Dragons’ Den: Where to shop the gym in a bag, vitamins and more
Joe Wicks is an honorary dragon this week
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Your support makes all the difference.It’s a new year, and that can mean only one thing: Dragons’ Den is back. The BBC’s beloved business show returns tonight with more guest dragons, quirky pitches and hard-fought deals set to be made in the den.
Fan-favourite Emma Grede, the founding partner of Kim Kardashian’s Skims, returns as an honorary dragon in this series. Joining her are lockdown hero and fitness guru Joe Wicks and beauty mogul Trinny Woodall, the founder of Trinny London, all ready to splash the cash.
Last year’s series introduced guest dragons for the first time and featured the first-ever £1 pitch, but it also sparked controversy over one entrepreneur’s questionable claims about her ear seeds product.
Tonight, Wicks will join the panel, grilling four sets of entrepreneurs alongside Peter Jones, Deborah Meaden, Steven Bartlett, Touker Suleyman and Sara Davies. Here’s everything you need to know about the pitches and where you can buy the businesses’ products.
BodyXCore activity kit: £99.99, Bodyxcore.com
Kicking off the series is Liverpudlian fitness entrepreneur Joseph Keegan who has Wicks firmly in his sights, pitching a portable gym-in-a-bag kit that you can wear. Called the BodyXCore, it adds extra intensity to workouts thanks to a range of wearable workout attachments. But will it get the dragons’ heart racing?
Launched in 2020, Keegan says the idea of the BodyXCore was handed down to him from his mum in a dream, after going through a tough time in his life. Frustrated about not being able to take his gym with him, his agility kit provides the perfect solution.
Costing £99.99, the BodyXCore is a wearable kit designed for all fitness levels, which unlocks more than 20 versatile exercises for strength, flexibility and endurance. As well as the chest harness, it also comes with two wrist straps, two ankle straps, two super bands and one compact band, letting you work out anywhere.
Diso dissolvable vitamins: From £9.99, Mydiso.com
Next up in the den are entrepreneurial cousins Issa and Ash Patel, who are hoping to impress the dragons with their high-absorption vitamins and supplement strips that dissolve on your tongue, without the need to swallow large tablets or dissolve them in water.
Founded in 2023, Diso sells dissolvable multivitamin strips for adults and kids in cranberry or raspberry, as well as sleep aid strips in cherry. It also offers probiotics and collagen strips in berry flavours; B12 in orange mint; caffeine supplements in strawberry; vitamin D3; omega 3 strips and many more. They come in packs of 30 and start from £10 – you can buy them at Boots or from Diso directly.
The brand claims that its vegan and sugar-free dissolvable vitamins work three to four times faster than traditional supplements.
Read more: Best supplements to take, according to experts
Hen Weekend chicken boarding: Henweekendboarding.com
There’s always one really weird pitch every episode, and this week the award goes to chicken-mad Katriona Shovlin, who’s walked into the den with her five-star hotel for hens and ducks business, Hen Weekend. But are the dragons brave enough, or are they too chicken to invest?
According to Shovlin, 1.3 million Brits have hens in their garden, but they don’t get the same luxury as cats or dogs, who can go to catteries or kennels. Described as a “cock-free zone” just for hens (yes, really), Shovlin’s Hen Weekend Chicken Boarding in Upchurch, Kent has been running since 2023.
It boasts a cocktail bar, superfood buffet and a hennymoon suite. Based on the grounds of Shovlin’s family home, she only boards one flock at a time to create a “peaceful and calm environment”.
Laceeze Defiance shoelace bands: £9.99, Amazon.co.uk
Last into the den is Emma Burke, a 42-year-old mum from Bournemouth with two football-mad sons. She’s convinced she’s found the perfect solution to the frustrating problem of laces coming undone during youth sports. But will the dragons agree?
Launched in 2017, Laceeze is a premium silicone, ribbed band that wraps around shoes and the knot in the laces, keeping them tied and in place. Costing £9.99 each, they also come in packs of five for £38, and are available at Amazon and the company’s website.
Defiance is the Laceeze children’s sports clothing and accessories sub-brand, which sells everything from thermal outfield gloves, micro-fibre towels and grip socks to wash bags, snoods, base layers and compression shorts.
Read more: Best kids thermals to keep them warm and cosy
Catch up on all of last year’s Dragons’ Den businesses with our handy round-up