Defying the Dragons Pays off for Duo
12 December 2007
DEFYING THE DRAGONS PAYS OFF FOR DUO
This Monday sees two mums return to national TV screens as cameras revisit businesses featured in the latest series of BBC2’s Dragons’ Den. Having turned down offers of £100k investment from the dragons, the pair and their ingenious Cuddledry baby bath towel offer an inspiring tale of how to defy the dragons, go it alone and succeed regardless. See Dragons’ Den on BBC2 at 9pm Monday 17 December to find out more.
Over 3 million people watched just seven weeks ago as Polly Marsh and Helen Wooldridge dramatically turned down the offers for the full £100,000 investment they sought for their innovative Cuddledry baby bath towel. Yet since filming, Cuddledry Ltd, based in Somerset, has gone from strength to strength, and even before the programme aired this local business - set up by two long term friends and working mums – was well on its way to global trading.
Since filming the business has grown dramatically, with direct sales increasing by tenfold; the latest shipment of 5000 sold before it even landed in the UK; over 40 new retailers on board (including BabiesRUs) and international expansion firmly underway (in Australia, France, Sweden, Ireland, and the Netherlands, to name a few). The Cuddledry baby bath towel has also won another award – the Practical Parenting ‘Best Buy’, and in this year’s Mother and Baby Magazine Awards was a runner up for Most Innovative Product to long established brand Silver Cross pushchairs.
And most exciting for Cuddledry, is its range of gorgeous new products due for launch early next year. “And I have to say it, these were in the pipeline long before James Caan said he could see a whole range for Cuddledry!” laughs Polly. A sneak preview of some of the products can be seen on Monday’s programme, as the camera crew visited the latest Cuddledry photo shoot to capture the action.
“They came to our photo shoot, featuring numerous small children and also a dog – the classic set up for the old adage, ‘don’t work with animals and children!”, says Helen, “We had Cuddlebugs, Cuddlemoos and even Doggydry taking part – all great fun and also very exciting for the business. These new products have been created in response to genuine demand – not only do parents whose babies have loved their Cuddledry towels want toddler towels as they grow, but they also want clever towels for their dogs! Watch the programme to see what we mean!”
“Taking part in Dragons Den has given us even more confidence in our products and our business”, say Helen and Polly, “And we have learned a great deal from the experience. But we are so pleased to have said no to the offers and to have retained our equity. We are proud to be proving that a small business can achieve fast growth, even without Dragon investment, and we look forward to a very exciting 2008”.
The Cuddledry® towel retails at £24.99 and comes in a two-tone soft oatmeal and cream colour, natural white, and soft pink or blue. For more details of this and the new products on their way soon see www.cuddledry.com
ENDS
For more information contact:
Abby Richardson on 07876 378 733 or Helen Wooldridge on 07917 453328