Food businesses most likely to succeed in Dragons’ Den

Those appearing on Dragons’ Den are most likely to achieve investment if they pitch a food and drink related business, according to new research from business data site Company Check.

The study, which aimed to explore the composition of a successful Den business, found that almost a fifth (17.11%) of all investments awarded in the Den over the past 14 series went to food and drink companies. This was followed in popularity by clothing businesses, which accounted for 11.2%.

Food and drink wasn’t the most popular category in the early seasons, but picked up speed after the successful investment made by Richard Farleigh and Peter Jones in Reggae Reggae Sauce in series four. This remains the most successful business in terms of net worth that still has Dragon involvement – with inventor Levi Roots now worth an estimated £30 million.

The most successful food business overall is Hungry House. Entrepreneurs Shane Lake and Tony Charles asked for £100,000 for their fledgling online takeaway service and received joint investment from James Caan and Duncan Bannatyne – a deal which later collapsed after the show. Today, according to Company Check data, Hungry House has a net worth of £1,800,000.

Jane Milton of Jane Milton Food Industry Expert, a specialist management consultancy service for the food industry which works with a number of the Dragon food businesses, says, “The Dragons work with food businesses because they already have experience in this market, they connect to experts in different fields who can offer advice, contacts etc, and because you can make real changes, often without major investment.

“Food and drink are FMCG sectors where you can quickly see the effects of changes made. Because the Dragons have great contacts with retailers, they can open doors.”

Company Check founder Alastair Campbell comments, “It’s really interesting to see that the categories of business that receive investment on Dragons’ Den haven’t really changed over the years. Food became more popular following the Levi Roots investment but areas such as technology, which you might expect to grow, haven’t.”