A seedy snack range and a water-saving device – two pitches that caught my attention as guest Gary Neville took his seat beside seasoned Dragons, Touker Suleyman, Deborah Meaden, Steven Bartlett and Peter Jones.
Sowing the seeds of a growing business
Did you know, more than 90% of people in the UK don’t eat enough fibre?
Chester Robinson, founder of Raise Snacks, wants to help by ‘elevating’ peoples’ snacking experience by (in Chester’s words) “celebrating nuts and seeds”. He explained how he enhances these functional foods, which are full of protein, fibre and anti-oxidants, with the addition of ingredients such as chocolate, raspberry and caramel which result in tasty and original Raise Snacks ‘clusters’.
Asked if the snacks were truly healthy, Chester explained how he was “trying to meet that sweet spot between taste and health” for modern day snackers. I can relate to that, thinking back to the times I’ve needed a health bar boost on a walk or bike ride, but have closed my eyes to the sugar content.
When it comes to the crunch…
An attractive proposition (stocked by Sainsburys and Leon, about to launch in Ocado, the recipient of a £95k grant from entering a competition with Sainsburys), Chester received offers from all the Dragons. He had a difficult decision to make.
Ultimately, Chester shook hands with the two Dragons he had hoped for, for a share each of 10% for £50k. Gary Neville (“you’re driven, smart, likeable, authentic”) and Steven Bartlett (“I come to the Den looking to meet people like you”) looked excited at the prospect of helping Chester seize opportunities in what Steven described as an emerging fibre story.
Raise the brand
Chester has registered three trade marks: Raise Snacks, RAISE and BARK.
A trade mark will allow you to use your brand name, logo, or other distinctive elements without the risk of imitation by competitors. Find out more about what you can trade mark here:
Register a trade mark : What you can register as a trade mark - GOV.UK
Water way to prevent waste!
After a summer that has seen the whole of Wales and a large percentage of England officially in drought, news of Jason and Belle Robinson’s water-saving device was timely.
The enthusiasm bubbling from Belle made for a compelling pitch. She described how much time she was wasting, standing beside buckets and troughs on their farm, waiting for them to be filled with water for their horses. The alternative? She could head off to do something else in the 25 minutes it takes to fill the trough but runs the risk of it overflowing – not just a waste of water but a mucky mess in the yard.
All that thinking time waiting for the fill has obviously paid off, as the couple have come up with Sealstop – a portable, fully automated, easy to use product that will stop the flow of water from a hose once the container is full. So simple but so effective.
Belle and Jason were asking for 50k in return for 7% equity. To date they have sold more than 1,200 units with a turnover of £45k and a net profit of minus £7,500k. Jason is still working long hours as a farrier and assembling the Sealstop device at home, while Belle admitted to only paying herself enough to cover her National Insurance.
“Jason keeps us afloat!” she quipped.
Belle stands her ground
The Dragons clearly warmed to the lively and likeable pair, but all thought the £39.99 retail price was high. Like a horse refusing a hurdle, Belle stood her ground at suggestions they could have had the device made cheaper elsewhere, extolling the quality of the injection-moulded product which is manufactured local to their Yorkshire home. “It has to last”, she said, adding that it was priced in line with other quality hose accessories on the market.
Horse-owner Deborah could relate to the problem, agreeing that with 4 horses herself, taking 3.5 minutes to fill each bucket meant a lot of time wasted. But at that price…?
The dry facts
Belle was ready for the challenge, telling how water authorities want to drop the average daily consumption from 144 litres per person to 110:
“A bath is 80 litres of water. People are going to have to think about water saving”.
When we’re being told we can make a difference just turning the tap off to clean our teeth, Belle has a point. The pair received plenty of compliments but one by one, the Dragons turned down the opportunity to invest, citing too narrow a market and too high a price point.
A potential oasis in a desert of declines, Deborah asked if the couple would consider licensing Sealstop. They were unsure, as they were concerned about the loss of control over the device into which they had poured heart and soul. One last drop of advice was available, however - Deborah said if they were ever considering it, to talk to her about it.
How would licensing work?
With a bit of research, I could see that the Robinsons not only have a registered Sealstop trade mark (trade mark UK00003874218) but they also have a registered design (Design 6137959 Liquid flow control device) both of which would help if the couple decide on licensing:
A trade mark gives you the exclusive right to use your brand in the area in which you register it, preventing others from using anything similar in that field. As well as IP protection, it can enhance the visibility of a brand which can attract potential investors or licensees, which can assist with scaling up.
A registered design can give the owner an enforceable right to using the design. This can help prevent competitors from unauthorised use of the design, unless under licence.
Find out more about licensing your IP here:
Licensing intellectual property - GOV.UK.
Disclaimer:
The purpose of the IPO's Dragons' Den IP blog is to help identify the IP in entrepreneurs’ pitches and highlight how IP works, or could work, in the real-life examples featured. IPO’s authorship of this blog does not constitute its endorsement or sponsorship of any products, individuals or businesses referenced within it.
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