Following an appearance on Dragon's Den, Lancashire-based preserve business Granny Marmalade has been reinvented and seen sales surge.
Although airing on 22nd February 2015 on BBC2, it was actually in May 2014 that Nikki Frith and her business partner Lindsey Oldroyd presented their business, Granny Marmalade to the Dragons.
And, although Nikki and Lindsey didn't walk away with the £50k investment they were after, they did leave with new ideas that have shaped the business and seen it expand internationally in the last few months.
“It was a brilliant experience,” says Nikki. “The Dragon's said they really liked us, our products and ethos, but the branding just wasn't right. They also felt it would only ever be a regional product. However, despite failing to receive the investment we wanted, we walked away with new purpose and a desire to rethink our branding and marketing strategy.”
In just three short months, Nikki and Lindsey completely reinvented Granny Marmalade, relaunching as Granny Cool, with modern, eye-catching branding and a determination to expand nationally and prove the Dragons wrong.
Over the last six months Granny Cool has gained lucrative listings with high-end supermarket chain, Booths, London deli Partridges, Natural Kitchen and world-wide renowned, Dean and Deluca in Kuwait, as well as other stockists throughout the UK. There are even talks of exporting to the US.
“We've come such a long way in a really short space of time,” explains Nikki. “Going on Dragon's Den has really helped us improve our brand and expand our business in a way we'd never thought of before. Becoming Granny Cool is the best thing we could have done and our sales have increased by double.
“We're looking forward to seeing the show when it airs in February, but the brand we'll be presenting couldn't be more different to where we are today. I'm sure the Dragons would be impressed with how far Granny Cool has come,” she concludes.
