Award-winning Pure Pet Food produced the 'best pitch ever seen' in Dragons' Den, according to Duncan Bannatyne, but then turned down investment from two of his fellow Dragons. And once the company's Daniel Eha and Mathew Cockroft had appeared in the Den on Sunday, sales of products soared in the following days.
In the programme Daniel and Mathew asked the Dragons for £40,000 investment in return for a 10% stake in the business. Deborah Meaden offered the pair all of the money but demanded 30% equity while Kelly Hoppen was also prepared to give them the whole amount for 20%.
Daniel said: "Our recent appearance on Dragons’ Den was one we will not quickly forget. From tasting our products to prove their quality, to battling through an intense onslaught from initially bemused Dragons, we finally won our potential investors over, receiving unanimous praise from all Dragons."Duncan Bannatyne remarked 'It was possibly the best pitch I have seen in over 10 years of Dragons’ Den' while Peter Jones commented that 'You made dog food cool in the Den.'
"It was Deborah Meaden’s offer which we found ourselves most torn over. Her experience of the pet food industry and consumer products meant she was the best fit of all the Dragons, so her comments on the viability and potential of Pure were very encouraging. To sacrifice 30% of our business, which we have devoted so much time and energy over the past 18 months to, was a huge decision for us to make.
"After much negotiation and deliberation, the terms of investment didn’t feel right for us and we ultimately turned down the offers that were made. We believe so much in the successful future of Pure; confidence derived from the positive feedback and loyalty received from our ever growing customer base, that our decision will prove to be one we will not regret.
"After direct sales growth of over 300% in our first quarter since March 2014 we experienced an overwhelming reaction since the show’s airing on Sunday night. The following 48 hours saw sales equivalent to the previous two months and hundreds of enquiries from owners and retailers.
"We have recently launched our new boxed packaging solution alongside an additional economical Chicken Dinner recipe, which we believe will improve our retail proposition tenfold. We hope to use these product developments together with the national coverage and huge interest which the appearance on Dragons’ Den has provided to take Pure to even greater heights."
Pure manufacture a range of dehydrated dog food, unique from any other product currently available in the UK. Pure surpassed current industry standards by gaining regulation by both the human and the animal food authorities. Using an innovative manufacturing technique, Pure have created a product which not only addresses current market trends to feed a low processed and high quality food, but avoids the inconvenience and expense which can prevent a significant number of owners from doing so.
Pure launched in August 2013, receiving fantastic coverage from both national and local press. This led to dog owners across the country purchasing Pure with resounding success. The versatility and convenience of Pure has been commended by owners, justifying Pure’s belief in the market for an innovative product of this kind.
Daniel added: "Pure has now achieved listings in over 100 pet specialist stores across the UK; a fantastic achievement in what is an incredibly competitive market. This positive introduction to the market culminated when Pure were awarded the Pet Product Innovation of the Year Award through world renowned industry body ‘PetQuip’, one of the biggest accolades a new pet product could hope to achieve."
Pictured above: Mathew and Daniel with their new packaging, and also in the Den (below).
