Foreign [Music] Steve Russell and Giles Atwell two men Completely consumed by confectionery I describe myself as a as a Willy Wonka And I've got chocolate in the veins Giles and Steve think their business Idea could be there gold We think we make a ridiculously good Product we see no reason why we can't Get to a turnover of 50 or 100 million In a few years Good luck [Music] Hi there Dragons I'm Steve Russell and I'm Giles Atwell and we are the fresh Chocolaties We're here today to ask for ninety Thousand pounds in exchange for nine Percent of our business We have over 30 years between us working On world famous chocolate brands and I Have a hundred year family history in Chocolate We take chocolate to a whole new level We use a shed load of sustainable cocoa We use a drizzle of organic honey a Pinch of Dorset sea salt a generous Dollop of organic cream and absolutely No palm oil so you keep our products Fresh in the fridge our most popular Selling pack is our triple pack and that Retails for about 19 pounds as I say the Proof of the pudding is in the eating
Dragons would you like to try some Absolutely Can I check if they is they're milking Yeah unfortunately done this is going to Be like torture isn't it you're going to Give all of them the chocolate I'm gonna Have to watch them just put those ones Here Restaurant quality fresh and chilled Chocolates for the Home Market is the Brainchild of Giles Atwell and Steve Russell thank you cheers 90 000 pounds is the amount the Entrepreneurs are asking for in return For nine percent of their business Jones is first to quiz the sweet treat Twosome Stephen Giles That's good start to the pitch and you Get chocolate I'm I was particularly hit When you said gels you have a hundred Year family history in chocolate yes my Grandfather began a chocolate business In 1921. he worked on the first chalk Ice in the UK in 1927. my dad carried on But he's he's very much retired now Although he's fascinated what we're up To yeah when you spoke to your father About setting up a chocolate business What did he say to you I mean his Initial reaction was you're nuts to be Honest because you know why would you Step away from a from a big corporate Career and do something that's much
Riskier yeah and what was the corporate Career I spent 14 years at Cadbury and I Was marketing director of uh of a 500 Million pound chocolate business in Brazil Well and my background is I've worked in Chocolate the last 20 years first for Mars and then Cadbury so I developed uh Dark milk and the green and blacks Velvet Edition The last strawberry job I did we took The business from 50 to 100 million And I think we back ourselves to be able To hit those numbers and more I'm actually deeply concerned Because I've been trying to stay on top Of my fitness and with this sat next to Me there's a chance that all of my Fitness goals are going to go to hell on A high horse because this is delicious Absolutely delicious Their chocolates are hitting the spot And Giles and Steve's heavyweight CVS Have also gone down well The entrepreneurs have made a good first Impression But Tuka Suleiman wants to move on from The niceties and start talking numbers So for the next 12 months yeah your Turnover how does that look Our first full year Target is is a Hundred and five thousand pounds to Modest Yeah I don't want to chase the target I
Want to Chase business and I want to get It right for the consumer okay so 105 000 your gross profit would be 39 000 Pounds Right in the second year second year Target is uh 392 000 pounds Your projections that you've given me Yeah If you had the little corner shop Selling chocolates you'd take more money If you took your chocolates it did a Pop-up somewhere prominent you'd Probably take a grand a day right we're Still a very very small business But we are hugely ambitious but it's a Very very Niche market that you're now entering Because you've chosen to go chilled with Your product I fundamentally disagree If you look at other markets I mean Pasta now 30 of pasta is fresh And it's a six and a half billion pound Chocolate Market if half of that could Be fresh in I don't know 20 years time That's an enormous opportunity The entrepreneurs reject Peter Jones's Assertion that their chilled chocolates Have a reduced Market appeal And it appears a combination of his Taste buds and the pairs track record Has spurred Stephen Bartlett to make a Decision I love the product and it tastes amazing I think the brand I think you've done a
