Key Points:
- Investment: £75,000
- Investor: Deborah Meaden, Peter Jones, and Stephen Bartlett
- Equity Offered: 33% (11% to each investor)
- Business: SauceStream Limited
- Target Audience: Eco-conscious consumers and the hospitality industry
- Challenges: Product demonstration needs, marketing strategy, and retail packaging effectiveness
The Pitch
Returning entrepreneurs, Peter Neith and Ian Wharton, previously successful with their Grillstream invention, ventured back into the Dragon's Den with a new eco-friendly invention designed to minimize single-use plastic waste. Their product, a silicon-based squeezer for glass bottles, aims to make glass feel like plastic squeezy bottles, promoting reusable packaging solutions.
Financials and Offer
The duo asked for £75,000 in return for a 10% share of their company, valuing Saucestream Limited at £750,000. They revealed a retail price of £14.99 per unit with a manufacturing cost of £3.60, hinting at a healthy profit margin. The product had already seen some production with a few thousand units made.
Challenges Highlighted by the Dragons
The Dragons highlighted several areas for improvement:
- The product's packaging was criticized for not being eye-catching enough to stand out on retail shelves.
- Concerns were raised about the product's demonstration needs, which could limit its shelf appeal without live demonstrations.
- There were also strategic concerns regarding market positioning and the effectiveness of social media marketing efforts.
Conclusion
Despite initial hesitations from some Dragons and a slight misstep in their pitching strategy by openly favoring certain Dragons, Peter and Ian managed to secure a £75,000 investment from three Dragons, each offering £25,000 for an 11% stake. This episode underscored the importance of adaptability and resilience in entrepreneurship. The team’s ability to address the Dragons' concerns and leverage their prior business success played a crucial role in turning skepticism into a strategic investment, proving that even in challenging situations, well-engineered solutions and experienced entrepreneurship can lead to substantial backing.