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4 Dragons’ Den companies to know this week: From Toddle skincare to botanical wines
A start-up offering an exfoliating net from Ghana also sought investment
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It seems the fire-breathing dragons were a bit more generous with their pot of gold this week. In tonight’s episode of Dragons’ Den, two out of the four entrepreneurs successfully walked away with an injection of cash into the deep veins of their smooth-skinned businesses.
Eco-friendly refillable deodorant company Fussy was the only business to clinch a deal in the den last week, but tonight we saw the dragons fight over a baby skincare company, and our resident fashion mogul invested in a strange-looking medical device, aimed at preventing Deep Vein Thrombosis from taking hold.
The show, which airs on Thursday nights at 8pm, has seen sparks fly as new wyrmling 29-year-old Steven Bartlett, co-founder of Social Chain, disrupt the old guard, give entrepreneurs a grilling and, sometimes – like tonight – even dish out some high praise.
On top of the Toddle skincare range and the RBR legflow, we also saw an entrepreneur peddle her botanical sparkling wine brand, as well as an intriguing business based on a net exfoliator popular in Ghana, adding to the weird and wonderful businesses already shown off in the den this series.
Interested in the companies and products pitched on telly tonight? We’re here to round-up everything you need to know about the businesses seen on screen and where exactly you can buy their products.
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Toddle baby skincare range: Toddlebornwild.com
When Hannah Saunders walked into the den and pitched her baby skincare business to the dragons tonight, the dragons really admired her entrepreneurial spirit. With three vying for her attention, Saunders eventually decided on the Bartlett/Meaden combo.
Launched in 2020, Toddle produces a large range of natural, vegan skincare products for children and babies. As Touker Suleyman highlighted during Saunders’s pitch, there are a lot of different products on offer. There’s dribble-proof lip and cheek balm (£8.99, Amazon.co.uk), adventure balm, which is made with plant-based lanolin (£8.99, Toddlebornwild.com), a refillable hand sanitiser pouch (£6.99, Toddlebornwild.com), insect repellent (£5.99, Toddlebornwild.com) and sun spray (£11.99, Toddlebornwild.com) – all designed for children’s sensitive skin.
During the episode, Saunders told the dragons that the most popular product was the probiotic hand gel, which contains a natural live culture called lactobacillus. It costs £6.49 (Toddlebornwild.com) or £8.99 on Amazon (Amazon.co.uk).
RBR legflow: Rbractive.com
No, these aren’t “plastic bras for travel” as Peter Jones put it. This is the RBR legflow from Paul Westerman’s company RBR Active, a medical device aimed at preventing Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT). Westerman went away happy tonight, successfully securing Suleyman’s cash for a 35 per cent share of the business.
The RBR legflow is a plastic two-dome shaped object that sits underneath your feet and you perform exercises on it while seated. According to the company, it has been Clinically-tested to increase blood flow in the lower limbs ten fold, and is registered with the Medicines Healthcare Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
Since this episode of Dragons’ Den was first recorded, it appears that Westerman was able to get the price down, and it is now being sold for £12.99, rather than the £24.99 figure referenced on-screen.
Diving through The Independent archives, it appears Westerman actually wrote an article for the travel section about how to prevent DVT a couple of years ago.
Nett exfoliator: Mynettex.com
The Nett exfoliator from Yvonne Aboagye might not have captured the hearts and minds of the dragons this time round, with the entrepreneur getting grilled about the company’s philanthropic decisions and its eco-friendly credentials, but it sure looks like a wonderfully smart and simple product.
It’s a versatile machine-washable exfoliation sheet that Aboagye sources directly from market sellers in Ghana. Made from nylon, it lasts up to two years, and helps you scrub your entire body when washing. It looks like a mix between a loofah, a wiry scarf and a flannel, and comes in five different colours. Each Nett costs £25 (Mynettex.com).
Floreat botanical sparkling wine: Floreatwines.com
Sparkling botanical wine founder Anne-Marie Hurst had a bit of an awkward start even before getting into the den, as she and her partner Christian debated whether they were being filmed or not. FYI, Christian, you were! Despite providing some entertainment value, it wasn’t to be for Hurst’s company Floreat, which – if you didn’t know – comes from the latin term to mean “let flourish”.
The company produces a sparkling wine, made from a blend of herbs, vitamins and “active botanicals”. Each bottle of wine contains 20 fresh organic rose petals, 50 lime flowers, 75 milk thistle seeds, 40 violets and a pinch of St John's Wort and Horsetail. A bottle of its sparkling botanical wine can be purchased for £18 on Amazon (Amazon.co.uk) – the same price as it is on the Floreat website.
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Curious about the Bottleshot cold brew seen in episode seven or Fussy’s eco-friendly refillable deodorant in episode eight? Check out our previous Dragons’ Den company round-ups for all the gossip
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