Entrepreneurs bring all manner of new Food and drink products into the den Though many share the same retail dream The next part of the strategy is that we Really want to take the products to the Supermarkets Now is the time to invest because it's About to explode Supermarkets need additional brands Coming in because they need leverage Against the big brands but it's a path To riches that's fraught with danger you Turning up to tesco you turning up to Sainsbury's you're never gonna make it With this product Everybody shoots for the supermarkets I'm not sure that you're ready or suited That is a hard hard world you're getting Into one of the big boys will come in And Bulldoze you overnight And just when you thought things Couldn't get any tougher our next Entrepreneur is intent on taking on one Of britain's best loved food brands And beating them at their own game on The supermarket shelves [Music] Dragons hi My name is ben mason and i'm the founder Of masons beans Which is the country's first ever fresh Baked bean brand And i'm here today to ask you for 50 000
Pounds in return for ten percent equity In my business But i wanna tell you a little story First It starts 129 years ago in 1886 When a young man called henry heinz Walked into fortnight masons in london With a case of his baked bean products Fortnum's bought the lot becoming his First british customer Seven months ago i walked into fortman Mason with a case of my baked bean Products They're hand-cooked one pot meals Made fresh for your fridge They're a really filling hearty meal Fortnum's bought the lot becoming my First customer So Why will this work well every day three Million brits eat baked beans you see we Love baked beans but our tastes are Changing Tinned baked beans are in decline but Yet premium chilled ready meals are Absolutely booming So we're seven months in we're also now In selfridges and we're doing most of Our volume through ocado essentially We're now ready and primed for growth in The multiples All i need now is a dragon on board To help me fund that growth but also Open some doors for me who would like to
Try some beans Yes please please excellent An assured pitch from ben mason who's Seeking 50 000 pounds in return for a 10 Equity stake in his own brand baked Beans these are four different versions Of it There's four different recipes yes Nick jenkins wants to find out exactly How ben's beans came into being Ben Hi i'm nick hi nick great product What made you make the leap into Starting your own thing what was that Eureka moment i started cooking baked Beans myself and getting into it it all Made me realize how old-fashioned they Are i can't think of a single other Thing in the supermarket that hasn't Changed since the war so that got me Really excited as an ideas person and That you know there was an opportunity Here Okay and how big do you think that Opportunity is So in three years time i believe we can Get sales to 10 million and that's based On looking at my current rate of sale With acado and looking at you know Extrapolating that out to the other Retailers that i would like to pick off And get into What is your revenue so far so far 25 000 pounds
We've sold ten thousand pots um revenues Twenty five thousand pounds and a twenty Percent gross profit over what period uh Since september last year so seven Months it's just a long way off isn't it From a vision of ten million in sales When in seven months you've turned over 20 odd thousand pounds A setback for ben as peter jones Challenges his ambitious Figures to stand any chance of meeting His targets ben needs to get his beans Into more shoppers trolleys But the question for sarah willingham is How Where i'm really struggling is In my head i can't see it in the Retailers i'll tell you why Is because if i'm a retailer where am i Going to put it i want to be next to up Market ready meals because that that's Exactly what they are when it comes to Eating at home It becomes a side dish often you buy a Piece of chicken you buy some spinach And you take a pot of mason's beans i'm Walking into my local waitrose now and i Know exactly where this is going to be This is going to be not on the main bit On the left it's going to be on the Right hand side with the sandwiches the Little pot of couscous that's where in My head this is sat What are you selling them for 3.95
So i put you in front of Sainsbury's And they look at this and they say they Want to retail that for 2.99 To be in line with All the products they've got We are making everything by hand now We're soaking dried beans we're making Our own stock and everything so There are huge cost savings to be made At scale where we could actually bring Production costs down as well Ben deflects to kassuliman's concerns That the beans are too pricey But sarah willingham still has an issue With the product positioning in the Supermarket Ben In terms of an investment i i cannot get Past that Big big big step for me which is Where is it gonna sit For a normal person Shopping to put it into their trolley to Do with it what you want them to do I wish you all the very best but i'm Afraid i won't be investing so i'm out Thank you very much Ben's plans for supermarket supremacy Are scuppered by an outgoing sarah William And peter jones is worried that the Young entrepreneur has bitten off more Than he can chew