Really good job with the brand as well Your background is incredibly impressive Your background is incredibly impressive And your passion for chocolate can't be Replicated or imitated I'm gonna make you an offer However I'm not going to offer you all the money Because I do want to work with dragons On this business because this is a Multifaceted Challenge and every Dragon Brings something else to the table so I'll offer you 45 000 half the money For 15 Or I'm willing to split it any number of Ways with my fellow dragons here Thank you thank you Bartlett thinks the chocolate Proposition could be a sweet investment And makes a move However any deal requires another Dragon To match his terms First so OT has a confection Guys I don't know if you know but I'm Actually quite an expert in this field Oh that's right yep almost on a Steve Level I have always hand made all of my Own chocolates and I have horned that Over the course of 10 years and I have Never tasted a chocolate as good as my Own until just then Outstanding
So I would also be willing to offer you Half the money For 15 of the business okay thank you Thank you thank you Okay You've got a good product That to me is the most important thing So I'm also willing to give you 45 000 Pounds To 15 percent Thank you thank you thank you Stephen Charles I know that I can Absolutely nail this for you because I've introduced hundreds of millions of Pounds worth of products into the Retailers in the UK alone but I don't believe that you would get such A huge traction without Somebody particularly somebody like Stephen frankly Because this is very clearly a direct to Consumer piece so I'm going to offer you Half the money For 15 percent Thank you thank you very much thank you Peter Jones joins the half offer party But goes one step further naming a Social media Savvy Stephen Bartlett as Potential investor he'd like to pair up With to fuel inject future online sales A dragon who hasn't sampled the produce Also proposed a partnership You too are incredibly impressive So you won't be surprised at all to hear
I too am going to make you an offer I'm going to offer you all of the money For 25 of the business Or I will offer you half of the money On the same basis of the other dragons So far 15 of the business Yeah I think so In an unusual twist It's a Full House of Half offers for the chocolate business As all five investors are prepared to Share a 30 deal with another dragon Deborah meaden is also willing to go it Alone for a slightly smaller 25 percent That's um not always expected to be But Stephen Giles are only offering nine Percent of their business Will they be able to broker a better Deal Um we're blown away by having five Offers and we would love to work with Dragons to make this happen The butt from us is it's way too much of Our business What we put in as a percent Is where we would like to be and we're Therefore a long long way apart We won't give up a big chunk of our Business I would personally be willing to drop To 10 for my half of the money forty Five thousand I don't know if there's Any Yes I'd certainly I'd be prepared to do
That I would also be willing To do that So I will also go for 10 for 45 000. And I would love to have a lifetime's Free supply of those chocolates so as Long as that was thrown in with the deal Obviously you could count me yeah There's a psychological point about 20. We have our new Hazelnut and our orange In the fridge If we give you a taste of our new Products can we can we get a percent off Oh you know it's right how to go for me Doesn't he Charles did you just value one percent Of your business as a hazelnut chocolate Yeah he did yeah yeah I did and one Percent Orange it's an orange that was The that that's that's what I'd like to Do Giles Steve I do you know what I'm Actually going to withdraw Because if you can't go yes at the end Of this deal there's no point doing it So I'm going to gracefully withdraw and Say I'm out All right um this is this is not an easy Christ conversation but the opportunity That most excites us is is you two here The combination of the retail and the And the social that combination for us Feels very strong Foreign I'm not going to stand by and be an Option so for that reason I'm out
Guys obviously there's an element of Business here and there's an element of Negotiation and gameplay but as great as The chocolates are Come out From having five offers the duo are Suddenly down to two dragons as their Efforts to negotiate cause some of their Potential investors to see red Only Stephen Bartlett and Peter Jones Remain and it appears they're not too Happy either I'm starting to feel a bit uncomfortable As well We've gone from 30 percent down to 20 Percent And you'd have two Powerhouse dragons on your team You're wanting to get slightly more and You've talked about one percentage what Will happen is you'll walk out here and We don't get anywhere All right um okay with 20 and we'd love To work with you Peter and you Stephen Yes that's the yes we won I'll be a Customer thanks very much guys thank you Thank you yes well done After going down a very Rocky Road the Chance taking chocolatiers finally chalk Up a deal They leave The Den with the 90 000 Pounds they were seeking and two Sweet Tooth dragons very much on board with Their business we never expected that
