A gluten free baker lands a sweet deal on BBC's Dragons' Den

An Australian entrepreneur has won over Tej Lalvani of BBC’s Dragons’ Den with her range of gluten free cakes on last night’s show (October 15).

Sarah Hilleary, 35, who is the founder of luxury bakery B-Tempted - which has previously supplied for the royal family - left the Den with an offer of £75k.

Hilleary created the company in 2009, when she realised there were few quality bakes on the market for those with food intolerances, like herself. This was when she had the idea to create bite-sized, gluten free treats with fine ingredients like Belgian chocolate. But her idea did not come without difficulties.

She commented: “The whole experience was a massive learning curve for me. I realised how naïve I had been and wished I had had the foresight to choose investors that were better aligned with my vision for the brand.

“But perhaps, more importantly, it taught me how resilient I am and how determined I am to turn my business into a massive global success. The only way to achieve that is not to give up when the going gets tough.”

Hilleary moved to the UK in 2005 after completing a business degree at the University of Technology in Sydney, landing a job as a fund manager in London.

A completely self-taught baker, she started making cakes in her kitchen, and tested out recipes on her flatmates and sold them at Greenwich market. It wasn’t long before her talent was spotted by buyers at high-end and boutique stores where she began supplying on a regular basis.

However like many entrepreneurs, Sarah’s business journey has had many hiccups. An investor dispute in 2011 forced her to liquidate her original bakery business and bid to buy back the company assets so she could continue to trade.

Furthermore, out of the blue her application to renew her UK visa was denied and she was faced with the possibility of being sent back to Australia and losing everything she had worked to build. On top of that, Sarah’s father suffered a heart attack the same year and she was unable to leave the country to visit him.

The experience left her saddened but, in 2012, determined to build on the success of her brand and with her father well again and visa dispute settled, Sarah successfully made a bid to buy back her company from the investors and relaunched.

During her experience in the Den, Hilleary found herself fighting back tears and struggling to keep her composure as Peter Jones grilled her about being faced with the possibility of being kicked out of the country.

She explained: “Peter is very intuitive and picked up on the fact that the last few years have not been a piece of cake for me, personally or professionally.

“Until I went into the Den I had underestimated the psychological impact it had on me. I felt that Tej really understood my business and I was grateful that he chose to focus on the success of B-Tempted and shared my vision of what the business could achieve in the future.”

Hilleary has ambitious plans for B-Tempted. Her products have been well received by the industry and public and have won numerous Great Taste Awards. The company bakes from a fully dedicated gluten free and SALSA-accredited site in Leytonstone, East London.

The company’s next stage is growth, with investment in equipment, marketing and working capital. Currently in talks with Tesco to supply 150 of their ‘Express’ stores, Hilleary also has plans to increase production volume, launch new flavours and expand into European markets in 2018.

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