Dragons' Den success for Kandy Kitchen Creations

Kandy Kitchen Creations directors Karen and Andy Turner are celebrating after a successful pitch on the popular BBC show Dragons’ Den on Thursday (20 January).

The husband and wife team from Rochdale won the ‘New Business of the Year’ category at the 2019 Rochdale Business Awards for their innovative range of ‘Super Simple’ food products - prepackaged soups, stews, risottos and dessert - and their business has gained in reputation and size each year since.

The Turners entered the Den, seeking a £50,000 investment in exchange for a 20% stake in the business.

After deliberations, Peter Jones – who said they’d “come up with a cracking good idea” – offered them half the money for 16.75% of the company, adding that two dragons needed to invest because Karen and Andy “need a lot of support.”

Peter’s offer was matched by Deborah Meaden, agreeing that two dragons would be beneficial.

However, Touker Suleyman – who had earlier said their soup was “phenomenal” – also wanted to invest. He offered to pay one third of the money for 11% if Peter and Deborah could agree.

 

 

Karen and Andy were overjoyed as one third of their business was split between the three dragons for investment.

Based in Wardle, Kandy Kitchen Creations was started by Karen and Andy after a holiday to Canada in 2017, where they discovered food products “stacked in layers, sand-art style” at the local markets.

Andy said: “Inspired, we came back and developed our first few packs on the kitchen table.”

Today, there are 20 varieties of soup, stews and risottos as well as 11 puddings, all costing £5.

Their products are stocked in over 40 garden centres, delis and farm shops across the UK, plus attending events and markets. They continue to sell via their website, which crashed after last night’s episode due to a high number of visitors.

Episode three of Dragons’ Den series 19 can be found on BBC iPlayer.