We sauced £50,000 boost on Dragons’ Den London market stall couple win deal to branch out nationwide
A COUPLE who sold Korean-style food and sauces on a London market stall have received a £50,000 investment on Dragons ’ De n — opening the way for their products to be stocked in the nation’s supermarkets.
Ben Ansah and Sue Youn, both 34, successfully pitched three of their Yogiyo sauces to the Dragons in an episode of the BBC show aired last night. They now hope to emulate the success of Brixton’s Levi Roots whose Re g gae Re g gae Sauce bec ame a bestseller after he appeared on the programme.
The couple, who live in Forest Hill, south-east London, met while travelling and teaching Engli sh in Ms Youn’s native South Korea.
They were inspired to start their firm when they came back to the UK for a holiday in 2011 and realised there was a huge lack of Koreaninspired food available.
When they returned for good in 2013, they used their savings to start a street food stall in Leather Lane market in Holborn, selling dishes inspired by Ms Youn’s mother’s home cooking.
When customers started asking for bottles of their sauces, the pair realised the potential of the business. Mr Ansah said they decided to appear on the show as their growing firm needed investment to expand. Telecoms tycoon Peter Jones agreed to give them £50,000 in exchange for 33 per cent of their business.
The range includes a cooking and dipping sauce based on Gochu Jang, a fermented chilli paste, and Galbi, a classic Korean meat marinade.
The products, all priced at £2.20 per bottle, will be stocked in 450 Sainsbury’s stores from October.
Mr Ansah told the Standard: “The Korean food trend is just getting bigger and bigger and we needed investment to get our company to the next stage.
“It’s all happened quite quickly — just three years ago we were setting up a humble food stall and now we are in 450 supermarkets across the country. It’s a bit mad. Facing the Dragons was scary. But they were firm but fair. Levi Roots has been so successful and we are obviously also a sauce company. But we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves. If we are even a fraction as successful as him it will be huge for us.”
Mr Jones said: “What appealed to me most with Yogiyo was how Ben and Sue have taken their genuine passion and talent for the food from their heritage and turned it into a credible and marketable brand that has come along exactly at the right time for the UK.”
‘It’s all happened quite quickly. Facing the Dragons was scary... they were firm but fair’
Ben Ansah