But we we never dreamed of that I do Feel very much like a real life Willy Wonka yeah they've made me feel that Today you are going to be fat as a house Mister [Laughter] Now putting their business relationship To the test in the den a life Partners Paul maiden and James Findley they took The decision to move from the rat race To the Wilderness and once there were Inspired to create gourmet chocolate We are as far north as far west as you Can possibly go on the mainland We do is 10 times harder than doing it Anywhere else We're really passionate and we haven't Lost any of that passion even when we're Exhausted It's our life Hello I'm Paul and this is James we're The founders of cocoa Mountain Uh we're here today to present an Opportunity for the dragons to invest 80 000 pounds in our rather remarkable Unique chocolate business and our world Famous hot chocolate drink What percentage For 15 percent We founded the business in 2006 and We're located in the far Northwest of Scotland by Cape wrath the most Beautiful place in Britain uh stunning Mountains glorious beaches locks
Wildlife it's spectacular and our goal With cocoa Mountain was to create a Business that matched that scenery and Create a paradise in heaven our aim was Very simple we wanted to use only the Finest ingredients it was ethical it was Fairly sourced and taste meant Everything we did it ourselves 100 and We did it our way We have an online business where we sell Our products online to customs all over The world We Also Supply Um We also Excuse me we also supplied Um a lot of bars to Independent Retailers And at the moment we've just secured a Larger premises of 350 square meters Which we're moving to in the next few Weeks And this is based an hour from our Existing location but one hour north of Inverness still in in the Northwest Highlands Uh the hot chocolate Market in the UK Alone is worth 120 million pounds and we Feel that the competition Is poor by and large we think our Product could be a major success in the UK and abroad and even taking a small Share of that market we can generate
Significant products uh profits from This product alone Thank you for listening to our pitch Just to maybe comment that As times are tough out there people need The best hot chocolate [Music] From the highlands is the package on Offer from from slightly nervous Entrepreneurs Paul maiden and James Findley ladies first They're hoping for a tasty eighty Thousand pounds in return for 20 of Their Culinary Company Thank you very much but will their Products pass the taste test of the Notoriously hard to please foodie Dragon Sarah Willingham Guys when you talk about where you live And where you produce this your eyes Light up I mean it and you it's almost Like you can taste it in the chocolate It's real magic it's like the Traditional Italian hot chocolate when You go to Italy this is what you get Served and it's fantastic we have masses Of customer testimonials as to how good This product is it's very very different From I suppose the kind of hot chocolate That most of us grew up with which was Mostly milk this is pretty much like Molten chocolate I have no objection to That whatsoever but it is a very Different drink from milk with a bit of
Flavoring the key Is this this is the uh this is the hot Chocolate Okay And I taste it it could be very bitter Isn't it yes not going to be too bitter Actually but what it is is very Concentrated and then that's dissolved Into milk it's just dissolved into milk And you have a proper hot chocolate made At home that is Rest right on my pet I love that thank You The first hurdle cleared Praise all round for the chocolate oh Wow with even a usually poker face to Peter Jones declaring himself a fan Now for the small matter of that remote Scottish location I've been here Isn't Dennis that balaknal Craft Village That's right yeah that's around the Corner from tongue yeah well it's an Hour away from tongue well that's just Around the corner in in that context I've been there yeah yeah Okay it used to be a sort of it used to Be a kind of a commune didn't it what Happened was the hippies moved in yeah And then after the hippies were kind of Ejected an initiative was taken to form A Craft Village there and so our our Environment is us and lots of other Little businesses who are artists and
Craftsman I've been there and it's a Lovely lovely Playbook place for people Who want to kind of step out of the World Um it's it's a diabolical place to set Up business What were the numbers like for the last 12 months In terms of sales our sales were Our gross sales were 260 000. Okay Profit The net gross profit was a hundred and 83 Okay grossberg 183 yeah and the net Profit 108 sorry 50 57 000. 57 000 and That is after after paying yourselves a A a normal salary here Um okay so you've got a business but That is after nine years So why do you think that in the last Nine years you haven't turned that into A significant business It's about production We live in a parts of the country where There are 200 people spread out over 200 Square kilometers We can't recruit enough people Um and hence we can't grow the business We have turned away Countless requests for us to supply Businesses Do you have any any concrete orders We've never been able to accept orders
