Posted: 4th September 2017
Many entrepreneurs dream about having their moment facing the fierce Dragon’ Den investors, but for Herefordshire based, Rayeesa Asghar-Sandys, founder of the curry sauce brand ‘Spiced by Rayeesa’, it was something she never saw herself doing. Rayeesa, a former Met police officer turned entrepreneur, found out when she appeared on BBC Two’s Dragons’ Den.
“I remember watching the show when it started years ago and thinking that I could never do that, but do you know what? Never say never!”
Known as ‘The Spiced Girl’, Rayeesa brought her own heat to the Den when she gave her pitch inviting investment into her frozen curry sauce business.
“The reaction I got from the Dragons was great – they loved the sauces” says Rayeesa.
After a confident pitch, Rayeesa then faced fiery questioning, starting with Touker Suleyman who dived into the figures.
“I think I remembered all the right figures. The hours of rehearsing paid off, but it was very intense when you get these questions fired at you. I tried to remember my old police skills and kept calm and listened carefully”
Although she did not walk away with any offers of investment, she received high praise from all the Dragons.
Peter Jones, although very complimentary about the product itself, was concerned that it would require a bigger budget to market to the supermarkets. New dragon, Tej Lalvani advised Rayeesa to aim at online retailers and build the brand by marketing online through blogs.
“I was disappointed that no Dragon was willing to take a chance” says Rayeesa. “Innovators are risk takers and go where others have not been before so I’m confident of our product and know in time, it will make it, with or without the Dragons.”
