A York entrepreneur made a dramatic entrance on Dragons’ Den last night (Wednesday).
Peter Taylor brought two ferocious Vikings with him, who battled ‘to the death’ in front of the startled dragons on the BBC One hit show.
That’s because Peter, from York, is the founder of Nidhoggr Mead, which is a maker of mead, the favourite drink of the Vikings. And he was looking for investment to take his business to the next level.
Viewers saw him ask the dragons for £80,000 in exchange for a 5% equity stake in his company.
He told them: “I first discovered mead when I got into Viking Age reenactments and discovered that real mead is a sweet and delicious alcoholic drink made from fermented honey.
“I started making it in my house as a hobby. And then two years ago, I turned my passion into a business.
“Now, we are a team of seven with a meadery and warehouse in Pocklington, near York, and stocked in many places around the UK, including the National Trust, the Jorvik centre and have just gained a listing with Morrison’s.”
Peter also showed the dragons the Viking hammer known as a Mjölnir that he had on a chain round his neck.
He told Deborah Meaden: “When I say I’m a Viking, I mean, I’m a Viking. It’s how I met my wife – I killed her dad on the battlefield at the Battle of Stamford Bridge.
“Not literally, obviously. I met his daughter, we got married last August. And this, in fact, was my wedding gift from my wife.”
He also revealed his career history. He was in the military until the age of 21. After leaving, he “bounced around quite a few different jobs” due to his ADHD.
But he now uses his ADHD as a “superpower” to drive Nidhoggr Mead, which is his passion.
The dragons loved the mead. But they were unconvinced by the projected profits. Last year, the business had a turnover of £326K with a net profit of £2,100.
Peter pointed out that everything Viking was hugely popular, with millions tuning in to shows like Game Of Thrones.
However, dragon Touker Suleyman was sceptical of Peter’s valuation of the company at £1.6 million.
Peter Jones, meanwhile, felt his margins would be forced down as he scaled the business up. And despite her name, Deborah Meaden also opted out – because she is a vegan and felt she couldn’t “shout about” this product.
In the end, none of the dragons chose to invest in Nidhoggr Mead – although Steven Bartlett told him: “I commend you and I have to say, it tastes really good.”
Peter was undaunted, telling the programme: “We’re just going to keep pushing forward, keep doing what we’re doing. The sky’s the limit really.”
And right now, you can use the code “dragons” to get ten per cent off your drink at the Nidhoggr Mead website.
- Watch this episode of Dragons’ Den on the BBC iPlayer here