As the hit BBC show Dragons’ Den returns for its 20th series, many viewers may be wondering if any of the ingenious and inventive ideas from the reality television program have gone on to be a success story. Despite Peter Jones saying there was “no value” to the idea, Hungry House has been ranked one of the “biggest missed opportunities,” in the Den.
Hungryhouse.co.uk was an online takeaway food order and delivery service founded in 2006.
It allowed users to search for restaurants and browse local takeaway menus before placing an order online and being delivered by the restaurant with a small service charge for using their service.
Co-founders Shane Lake and Tony Charles entered the Den in 2007 seeking a £100,000 investment in exchange for 11 percent equity in the business.
Although Peter Jones and Deborah Meaden quickly opted out of doing business with the duo, offers of £100,000 were eventually received from Duncan Bannatyne and James Caan.
READ MORE: Dragons’ Den’s ‘biggest missed opportunity’ sold for £200m – cast said it had ‘no value’
Sadly for these two Dragons, this investment would later collapse, with a higher funding offer of £150,000 coming from an alternative source.
The online fast-food ordering service would quickly become a household name during the next decade, with the company logo plastered on takeaway windows up and down the country.
In just a few years, they were able to increase their restaurant partners from 150 in 2007 to over 2,500 in September 2010.
In February 2013, it was announced that hungryhouse was to be bought by the Berlin-based food ordering giant Delivery Hero, which operates in 16 countries and has a total of 60,000 restaurant partners.
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The team at Betway have taken a look back through the years to reveal the “best creations” to come from the show.
While not all of the pitches and products receive investments, some have gone on to become hugely successful businesses in their own right.
By 2016, hungryhouse claimed over 10,000 restaurant partners on its platform and operated in most major cities across the UK.
In 2018, hungryhouse merged with its competitor JustEat and ceased trading under the hungryhouse moniker.
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The online takeaway service was acquired for £200million, spelling out a huge win for the business-savvy Shane Lake and Tony Charles.
With a whole 19 series already under the show’s belt and plenty more pitches from budding entrepreneurs to come, there have been plenty of innovative inventions and ideas to pass through the den across the years.
Yahoo! News listed hungryhouse as one of the “biggest missed opportunities” in the Den as it achieved great success.
The Dragons haven’t always spotted a good deal, with many of the hundreds of products featured on the show seeing success without the aid of the Dragons.
Another success story that came from the Den was Reggae Reggae sauce.
Initially, the Dragons’ found errors in the pitch, stating “this is not right”, however, the brand is now worth millions.
Founder of the sauce Levi Roots appeared in the Den in 2007 asking for £50,000 for a 20 percent stake in the homemade sauce. Peter Jones and Richard Farleigh invested £50,000 for 40 percent equity in the company.
Despite the lack of faith from Duncan Bannatyne, Reggae Reggae sauce is now sold worldwide and is now worth more than £30million.
New episodes of Dragons’ Den are available on Thursdays at 8pm on BBC One.