We've always said no if you imagine the Situation where you have far more demand Than you can supply the last thing you Want to do as a business is promise more Than you can deliver no no no no but Let's put this into context it's it's I Mean I you know I love the Scottish Story and so on but you've already told Us that the the only consequence of you Being in in this beautiful part of Scotland that you're in Um is that you can't find anyone to help You with the production This sounds like a business prevention Department Nick Jenkins expresses concerns about The infrastructure available to their Company Has the remoteness of the operation Become a sticking point for a company Clearly going places Does it frighten you to move back down Near us no no not at all for the last Five years now we've been looking for a Reasonably located much larger Production unit that we can move into And we've now found them it took us a Long time because we wanted to be close Enough to our base because we will Always call that home but the thing is If I was to invest in you today I've got A funny feeling the next time we'd meet I'd be in my 80s [Laughter]
Hey we've done really well we've moved It really fast where are we 320 Grand I Can I can see where you're coming from But as I say we've we're just about to Sign a lease on what was a call saying If it takes you seven years to sign a Lease on the premises It would worry me when your next meeting Where waitrose would be it'd be called a Different name The inability of the gourmet chocolate Entrepreneurs to scale up the business Quickly enough has spooked the ever Ambitious Peter Jones And it's made Deborah meaden question How big the business could ever get Under Paul and James's Direction In my life I've had to move places I Really haven't particularly wanted to go But I've had to go because that's what I Needed to do to grow the business and I Do honestly think location I know you Think you're sorting it half an hour North of Inverness you'd say was still Too remote to produce efficiently or is It more the sales and marketing I think It's I think it's a sales that the truth Of the matter is you have to knock on Doors you know somebody has to go there And stand in front of somebody and show It to them and get them to taste it and Tell your lovely story you know and There's nothing wrong with saying I want It as a lifestyle business but when
You're looking for an investment it it It starts becoming a whole different Dynamic you know an investor is going to Say well okay well what have you got That's really going to drive this Business forward you've got to admit That the story you've just told us it's A lovely story it's a great thing to do But it there's nothing in there that Says you're gonna go right now's our Moment Is that no we're driven yeah What you mean we don't we don't look it Yeah Paul and James are struggling to get Their commitment across to the dragons Will Artisan food lover Sarah Willingham Convert her compliments for the cocoa Into Cash I'm a bit sad I am because I feel like what you're Asking and what you're doing with the Move to Inverness and everything you're Kind of compromising actually the real Heart and soul Of of what you've produced My gut feeling for you guys is to stay Where you are Focus on trying to find somebody who can Produce this for you we've found that Person fantastic and then sell it it's Just not an investment for me so I'm Afraid I'm out Paul and James
I think what you guys need is a local Investor Somebody you could work with and you can Get mentoring with and somebody that has Connections across the country And I'm not that person I'm afraid I'm not going to be your Investor today guys I'm out I think that The chocolate is fantastic The little sip of that was lovely do you Want to enjoy the chocolates themselves These chocolates that I've just eaten Them apart from those two but lovely so Guys whilst your product is brilliant My sense of urgency is we we run at Different paces I think working we'd struggle I wish every best of luck with this Because I think the product is great Thank you But I'm not going to invest in you I'm Going to say that I'm out As a fourth Dragon bows out the Temperature in the den is rising And Nick Jenkins is feeling far from Chilled out about this Brand's potential For growth This is a really really difficult Market To crack and you have created a big a Big obstacle I want people who are hungry to to do Business you've just been turning it
