Dragons’ Den reject Gousto has lined up more than £1m in funding from leading figures in the food industry.
In an episode aired last weekend, the Dragons refused to invest in the grocery delivery business because it was losing £25,000 a month.
But since filming, Gousto, which sells dinner kits containing raw ingredients and recipe cards for cooking meals from scratch, has won the backing of some industry big hitters.
Without revealing names, Gousto said executive directors in listed food companies had handed over £250,000 and, along with others, had pledged a further seven-figure investment.
After Dragons’ Den aired, Gousto received an offer to increase the latest investment round. Co-founder Timo Schmidt said the executives’ industry know-how was also proving extremely helpful. “They are actively helping us with sourcing, food regulation, labelling, product, packaging and logistics.”
Since it started trading in August last year, Gousto has grown into a business delivering about 10,000 meals a month. Earlier this month, it started selling kits through Ocado.
The outlook for profitability had improved since Dragons’ Den, said Schmidt. “We could already be profitable but are investing everything we make in quality and customer experience.”
1 Readers' comment