Facing the dragons and firing Flavers
A food delivery business founded by two Maidenhead men featured on BBC’s Dragons’ Den last week.
Shabbir Mookhtiar and Dinesh Patel are the brains behind Flavers UK, a homecooked food delivery platform which launched in 2020.
Formerly known as Cook My Grub, the app has ‘disrupted’ the food delivery market by offering ‘customers an authentic dining experience’ specialising in world cuisines.
The tech entrepreneurs described their TV appearance as an ‘exhilarating experience’ which highlighted their ‘commitment to taking homecooked food delivery mainstream’.
Shabbir said: “We have had a very good customer uptake following the show.
“We’ve had a good service for a while but were missing the brand awareness.
“With economic headwinds being against us, the TV show coming out is a timely boost for our business.
“We’re hoping to build on this visibility and push forward with our growth plans.
“Our initial user base from Maidenhead continues to be staunch supporters of the business and we’re glad to be serving hot meals locally exclusively in our hometown.”
In the episode which aired on BBC One on Thursday February 22, Shabbir and Dinesh were seeking £150,000 from the Dragons for seven per cent of the business.
Dragon Sara Davies summarised Flavers’ pitch and said: “It’s just like going to the supermarket and looking on all the shelves and going, ‘I’ll have that ready meal’ but you’re looking online and then [the home chefs] make it after you’ve bought it.”
Dragon Touker Suleyman responded: “Perhaps I’m spoilt. I don’t go to supermarkets. I don’t buy ready meals.”
Sara Davies quipped: “How the other half live, eh?”
The business works with more than 100 home-based chefs, some preparing family recipes passed down through generations, and has delivered more than 50,000 meals to date.
Customers receive chilled meals prepared by home chefs from more than 15 cuisines including Indian, Korean, Thai, African, Caribbean, Hungarian, and Sri Lankan.
Sara Davies described the company as ‘high risk but high reward’ but was concerned about her investment being ‘diluted’ in the future.
The Dragons wished the pair
the best of luck with their venture but did not invest in the business.
Flavers’ chief marketing officer Sonia Weber said: “It is so rare these days that a startup is truly the pioneer in its segment.
“I have such admiration for the founders who have taken up their personal quest and
built a solution that benefits customers across the UK.”
The owners said the stories behind every chef and dish are shared with customers to 'foster a sense of community and cultural exchange'.
To learn more about the app visit www.Flavers.uk
The episode is now available to watch on BBC iPlayer.