Away for the last nine years What this tells me unfortunately Is that I shouldn't be backing you we've Been looking for expansion of course Very hard A hungry person there are a limited Number of factories available which are Accessible that's why people don't set Up businesses up there well that's why We didn't set up a business up there Initially with the aim of growing it Into a global brand but that's what's Happening it's been a phenomenon we have We have customers not much more Phenomenal world I mean that's it's an Underwhelming phenomenon So I'm afraid For for all of those reasons I wish you The best of luck but I'm out Okay So Paul and James leave the den and Prepare for that 500 Mile journey home With dragon approval for their product But none of their hunger to invest Tries yes they've produced a great Products It's it's a great product but they Obviously went there for a lifestyle Reason and they haven't got over that Together I think we're a great team and When we put our necks on the Block like We've just done today then I think it's Just going to make us stronger but they Shouldn't underestimate what we can
Achieve Foreign ER Who's thrown out the rule book with his Approach to everything he does I love life life is a dance for me I Play a lot I go in the woods I eat a lot Of healthy food I love clean living I love women oh I love women I feel quite confident that I will Choose the right Dragon to invest in me Just from feeling the energy I feel from Them I feel more drawn to Sarah at the moment But will the dragons share the Entrepreneur's faith in his success in The den Dragons I'm Linus And my company is the raw Chocolate Company I'm here today to ask for a 72 000 pound Investment For a five percent stake in my company a Manufacturer and sell raw chocolate bars Raw chocolate covered berries and a Range of superfoods the company's been Going from strength to strength year After year the products are sold in in In independent health food stores all Across the UK I've had the Holland and Barrett knocking on my door and I had to Say no because didn't have enough cash In the bank nor space to hold enough
Stock for them so I'm here now to ask For a little extra help to get the raw Chocolate Company into the mainstream UK Market so I hope come and join me Would you like to try some oh yes please Chocolate with a wholesome twist that's The package on offer from Lena's golf He's looking for 72 000 pounds for a Five percent bite of his company The flavor's fantastic thank you Rest to return professional foodie Sarah Willingham is first to Chow Down on the Business Hi hello To the ignorant person what is what does Raw mean so imagine you have a apple That is nice and fresh and in the other Hand you have an apple that you've put In the oven for two hours at 200 degrees Which one would you imagine would make You feel better for me it's the fresh Apple and is this something that in General demand is growing for yeah it's Definitely growing like I go into my Local Marks and Spencers and I buy my Superfood salads describe if there was Anything bad about these what would it Be the one you would pick up on would be The fat content which is the same fat Content as any chocolate so it's no Worse but it's actually no better so the Sugar content when comparing it to other Chocolate same no I use coconut palm Sugar which is um not refined white
Sugar it's sugar that has been made from So it's unrefined but it's unrefined It's boiled so it doesn't raise your Blood sugar levels Can I just ask what's the towel on the Side uh it because it made you so much Cross between a viking and a window Cleaner it's the leanest trademark is it Really yeah so it's I wear it all the Time I think a lot of this is very much About people in this and you are um You're a really genuinely genuinely nice Person but at the same time the product I think it's the best In terms of chocolate that I've ever Seen that's come into the den Really [Music] Wrong And Ethos prove a big hit with the Dragons Now Sarah Willingham wants to delve into The detail of his supply chain Where are you sourcing everything from What's your relationship like I buy them From a UK importer And they buy them from Peru What Proportion of your cost of sales is the Chocolate I would say it's 75 yes 75 Chocolate ingredients I'm an expert at Saucing okay have you ever been to Peru No if I was you Was you I'd get on the next plane to Peru
