Member Article

£50k Dragons’ Den win for Sheffield ice cream entrepreneur

Sheffield ice cream maker Yee Kwan won a £50k investment from Deborah Meaden in return for a 30% share of her business on last night’s Dragons’ Den.

Yee Kwan’s firm makes 18 Asian flavoured ice creams and five sorbets including green tea ice cream and lime and lemongrass sorbet.

The firm, based in Sheffield city centre, employs five, has a turnover of £100k.

Customers include Harvey Nichols and a host of hotels. But a stall she opened in The Moor Market in December 2013 closed in April last year due to “lack of footfall,” she said.

In the end she had offers from two Dragons, including Kelly Hoppen, underlining the strength of her offer.

She told The Star: “They were really nice to me, I was quite shocked, I was ready to be grilled - I’d memorised all the financial figures - but the product sold itself. It was very interesting to watch it again because the day is a distant memory.

“Deborah’s got a really great track record and she’s a very successful entrepreneur, she’s been very, very supportive.

“I was offering 20% of the business, but obviously she’s a hard-nosed negotiator and in return I have got her expertise, experience and advice.

“The money will help us purchase new capital equipment and grow the business quicker but more importantly Deborah’s guidance will take us to another level. It’s a dream come true!

“I’ve had to keep it quiet all this time, only my close family and friends know.

“It’s been torture to be honest.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Clare Burnett .