It looked to me like the government was just burying its head in the sand and not being able to rise to the challenge.

Jenny has been a fantastic partner and she is still really involved in the company today, added Liam. But a day or two after them both losing their jobs, the show approached them again and their offer was accepted. Jenny has taken a 33.3% stake in the business, with the promise of helping them to reduce costs and increase production, so they can offer the right price point to take their gin to bigger retailers and restaurant and bar chains.But their efforts were nearly scuppered before they even entered the lair at Old Granada Studios when they accidentally washed out their gin glasses with foul-smelling stagnant water.

It was also despite pivoting to producing millions of bottles worth of hand sanitiser at the height of the pandemic, all before of a single tweet. Read More Related Articles I was approached by the Mayor's office and then Sacha Lord who said the NHS were struggling to get any hand sanitiser and I thought maybe we could make some," Liam said. Dragons' Den investors Touker Suleyman, Jenny Campbell, Deborah Meaden, Tej Lalvani and Peter Jones (Image: BBC/Andrew Farrington)Entrepreneurs Liam Manton and Mark Smallwood had just three minutes to convince Peter Jones, Deborah Meaden, Touker Suleyman, Jenny Campbell and Tej Lalvani their small batch spirit was worthy of their cash.

The range saw success last summer with flavours including passion fruit gin liqueur and Parma Violet Shimmer Gin. When friends Liam Manton and Mark Smallwood went for a drink at a pub in Didsbury five years ago, they never could have imagined it would lead to a letter from the King. Vitamin company CEO Tej Lalvani also made the pair an offer but they said they felt an instant chemistry with gin-lover Jenny's 'no-nonsense northern personality'.We went down to London but the day before the show was due to record it was the Man Utd-Arsenal match. Inspired by the summer, the liqueur has a hint of shimmer and features flavours including raspberry jelly and creamy vanilla and custard. Simon Wood said: "We’ve been big fans of Didsbury Gin from day one at my restaurant Wood Manchester. I love to support local brands and when Liam and Mark asked if I wanted to collaborate with them, I couldn’t wait to make Tutti Frutti into a gin! Read More Related Articles

And if vodka is your tipple of choice, Aldi will also be selling a strawberry and watermelon crush flavoured vodka liqueur. Six months later, and Alderman's Didsbury Gin had appeared on the shelves of Harvey Nicholls. And, after an appearance on Dragon's Den three years ago, the business spiralled with the help of a five-figure investment from dragon, Jenny Campbell. Obviously Old Granada Studios isn't in full time use and it was just from a water tank. The glasses all smelled of eggs. If we hadn't had that last minute practice to make sure, we'd have served them G&Ts that smelled like rotten eggs.In the episode, the pair were told by Deborah Meaden they were on the "tail-end of the comet" and that they should not have been learning lessons from other businesses who had "got in" three years earlier. Read More Related Articles Mark said: "We skirted around disaster about five minutes before going on. We had an idea we should practise the measures and we had some brand new glassware which we had washed out in the sink. Since then, the company has gone from strength to strength. In November 2020, the membership club hit 100,000 members – boosted by the rise in at-home drinking. Their business hasn't been immune to the cost of living crisis though, with increasing volatility around energy prices and the cost of goods rising. But Liam is confident he has the right team and right product to weather the storm. It really wasn't that detailed to be honest, just a few words and numbers but we got away with it."