Dragons' Den reject signs up with retailers
A Derbyshire entrepreneur who was turned down by investors on Dragons’ Den has told Insider that she is now “in talks with a major supermarket” to stock her Sqeasy product. Karen Moakes also revealed that she is in final discussions with high street retailer TJ Hughes to stock her gadget. The inventor, from Chaddesden, told Insider that the Sqeasy – which aids the emptying of food pouches – is being advanced into other forms, including a gadget to squeeze out the last of the toothpaste.
When Moakes and her husband Ian appeared on the BBC programme, the Dragons showed interest in her product but felt that, at 99p per sqeasy, she would not be bringing in enough revenue.
Moakes said: “I wouldn’t compromise on the price of the product. Other interested retailers have suggested rising the price to £1.79, but I want it to be something that everyone can afford. I wasn’t going to negotiate on that.”
However, Moakes said that she had been in talks with garden and homeware chain Robert Dyas before she appeared on the programme.
She said: “The programme was filmed in April, and we’d begun talks with Robert Dyas long before that – it took six or seven months to finalise the deal.”
She added that the homeware store had begun stocking the product in 104 of its outlets, with an initial order of 5,000.
Moakes now says that she will advance the product into other shapes and sizes, including a toothpaste Sqeasy. After the line is completed, she says she has “more ideas for a range of kitchenware items”.
Since the programme, Moakes said that the product has also garnered interest from companies in the US and Taiwan.
Of the show, Moakes said: “We really went on for the experience – we went in knowing that they probably wouldn’t get what it [the product] was about. But I would recommend the experience to anyone – we learnt so much more about the business than we might have done. Going on a pressurised show like that makes you know your finances and numbers inside out – we did so much more homework!
"I’ve learned so much over the last two years though, about the way the business works and about the industry, and Dragons’ Den was another part of the journey.”
