A company that won the support of Dragons’ Den in 2023 is now worth a staggering £140million, just two years after appearing on the show.
Marisa Poster and Teddie Levenfiche, founders of matcha firm PerfectTed, have made history by securing the show’s biggest ever payday by offering an alternative to high-caffeine energy drinks such as Red Bull.
Levenfiche and Poster impressed the dragons when they appeared on the show, with two of the panel, Steven Bartlett and Peter Jones, ultimately purchasing a five percent stake in the company for £50,000.
Just two years after the pair secured the life-changing investment, PerfectTed has now ‘grown rapidly’ and gained the best returns for the dragons in the show’s history.
It was reported today that the company is worth £140million and has recently secured further investment from the venture capital firm Felix Capital.
Back in May, it was already predicting a huge £30million of annual revenue, with bosses adding it was working towards ‘£100million’.
PerfectTed prides itself on its range of healthy, matcha-based energy drinks made from all natural ingredients that provide customers with a boost without any of the caffeine of traditional energy drinks.
The firm claims to be the largest supplier of matcha products in Europe and recently revealed its ambition to become the world’s first billion-dollar matcha brand.
Marisa Poster and Teddie Levenfiche, founders of matcha firm PerfectTed, have made history by securing the show’s biggest ever payday by offering an alternative to high-caffeine energy drinks such as Red Bull
A company that won the support of Dragons’ Den in 2023 is now worth a staggering £140 million
PerfectTed has now ‘grown rapidly’ with the help of the dragons after being founded just four years ago
Its success has seen it branch out from drinks to also provide coffee machine pods, flavoured matcha and latte products.
Having been founded in 2021 with £250,000 of the founder duo’s own savings, it has achieved exponential growth in just four years.
This has been achieved with the help of major UK supermarkets and health stores, with PerfectTed drinks now stocked in retailers including Waitrose, Holland & Barrett, and Whole Foods.
The firm’s products are now being sold in over 50 countries and in more than 30,000 stores worldwide.
The company has also secured partnerships with high street coffee chains including Cafe Nero and Joe and the Juice.
And even before PerfectTed caught the eye of the dragons, Poster and Levenfiche had secured the backing of retail giant Tesco.
The dragons were instrumental in the company’s success, with Bartlett’s investment fund, Flight Fund, said to have allowed the company to significantly scale up its operation.
The FEBE Growth 100 list said that the brand had achieved a whopping 532 per cent growth year-on-year.
Marissa told The Grocer: ‘This is more than just an investment – it’s fuel for our mission to make matcha accessible to everyone.’
The outlet reports that it is now the largest matcha brand in Europe.
The company’s founders, Teddie Levenfiche and Marisa Poster, impressed the dragons when they appeared on the show, with Steven Bartlett and Peter Jones ultimately purchasing a 5 percent stake in the company for £50,000
If the PerfectTed drinks look familiar to you from more than just the show, they are now stocked in several well-known retailers including Waitrose, Holland & Barrett, and Whole Foods
Following the success of its initial offering, the company has moved into the production of matcha lattes and powder.
PerfedTed is said to be a ‘driving force’ behind the drink’s growing popularity in the UK.
However, while the entrepreneurs, who were just 25 when they appeared on the show, impressed the dragons, they did not go down so well with viewers of the show.
Teddy and Marissa asked the dragons for £50,000 for a 5 per cent stake in their Perfect Ted business on the BBC 1 show.
They said they had put £250,000 of their own savings into the business, which sells natural energy drinks made using matcha, as well as raising £125,000 from family.
The dragons were impressed by their pitch, with all five business people vying for a stake in the company.
Despite the dragons being blown away by Teddy and Marissa, many of those watching were less than impressed, with one writing: ‘Did geezer say by the age of 25, he’d saved £250k?? Just say you’re privileged.’
Meanwhile another commented: ‘Having been on Dragons Den, I look at the journey fairly closely, what did they sacrifice?
‘The matcha people were great, but being able to raise £125k from family is privileged. Fair play, I’m sure they will be a huge success.’
Dragons’ Den airs on BBC One and is available to stream on iPlayer.
