Dragons’ Den viewers slam ‘snobby’ couple after they ‘sneered’ that their vegan meal kit customers are not the ‘types who shop at Lidl’

• Will Moxham and Hilary Kennedy, from London, pitched their business in the den
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Dragon’s Den viewers slammed a ‘snobby’ couple who appeared on the programme last night pitching their vegan meal kits for ‘sneering’ about those who shop at budget supermarkets.

Will Moxham and Hilary Kennedy, from London, appeared on the BBC1 show yesterday to pitch their brand Planthood, a subscription service for plant based meal kits, to the dragons.

However when Touker Suleyman questioned why Brits would pay £45 for a meal kit when they could buy the ingredients for less than £20 in Lidl, Will retorted: ‘I wouldn’t use Lidl as a benchmark for our service. It’s just not going to happen – the type of people who, up until this point, are paying a premium for this service, are not going to drop this and go to Lidl and plan their meals every week.

‘I don’t think you’re putting yourself into our consumer’s shoes.’

Many of those watching were left unimpressed by the exchange, with one writing: ‘I despise Lidl but I despise snobs even more. How dare you sneer at people that shop there.’

Dragon’s Den viewers slammed ‘snobby’ Will Moxham and Hilary Kennedy, from London, who appeared on the programme last night pitching their vegan meal kits for ‘sneering’ about those who shop at budget supermarkets

Meanwhile another wrote: ‘Stuck up vegan p*****, what’s wrong with Lidl?’

A third added: ‘Get the feeling he doesn’t shop at Lidl often.’

A fourth commented: ‘Aldi and Lidl have both won supermarket of the year within the last two years, maybe he should get his head from his a****.’

As the pair entered the den last night, Will said: ‘We’re bringing in something really delicious and we really want to show the Dragons a new way of eating.’

‘We really believe in what we’re doing and we’re excited to talk about our business and show it at it’s best.’

Hilary said: ‘It’s all plants, and it’s putting them at the forefront of what we  eat.’

They entered the den and asked for £75,000 for a 2.5 per cent share in their business.

Will said: ‘We all want to eat more plants, but changing our eating habits is really hard.’

The pair explained that their meal kits are 100 per cent plant based – with the chefs doing all the hard work, cooking sauces and garnishes from scratch.

The couple claimed it meant all their dishes could be cooked in 15 minutes or less at home.

It’s a subscription service, and customers choose a new menu every week.

Many of those watching were left unimpressed by the couple’s attitude towards the budget supermarket, branding them ‘snobby’ 

The Dragons were invited to look through a sample box, as well as trying a selection of the meals. 

However Touker immediately questioned their valuation of their business, saying: ‘I’m very excited that you’ve got a valuation of £2.9 million. Let’s start with the numbers.’ 

Touker felt the numbers didn’t line up, saying: ‘How did you get this valuation? It’s what the brand is worth today.

‘You’re in a subscription model business, which will be the first to go when the recession hits.’

The couple explained a box which contained three meals for two people, their biggest seller,  was £45 per week. 

William said he was charging a premium because the box comes partly prepared.

In a fiery exchange, Touker asked: ‘If I went into Lidl, what would I pay for that?’ 

Will said he didn’t believe his customers would stop buying the meal kit and start shopping at Lidl, adding: ‘It’s not going to happen.’ 

However Touker retorted: ‘A lot of people are going to look at this and say, I could buy this in the supermarket for £20.

Touker Suleyman questioned why Brits would pay £45 for a meal kit when they could buy the ingredients for less than £20 in Lidl

In a fiery exchange with the businessman, Will told him he didn’t believe his customers would stop buying the meal kit and start shopping at Lidl

Will said they planned to raise £600,000, which would take them to positive cash flow within 18 months

And after Will told Touker he ‘wasn’t putting himself in the shoes of the consumer’, the businessman said: ‘I am your consumer. 

‘There is nothing there that I can’t buy. Things are tough, interest rates have just gone up. A lot of people, their mortgage will have doubled…they will say, “I could buy that for £20.”‘

Meanwhile they told Peter Jones they had put about £150,000 into their own savings and £150,000 from a friends and family raise.

Will said they planned to raise £600,000, which would take them to positive cash flow within 18 months.

He explained they had had ‘very positive’ conversations with investors who were interested in investing in the recipe box space.

However a number of dragons decided not to invest in the box, despite praising the couple for the concept of the business.

Stephen Bartlett said he was interested in the investing, but told the pair he would want a larger per cent of the company.

He explained he wanted 7.5 per cent of the company for £75,000 – and the couple ended up accepting the offer. 

Will said: ‘Pretty incredible. We got what we needed.’

Hilary added: ‘We’re getting married in two weeks, so this is just an unbelievable gift to have.’       

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