The founder of food and drink gift company IMP & MAKER has revealed the full impact her appearance on Dragons’ Den has had on the business.

Last week millions of viewers saw Sarah Louise Fairburn leave the Den empty-handed – but that’s not stopped the Lincolnshire-based business attracting record-breaking levels of interest.

Following her appearance Fairburn said IMP & MAKER has reported:

  • Website traffic up 1,000 per cent;
  • Online sales up 90 per cent;
  • Corporate sales of £50k;
  • 1,000 new sign-ups to IMP & MAKER’s newsletter;
  • More than 1,000 new followers on social media;
  • 250k+ LinkedIn impressions;
  • Customer acquisition costs down from £90 to £9.

Fairburn said: “The response to appearing on Dragons’ Den has been nothing short of sensational.

“We saw an immediate spike in website traffic as soon as the episode started and it’s continued ever since

Sarah Louise Fairburn: Disrupting the world of food and drink gifting

“When I walked into the Den our customer acquisition costs were £90 but now they’re £9.”

The BBC show was recorded in June 2024 – but wasn’t actually aired until 476 days later.

Fairburrn, who is a single mum-of-four, said: “IMP & MAKER is a completely different business to the one when I pitched in the Den.

“We’ve gone on to raise £500k from an angel investor in a deal that valued the business at £2m and we’re on track to report our first profit this year.

“I knew IMP & MAKER was far from the finished article when I appeared in the Den but the risk wasn’t from going on Dragons’ Den but from not going on.”

Fairburn, who founded IMP & MAKER in 2020 to become the UK’s go-to business for food and drink gifting, said she’s been inundated with messages from other entrepreneurs following her TV appearance.

“I’ve had so many messages from founders saying they found my story inspirational and that I’d given them hope,” she said.

Scariest  thing ever

“Appearing on Dragons’ Den was the scariest but most rewarding decision of my career. IMP & MAKER has never been in a better position than it is now and I feel we’ve just got started.”