From homeless contestants to would-be entrepreneurs who have to kill their properties to build their businesses, Dragons’ Den is no stranger to a rags-to-riches story.
However, for Matt Kenyon, who presented his business in the BBC series with his wife and business partner Imogen Royall, his journey certainly feels unique.
After leaving school at 16 and spending a decade in construction, Matt’s British magic pasta company, Northern Pasta Co., is now turning over a whopping £1 million a year.
Talk to Subway about his joint £50,000 investment from Peter Jones and Deborah Meaden on the show, Matt said that going into the den was absolutely ‘nerve-wracking’.
‘We did a bit of work beforehand, just things like breathing and calming exercises. That definitely helped,’ he tells me.
‘Obviously when you go in you think, “Well, this could go one of two ways,” and it could potentially be a really bad thing for business.
“There was that nervousness around not knowing how it would be received, or how you would be received.”
However, for Matt, the most surprising element was ‘honestly how positive it all was’.
Since its episode of Dragons’ Den aired, Northern Pasta Co.
Asked about his £1 million turnover target for 2026, Matt adds: ‘Yes, we’re on track for that.
‘With all the opportunities that arise, we are very confident that we will also be able to meet our target next year.’
The rapid growth comes as Northern Pasta Co moved into a new 12,000 sq ft factory in Carnforth, Lancashire.
The new site has allowed the company to dramatically increase production, with capacity increasing from around 2.25 tonnes of pasta a week to 13.5 tonnes.
With his decade of experience in construction, Matt put these trade skills to good use and was personally responsible for overseeing the construction of the company’s new factory.
“The main thing is probably the movement,” he says.
“We moved into a 12,000 sq ft space, which is a lot bigger than where we were before, and it just gave us that flexibility to grow.”
The Dragons’ investment also helped the company purchase new equipment, including a packaging line and extrusion line.
But the sudden growth meant the team had to work hard to keep up with demand.
“It was manic,” says Matt. ‘We just had to really go for it.
“We had hoped to do a little less in the beginning, just to get used to the machine, but we had to jump in at the deep end.”
Despite the success, Matt admits that the scale of the transformation has not always sunk in.
‘It happened quickly,’ he tells me. ‘It didn’t always feel like it, but definitely in hindsight it happened really quickly.
“We can be super proud of what we’ve done and where we’re going.”
However, despite the enormous attention Dragons’ Den has brought the business, Matt says he and Imogen are not interested in simply copying other successful food brands.
“We’re not necessarily trying to emulate others,” he said.
‘We just do what we think is right and of course take people’s advice. We’re just trying to make our own way.’
Dragons’ Den is available on BBC One on Thursdays from 8pm.
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