‘Why we don’t need the Dragons’ – Approved Food founders fire back
IT’S fair to say that the directors of fast-growing online-only discount retail store Approved Food did not relish their experience under the spotlight in BBC’s Dragon’s Den.
The programme, which aired last night, saw Yorkshire entrepreneurs Andy Needham and Dan Cluderay pitch for a £150,000 investment in return for a 10% stake in their Sheffield-based company. Approved Food specialises in short-dated and residual stock food and drinks products sourced directly from manufacturers and wholesalers.
Despite what Needham himself describes as an “uncomfortable” experience, you can’t help thinking that, despite being rejected for backing from the infamous panel, he and Cluderay have had the last laugh.
The duo, who set up the business six years ago, have attracted £400,000 from investors in and around Yorkshire, including HSBC, Sheffield-based UK Steel Enterprises, and crowdfunding platform Funding Circle since the show was filmed in May last year, resulting in impressive growth and expansion.
Approved Food, which has a 50-strong workforce, is now the UK’s biggest online retailer of close to, and past. best-before date food and drink, and sales continue to soar, with turnover reaching £4m in the year to December thanks to a growing customer base in both the UK and abroad.
A significant investment in a new 60,000 sq ft site is the company’s fourth move in just six years, each site three times as large as the last.
Its new home at the former Booker Cash & Carry unit is close to Sheffield Parkway and is easily accessible for Approved’s rapidly growing click & collect service.
Last year, the company shipped around 115,000 orders to tens of thousands of people across the country – resulting in a combined saving of more than £8.1m for its customers.
“It’s not an exaggeration to say the experience was rather traumatic, the hot lights, cameras etc are a far cry from your usual meeting room. I don’t regret the decision to go on, but it seems the programme is more interested in snippets of entertainment and opportunities to trip people up than anything else,” Needham said.
Cluderay added: “At one point we were criticised for having too low profit margins, but that is exactly what Approved Food is built on – value and convenience for our customers who are our priority.”
“I suppose a bunch of millionaires aren’t that bothered about saving fifteen quid on their weekly shop but I’m sure many people viewing the programme on a Sunday night are, and that is what we do – we help people save,” Needham said.
One Dragon suggested they should consider rebranding to ‘Old Food’.
“It soon became clear to us both that the Dragons didn’t understand our business model and what we were about,” added Mr Needham.
As Approved Food continues to go from strength to strength, with further growth in the pipeline, it begs the question whether the Den is past its best-before-date.
