Fast growing Gateshead superfood firm Super U is set to break into the US market after emerging victorious from the Dragons’ Den.
But Sean Ali and Charlotte Bailey won’t be using the £50,000 investment they secured on the BBC One show – they are launching a crowdfund campaign to raise 10 times that amount.
Viewers watched last night, April 8, as the pair became the latest North East business to win over the panel of millionaire entrepreneurs on the Dragons’ Den, gaining a full house of offers matching the investment they went in for.
Having recently moved from the Natwest Accelerator hub to a renovated unit close to Gateshead Stadium, Super U offers a collection of superfood blends that was inspired by the couple’s own personal health struggles.
The couple, who now live in South Shields, had met at Nottingham Trent University, where Ms Bailey was studying law and Mr Ali was taking a business management and economics degree.
Mr Ali had spent part of his studies in America, where he researched natural foods such as acai, baobab, spirulina and acerola, which had become popular in the States in smoothies and protein shakes.
Ms Bailey had been struggling with her health yet it was only after being diagnosed with coeliac disease, and being placed on a strict gluten-free diet, that the pair realised how much her fatigue and digestive issues had been affecting her entire life.
Incorporating superfood blends into her diet gave her a new lease of life, prompting the pair to launch Super U in 2017 to give everyone a chance to sample their benefits.
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After graduating, the pair worked with nutritional experts and doctors in functional medicine to create their own range of products to help support immunity, digestion, skin health, energy and focus.
The resulting Super U blends are certified organic, gluten-free and plant-based with zero sweeteners flavourings or fillers.
The couple’s mission is to make superfoods more accessible for everybody, so the blends – such as Shroom Coffee, Berry Beauty and Clean Greens – can be added into smoothies, shakes, salads, yoghurts and drinks.
After telling the Dragons about the business all five – Sara Davies, Peter Jones, Deborah Meadon, Tej Lalvani and Touker Suleyman - made the same offer of £50,000 for 5% equity.
Mr Ali said: “We prepared for an absolute grilling - but it couldn’t have gone any better on the day.
“We only asked for £50,000 for 5% - we thought we’d be sensible - and Sara Davies went in first and offered us what we went in for, and they all ended up following suit, which was absolutely crazy and we weren’t prepared for that. Peter said we were one of the best he’d seen since Levi Roots. We were in shock I think.”
They eventually negotiated a joint deal with Tej Lalvani and Peter Jones for a £50,000 investment in return for 6% equity.
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Ms Bailey said: “We loved all of the Dragons but we felt they were the best Dragons to help us take our business to the next level. It was difficult to hold it together when we made it back into the lift, “I’m just so grateful that we experienced that together and it’s something we will remember forever.”
However, since the show was filmed last summer, they revealed that the deal for the investment wasn’t completed.
Instead, the pair decided to go alone and will soon launch a crowdfunding campaign on the Seedrs platform to help fund their ambitious plans to get into the US market.
Mr Ali said: “We’ve decided to mutually walk away from the deal and we are preparing for a crowdfunding deal.
“We’re going with Seedrs who we’ve raised with before.
“We’re attempting to raise £550,000 for 10%. Our big plan for this year is to launch in America in August/September time and we just felt that we need the money more."
They had been due to appear on Dragons’ Den a few years ago - but it coincided just as disaster struck a year into the business.
In November 2018, Mr Ali was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, a form of blood cancer, at the age of just 26. After chemotherapy and radiotherapy, he received the all-clear the following July and is still officially in remission.
He said: “I’m back to full health now but that was a bit of a knock. Thankfully the business kept growing and that July when I got the all clear we raised £160,000 for 15% through Seedrs, and since then we’ve really kicked on.
“We finished our third year last year and did just under £500,000 as of last October and are projected to do £1.4m this year but who knows what will happen after being on Dragons’ Den? We’re really hoping it will help the business take off.”