My concern is that if you look at things Than people that have ever tried this Like for example tomato ketchup The famous hp source Worcester sauce the things that are Embedded and ingrained When people try to compete In the specific target category They don't succeed I've got a completely opposite view to Peter What i think you're doing is you're Leveraging i think actually having heinz There and such a well-known Brand everybody gets baked beans and There's a little bit of quirkiness about It that says you know we're not really Baked beans we're a lot better than Baked beans but you know realistically Category for category i'm not really Competing with heinz baked beans the Price point is so different I sit on a different part of the Supermarket retailers don't see me as Direct competition but from a sort of Story point of view it really gives me Something to push against something to Talk about and people love that idea Ben is fighting hard to silence the Doubters And he appears to have found an ally in Deborah meaden [Music] He's had a challenging time so far but
Could the mood in the den have begun to Change [Music] If you want to enter the big arena You've you've got to look at you know Your real cost So i would definitely Like to Go all the way back to the process And get my team in In turkey to see what they can source in The quality that you approve So i'm gonna make you an offer I will Offer you all the money [Music] But i want 40 of the business You're good you're what's you're what's You're what's holding me here Um no actually not all that's holding me Here The branding the positioning i like the I do this i like the feel of i like the Sense of this yeah you know And it's really hard to explain to People who don't get that but i just Like the sense of it So i'm going to make you an offer And i'm going to offer you all of the Money Um I want forty percent of the business A second offer for ben as deborah meadon Joins two cousins in stumping up all the
Cash But in return for 40 percent of the Business Substantially more than the 10 percent Ben wanted to sell Does nick jenkins have a similar Appetite for the Deal ben i'm going to make you an offer Okay Um There's a certain level at which The entrepreneur doesn't have enough Left in it um to be Um to be as muted to be as motivational As it needs to be and This this business is going to require Further dilution i think at some point Because it's going to require further Fundraising So i'm going to offer you all of the Money Um But for 25 percent So nick jenkins has undercut tuk Suleiman and deborah meaden's 40 bids But he's still asking for much more of The business than the 10 Ben is offering Time for supermarket supremo peter jones To show his hand [Music] Oh Boy I'm normally incredibly decisive um
Because i decided when you came in and Pitched i decided to make you an offer I think that You're going to be successful But not with this business I don't see that this is going to Achieve the dream that you have But you're an entrepreneur of the future So i'm investing in you I'm going to offer you all of the money For 35 An unusually indecisive peter jones has Set aside his doubts to make ben an Offer Four dragons are now in Tucson and deborah meaden at 40 Nick jenkins at 25 And peter jones at 35. Ben has some serious thinking to do Maybe i'll take some time go and talk to The wall it's the wise wall i've seen I've seen many a decision made So I don't feel comfortable giving away More than 20 of my business at this Stage I see huge value from all four of you So would any of you be willing to make Me offer 20. Tell you what i'm going to do I'm going to make you an offer for the 40 that i talked about If you hit your targets over the next Two years
I will give you five percent back And i will give you the opportunity to Buy a further 10 percent back At the price that i paid leaving me as a 25 Shareholder [Music] I would be willing To give you a year 18 months To buy back the 15 Percent um as far as further funding if You've got the business it's not an Issue because you know it's all to do With Financing the work in progress Deborah meaden and tuka sullivan Continue to lock horns as they offer Ratchet agreements that would see them Both potentially dropping to a 25 equity Stake in ben's company So how low is peter jones prepared to go God Wow I i'm i'm willing to I'm offering all the money for 35 as you Know i will drop down to 25 The moment that my investment is repaid Whether it's now whatever it doesn't Matter and i'll give you that open offer In Perpetuity but you'll end up with 75 Percent of the business and i'll have 25. Can i just actually simplify my offer
I'm going to give you all the money for 20 Because frankly we'll spend that much We'll spend the fight with a few Thousand pounds on the paperwork drawing Up the buy-back agreement and that's Just you might have just called a spade A spade Give me give me a few minutes A rare occurrence in the den as ben Successfully negotiates all four dragons Down Three of the dragons are now offering The full fifty thousand pounds But with buy back agreements that would Mean their equity could drop to 25 But a deal hungry nick jenkins has cut Through the complex deals And gone straight in at 20 The maximum ben has said he'll accept Okay i have a decision I think i'd like to go with Nick's offer please well done Thank you very much Thank you Well done well done welcome very good So finally a deal and ben leaves the den 50 000 pounds and a new dragon investor To the good That was a very odd decision and i'm Pleased now i didn't get it and the last Five percent party owl Well it's actually No that's not that odd decision
Why well because you're assuming you're Assuming that that you can that peter Can just you know anoint him with the Reggae reggae sword and and All will be well now i mean yes but at The same time don't underestimate quite Well i'm gonna throw at this You
