‘Dragon’s Den’ review: Thirsty Buddha, Karu Design Sport Bikinis, and the Carbon Farmer update
“Dragon’s Den” fans, the future is here … sort of. If your idea of a future is a dystopian world where you have healthier beverage options and more economic toilet paper, but you also have to deal with random limousine services in other countries, and some random bank that you have to go to in order to get your keys. It was a fun episode; not one where you could take every deal all that seriously, but fun nonetheless.
If you’re new to our “Dragon’s Den” reviews, we’ve included links to all of the products shown on the show below (if they have a website). Of course, these perspectives are just based on what we’d want to buy, and what looks like an absolutely awful idea for any business.
Silk N’ Soft Bathroom Tissue – For around the same price as regular bathroom tissue, you can get some made out of bamboo. A great choice when it comes to the environment, especially when you are also talking about how they have a couple of other products that are also made from the stuff. We just hope that the name of this TP fits the brand, since there’s nothing worse than buying “soft” toilet paper that’s not actually soft.
There was no better partner here for the two guys running this business than Jim Treliving and Arlene Dickinson; while 35% for $200,000 was higher than some other offers, these two understand marketing and franchising. When Jim can get this stuff in restaurants overnight, it’s a win. Not only that, but Arlene will really push the environment button here hard.
Empress Limousines – This was a completely nutty pitch. You are really going to ask for $200,000 for a limousine service in China? There is just not a market for this. At all. Especially in Canada. This guy really just needs to go over there, try to get his business off the ground, and then try to market it there. Nobody’s really sitting there watching this show thinking “oh boy, where can I get a limo for when I go to China?” No deal.
Thirsty Buddha – Awesome name, nice packaging, and a product that is super-popular right now in coconut water. Health nuts will probably love it, but the problem here is that there are already a thousand or so coconut water products out there that people also love. That’s both a blessing (the market is there) and a curse (it’s already packed).
We feel for the company and these guys who went in feeling so good, but we have to admit that we laughed when they tried to negotiate their way to getting four dragons to come into a deal. Such a rookie mistake! Basically, they fumbled in their own end zone. What a terrible choke job that proved that you can’t be greedy in the den, even when you’ve got something that looks delicious and could sell.
Double Keys Bank – We’ll start here by trying to have some sympathy here for the man running this business. It’s pretty clear at least to us that English is not his first language, and he’s not exactly business savvy. Now what we’ve said that, this is just insane and unintentionally hilarious. This guy seriously is wanting a million bucks for an idea that would have been great in 1945, and he really just wants to take his money and leave rather than help with the building process. There’s almost a part of him with his “branded” umbrella (which had nothing to do with anything) that probably knew that this was awful … or at least we hope.
There was a brief little update in here for the Carbon Farmer from last season, which is doing very well for itself. We also wish that “Shark Tank” in America had more environmentally-conscious brands on its show.
Karu Design Sport Bikinis – A very, very smart idea, and easily the best one of the entire episode. While not every woman out there is going to wear a sports bikini, it’s perfect for athletes who want to train to play volleyball or surf, or people who just want to be active without running into a wardrobe malfunction issue. The founder managed to get $100,000 for 40% of her company from Arlene, and while there is a royalty attached, it’s only until Arlene gets her money back. We really think the only reason this isn’t selling well right now is just because consumers don’t know it exists. The potential is there, and the deal is reasonable.
If you do want to see some more highlights from “Dragon’s Den” this season, we suggest to you to head on over to the link here.
Photo: CBC