Is Tasty Mates Still in Business? (2026 Update)
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Look for Tasty Mates on AmazonFull story →Joe Woolf set out to prove plant-based gummies didn't have to compromise on taste or texture, pitching his vegan sweet range into series 21, episode 8.
The brand is still trading and has grown well past where it stood on pitch night.
One Dragon with an obvious next move
Woolf wanted £60,000 for a fifth of the business, and Peter Jones funded it in full. Given how many years Jones has spent putting consumer goods onto real shelves, he made a sensible sole backer for a sweet brand whose next obvious step was simply landing more listings.
A single-Dragon deal tends to mean a more direct working relationship, and Jones's retail contacts in particular tend to open doors fast for founders ready to move once the ink is dry.
Riding two trends at once
Vegan confectionery sits at the crossing point of plant-based eating and better-for-you snacking, both of which retail buyers have been actively trying to expand into rather than needing convincing to stock, a genuine tailwind a lot of food pitches never get.
Owning the factory floor instead of leaning on a third party to manufacture everything also handed the company more say over cost and quality, an expensive setup at first but one that pays for itself once larger orders start rolling in.
From one gummy line to a licensing deal
Holland & Barrett and Ocado both now stock it, the brand sells into America and Australia, and it runs its own production line out of a factory in Spain.
It has also picked up a white-label agreement making Paddington Bear branded gummies, a genuinely strong result this soon out of a television pitch for a category otherwise ruled by a small number of giant manufacturers.