big way into the big supermarkets
54:23um because i think that you already had resistance on price you know so um i don't think that i
54:30see the
54:30scale that i think you might be imagining um so for that reason i'm afraid i won't be investing i'm
54:36out
54:37thank you deborah
54:42bella um how are you feeling yeah really really interesting feedback i've really enjoyed chatting
54:48to you all thank you i mean that's a another testament of your fantastic personality because
54:53it is it's an opportunity to learn and to evolve and so you've taken it very well and um i
54:58think
54:58i've been sat here for quite a long time because i'm such a big fan of you as a person
55:02and i hope
55:03someday i get to invest in you but unfortunately it won't be in this business i'm going to say that
55:07i'm out but i wish you the very best thank you stephen thank you
55:12i i really love your product bella but a product that sells for one pound 66 for me isn't exciting
55:19i was thinking about what you were talking about using mushrooms and um adaptogenic ingredients and
55:25i was thinking what about collagen what if you had a product that makes collagen taste better by
55:32blending it into a soup you know that's a product that i would purchase and i think that's something
55:37that you could charge a lot more money for couldn't you i think for me the core range was definitely
55:40one to just introduce us as a brand doing soup really well and then i think the functional i agree
55:46collagen would be fantastic matcha is also really interesting i don't think a savory match has been
55:51done before i think that's the real opportunity you know you mentioned about what you're good at you
55:59love sales and i can see that and your challenges are within supply chain and operations and i feel
56:05like i can really help you with that so in contrast to some of the other dragons who i really
56:11disagree
56:11with i've always been manufacturing my own products and i've manufactured them before i've had the demand
56:16for them because i wanted the story i wanted to say to our customers that i love my product so
56:22much
56:22i freshly make it every single day in my mom's kitchen or in my own little factory and that
56:27is an amazing sales point that is our competitive edge so i feel like i could really help you to
56:34set
56:34up your own manufacturing premises and a really really kick-ass product that no one has ever seen
56:39before so i am going to invest in your business i'm going to make you an offer um you ask
56:45for 40 000
56:46pounds for 10 of your business i'm going to offer you all of the money
56:54but i would like 15 of your business
56:59okay yeah i would love to accept that thank you thank you so much
57:07success for the entrepreneur let's do this let's do it who wastes no time securing the backing from
57:15a dragon who has all the ingredients to take bella's soup business to the top i am so happy
57:23i never thought i'd see myself go in the den and come away with an investor so yeah i'm really
57:28really
57:28pleased that was the fastest i've ever seen an entrepreneur accept an offer yeah i'll take it
57:34as soon as you went i'm about to make you an offer i'll accept
57:50next time hey it's like a jack in the box what are you thinking jenna yeah i love a revolution
57:58i love
57:58change i'm slightly worried for you can you embroider vampire wow can you embroider a snake
58:04i've actually got degenerative sales i just really don't think you need a dragon yeah something fishy
58:09about this one wow peter piper piquet oh wait i can only do it when i'm drunk let's go and
58:16get pickled
58:19think it couldn't happen to you so did these victims hey beautiful anatomy of a romance scam is
58:25brand new now on bbc2 something very fishy is going down in cambridge next here on bbc1
58:31as ludwig's investigation continues
58:33you
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