And work out Yes yes it's like myself in my Businesses right I say to my people we Cut out the middlemen We go direct this is what I want to do You can do it what's going to stop yes They want payment up front don't worry About that we might get to that Don't worry about that but I want to ask You another question what would happen If I invested in your business And I said to you I've got great contact In your favorite store my favorite store You mentioned it earlier on today yeah You said I shop in so and so All right That would be Infinity Foods in Brighton No you told me marks and Spencer's all Right I did yes you did yes I did so I Have an amazing contact at marks and Spencer's and I know David loved this Sounds good The potential to cut out the middlemen And boost the company's profits expertly Identified by Tuka Suleiman Sarah Willingham who's managed some of The world's most successful restaurant Chains seems the perfect fit for Investment will she want to add the Brand to her food business portfolio I love what you do Um But I don't think I am the best person To invest in this in terms of getting
You into the mainstream Supermarkets which is actually what you Are poised to do I think you'll be very Successful But for those Reasons I'm not going to Make you an offer and I'm out She was Linus's preferred investor but Sarah Willingham makes a surprise exit From the deal Will Deborah meaden go the same way I I like this You're good And I like it when the the person fits The product and you and there's an Authenticity about you thank you so I'm Going to make you an offer I'm going to offer you 72 000 pounds And I want 10 of the business Banking A change in Fortune for Linus as Deborah Meaden raises the bar with an offer but A double Equity stake he was willing to Give away Nick Jenkins is next to have his say I I love the product And I think it has great authenticity Um I would love a part of this but I Don't want to offer all of the money but I would love a piece of it but I would Have to tag along with some of the other
Dragons So I'm gonna offer you 36 000 pounds For four percent of the business Foreign Has an appetite to spend but needs Another investor to complete his bid Will that Dragon be too casullymon My background Saw synth around the world my background Is manufactured And my background is distribution I Believe That I've got more time took a time than Any of the Dragons here Right I could Mentor you In your production and your distribution And open channels for you Now You've had a part offer from my Colleague And I have a lot of faith that Nick can Give you a lot of online and online is Important yeah And what I want to do Is offer the other half but I want six Percent Because I believe Thank you I can offer you more Controversial Thank you an offer from Tuka Suleiman But it comes at a price six percent of The company Two percent more than Nick Jenkins was Asking for
Deborah meaden is the only investor with A solo offer 72 000 pounds for 10 of the Business But Peter Jones has yet to join the Bidding war Molina somebody didn't Expect that today did you Uh yes you did expect this today Yeah Wow Do you want me to make you an offer yes The thing is I'm concerned that I'm up against it [Music] I don't mind saying that out loud [Music] Can I see you break Nick Sorry Um I'm gonna make you an offer Thank you I want 20 of the company Linus Do you know Very cheeky And and the reason for that is that If I was to own 20 it would get much More of the attention that I think You're going to need and you're looking For But to give you a little bit of value Back I have the ability to give you more Money than the money you've asked for So I'm going to offer you Ninety thousand pounds For 20 of the company
A tactical maneuver from Peter Jones as He UPS the ante by bidding higher than His Dragon counterparts But it looks like he's got some Heavyweight competition I like you So I'm gonna make you another offer if I'm allowed to I don't know do what you like okay A hundred thousand pounds but twenty Percent right I want to be part of this and I think we Can go on a great journey So does that mean that the first offer You two together is not valid anymore Well that does assume that I that is Assuming that I agree to it which I Wouldn't have done so that that's Uh oh I think that wouldn't have seated Me yeah so I'd love to participate you Know how I'm going to support your Business I'm going to buy a lot of this Chocolate great but I don't think I can Participate in either of these two deals So for that reason I'm afraid I'd be out Three Dragons at Linus's disposal Deborah meaden's offering 72 000 pounds For 10 equity Peter Jones wants 20 but for 90 000 Pounds And Tuka Suleiman also wants 20 but for A hundred thousand pounds This I like To have all three of you
But I'm not gonna go for that Because that's not an option Um [Music] I'd like to go for [Music] Deborah Fantastic Job done and just so you know you Probably don't want three dragons you'd Only have us arguing congratulations I'm Really pleased with that and I'm very Excited this is exactly what I was Looking for Lena's exits the den with a Golden Ticket To Success Courtesy of his new multi-millionaire Business partner Several well done great guy I think he's A great product I'm pleased he walked Out I'm jealous That's good he's gonna be good yeah yeah He's very good he's just spot on it's Just its moment The Viking
