Dragons' Den contestants with idea branded 'delusional' now worth more than £7,500,000

It takes a lot of guts to brave the Dragon's Den and risk having your business torn to shreds in front of viewers up and down the country.

You'd think the humiliation would lead many wannabe moguls to jack their dreams in and return to the day job, but not always - with several candidates going on to become hugely successful despite receiving a lukewarm response on the BBC series.

As it turns out, being rejected by the Dragons can even be a sign of good luck for your business, with well-known companies such as BrewDog, Tangle Teezer, Trunki and the Tiny Box Company all being ripped to shreds on the show.

And it looks like we could be adding vegan dog food to that list.

A meat-free dog food brand sounds unusual, but hear us out (BBC)

Appearing on the show last year, duo Dr Guy Sandelowsky and Shiv Sivakumar hoped to wow the Dragons with a pitch for Omni, a plant-based dog food brand launched back in 2020.

Now giving an animal typically considered carnivorous a plant-based diet may sound absolutely barking mad, but hear us out on this one.

The pair explained their noble intentions behind the brand, with Sandelowsky explaining that he'd developed the food after encountering 'countless cases of preventable, nutrition-related illnesses' while working as a vet.

However, it was the company's valuation, not the idea of vegan dog food, that really riled up Dragon Touker Souleyman.

The pair were offering 1% of their business in return for an investment of £75,000 - which meant the pair valued their entire business at around £7,500,000.

"I get really, really annoyed when people overvalue their businesses," Peter Jones told the pair, while Souleyman fumed that a 1% stake was something which he 'wouldn’t even get out of bed for'.

Omni has flourished despite Touker Souleyman calling the pair 'delusional' (BBC)

"You’re delusional about what this is really worth," he added.

However, the pair didn't leave the Den without an offer, as their pitch won over Steven Bartlett and plant-based entrepreneur Deborah Meaden, who took a joint 2.5% stake in the business.

The business has only grown since, with the pair recently revealing they believed Omni has now grown in value.

Telling Metro the business was now worth 'so much more' than £7,500,000, Sandelowsky said: "We never imagined the demand that we’re seeing now, we’ve had to re-evaluate our stock levels and the number of people helping with our customer service and packaging, so it’s been really, really positive."

Explaining that Omni's appearance on the show has also had a positive impact on their brand, he added: "Within five years, we’d like to become a household brand.

"So if people discover that their pet has a sensitive tummy or they might be allergy-prone, they’ve given us a go."