Levi Roots received £50,000 from Dragons' Den investors for his Reggae Reggae Sauce business.
Roots, whose real name is Keith Valentine Graham, appeared on the British programme with his Caribbean-style sauce. He secured investment from Peter Jones and Richard Farleigh in exchange for an equity share in the business. The deal helped turn a festival and market product into a much larger commercial brand.
The investment is one of the programme’s best-known success stories because the product expanded into supermarkets and related food lines. Roots also became a television personality and author, while the sauce brand remained closely linked to his stage name and musical identity.
People sometimes remember the pitch as involving a different amount because the entrepreneur’s valuation, requested investment and final deal terms are separate figures. The canonical cash investment was £50,000. The relevant business was the Reggae Reggae Sauce brand, not every later product associated with Levi Roots.