Release date: January 21, 2022
Photo: BBC
Kandy Kitchen Creations directors Karen and Andy Turner
Karen and Andy Turner, Directors of Kandy Kitchen Creations, celebrate after a successful pitch on the popular BBC show Dragons’ Den on Thursday (20 January).
The Rochdale couple won the New Business of the Year category at the 2019 Rochdale Business Awards for their innovative range of ‘Super Simple’ foods – prepackaged soups, stews, risottos and desserts – and their business has grown in reputation and size every year since.
The Turners entered the Den seeking a £50,000 investment in exchange for a 20 per cent stake in the company.
After some deliberation, Peter Jones – who said they had “a super bright idea” – offered them half the money for 16.75% of the company, adding that two dragons would have 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 an advantage.
But Touker Suleyman – who previously said her soup was “phenomenal” – also wanted to invest. He offered to pay a third of the money for 11% if Peter and Deborah could come to terms.
Touker Suleyman inspects one of the Kandy Kitchen Creations products. Photo: BBC
Karen and Andy were overjoyed when a third of their business was split between the three dragons as an investment.
Wardle-based Kandy Kitchen Creations was founded by Karen and Andy after a vacation to Canada in 2017, where they spotted foods “stacked in layers sand art style” at local markets.
Andy said: “Inspired we came back and developed our first packs on the kitchen table.”
Today there are 20 different soups, stews and risottos and 11 puddings, all priced at £5.
Their produce is stocked in over 40 garden centres, delicatessens and farm shops across the UK and attend events and markets. They continue to sell through their website which crashed after yesterday’s episode due to high traffic.
Episode three of series 19 of Dragons’ Den is available on BBC iPlayer.
