The new series of Dragons’ Den is set for episode 2 tonight as guest judge Gary Neville returns to the Den.
The businessman, broadcaster and former footballer joins Peter Jones, Deborah Meaden, Steven Bartlett and Touker Suleyman as they put another set of business hopefuls to the test.
In this episode, a beauty industry insider pitches skincare made from rescued food. A husband-and-wife duo tee up an innovative device designed to keep golf balls spotless. A finance-savvy business founder wants to score big with an app that helps users overpay their mortgages. And a married couple spice things up with their seasoning balls.
But will the Dragons bite?
Follow the pitches from 8pm tonight
My Skin Feels
First up will be Danielle Close, whose Brighton business My Skin Feels – founded in 2023 – is a vegan skincare brand that ferments rescued organic food waste from the Italian food and drinks industry.
The by-products of breakfast oats, olive oil, tomato skins and citrus juice are used in skincare products, which could appeal to sustainability champion Deborah Meaden.
Danielle says the fermentation process boosts the ingredients’ antioxidant and postbiotic content.
Swish
Next to pitch is married couple Ben and Natalia Reeves, who have a solution for golfers sick of muddy balls.
Swish is a portable golf ball cleaner launched in 2024 which takes seconds to do its job and clips on to golf bags.
Peter Jones and Gary Neville are keen golfers – indeed Jones has just bought American Golf – so will the founders drive home a deal with them?
Sprive app
Also looking for investment is Jinesh Vohra, a former Goldman Sachs director who has developed a free app to tackle the problem of mortgage overpayments as household debt hits an all-time high.
The London startup closed a £5.5m funding round last April led by Ascension, with participation from Channel4Ventures, the broadcaster’s consumer investment arm, Velocity Capital, and Two Magnolias.
Launched in 2021, the app looks to allow homeowners to pay off their mortgage faster through their everyday shopping, by automatically putting spare cash towards overpayments and by continuously scanning the market to help customers find better mortgage deals.
Flavour Bombs
The final pitcher is Flavour Bombs, founded by married duo Tina Faghihi-Hallam and Olly Hallam.
Described as the ‘bath bomb for your saucepan’, it is reimagining home cooking. Its ready-to-use meal bases turn hard-to-make global dishes into effortless, restaurant-quality meals.
Each Flavour Bomb contains a complete base for a dish – no half-used herbs, forgotten spices or wasted ingredients left mouldering in the fridge.
Launched with just £300 and built entirely self-funded from a London flat, Flavour Bombs surpassed £100,000 in revenue in its first year, with no paid marketing and just the two founders running every part of the business – from manufacturing to sales.