Peter And Steven Invest In Russell + Atwell Via Dragons Den.

“Russell & Atwell‘s Fresh Salted Caramel chocolates really sealed the deal for me,” said Steven Bartlett following his decision to invest alongside Peter Jones.

“I’ve seen a lot of chocolate businesses come through the Den, but NOTHING has tasted like Russell & Atwell,” added Peter Jones himself.

Last night on Dragons’ Den, Steve Russell and Giles Atwell (the chocolate loving duo behind Russell & Atwell) offered the Dragons 9% of the business, in exchange for a £90,000 investment, coining: “imagine if we can do for chocolate, what Innocent did for smoothies?”

After a lengthy discussion around margins, manufacturing and costs, Steven Bartlett opened the table, by making the first offer (£90,000 in exchange for 30% of the business), which triggered more offers from ALL FIVE Dragons.

Wait. There’s more (see below).

After a fierce round of deliberation, the duo agreed to enter into a deal with both Steven Bartlett and Peter Jones, who offered the entrepreneurs the full £90,000 investment, in exchange for 10% each.

With Steven being a board member of Huel, and the Co-Founder of the social media marketing agency, Social Chain, Steve and Giles were eager to learn from his social and digital expertise. Peter Jones’ experience was also an attractive offering, with his more traditional high street knowledge.

“I’m a bit of a chocoholic. It seems so obvious that ‘fresh tastes best,’ but to experience their chocolates fresh from the fridge was in a different league. I HAD to invest,” said Peter Jones.

“Chocolate is my ultimate guilty pleasure, and salted caramel is my all-time favourite flavour. The product is already incredible and it has a strong USP, so I knew that with a little guidance and marketing, we could really make it explode,” added Steven Bartlett.

Russell & Atwell was Founded by Steve Russell and Giles Atwell, who combined, have over 30 years’ experience in the making, and in the marketing of chocolate. Their brand, Russell & Atwell, started with one simple question: “Why are we still eating long-life chocolate, when everything tastes better fresh?”

“The long life chocolate bar was invented at the start of the 20th century, but most homes have had fridges since the 1950’s, so whilst fresh milk, pasta, and desserts have moved over to the fridge, chocolate has been left quite literally, on the shelf,” said Giles on the inspiration behind the brand.

Launched as an e-commerce business in 2020, the team hand prepares five varieties of fresh-chilled chocolates in their Birmingham kitchen.

The Creamy Milk, the Scrumptious Salted Caramel, the Cracking Creamy Hazelnut, the Smooth Dark, and the Extra Rich Dark Chocolates are ALL made with delicious, high-quality, sustainable ingredients, including responsibly-sourced cocoa, fresh organic British cream, butter, and wildflower honey. Chocolate lovers can opt in for letterbox-friendly pouches, an elegant refillable glass jar, OR a regular Russell & Atwell subscription.

Steve is a chocolate scientist, and an expert in all things cocoa, with 20 years’ of chocolate development experience. Previously, he created chocolates for famous household brands, such as Mars, Cadbury, Green & Blacks, and lastly, Godiva, where he and Giles first met.

Together, the duo have created and launched hundreds of chocolate products across the world. Giles deals with sales and marketing. He has ‘chocolate in his blood’ (his grandfather began a chocolate company, Lesme Ltd in 1921, and his dad ran it for several years, before it was sold in the 1980’s). Together, they share the same dream: to create high-quality chocolates in small batches, with just a handful of delicious ingredients.

Get ready for the next chocolate revolution.

Find out more here: https://www.russellandatwell.com