Boots will take a shine to Dragon-backed Skinny Tan
Skinny Tan, the cellulite-busting fake tan that raised £60,000 on Dragons’ Den last yr, is rolling out in Boots shops across the Uk in a deal that will get revenues at the all-natural skincare company to £1m 
Photo: GLENN GRATTON
Skinny Tan, the fake tanning brand that was backed by Dragons’ Den traders Piers Linney and Kelly Hoppen during last year’s series, has signed a distribution deal with Alliance Boots that will get turnover to £1m this year.
The brand was founded by Essex-born very best pals Louise Ferguson and Kate Cotton in February 2012. The pair took 6 months to produce the formulation, which makes use of Guarana extract to reduce the physical appearance of cellulite even though including a sunkissed glow.
Skinny Tan will now be offered nationwide in Boots merchants and on-line. The selection will also be accessible in 450 independent pharmacy merchants across the United kingdom.
“This is the initial time we’ll have a shelf presence in the United kingdom,” says Cotton. “The preliminary Boots deal is really worth £200,000 but dependent how nicely the selection does, that could go up and up.”
According to the founders, the deal with Boots was only created possible by Skinny Tan’s Dragons’ Den achievement. “People informed me it would value the brand a million lbs to get into Boots but I was established,” says Ferguson. “When I noticed an episode of Dragons’ Den, I imagined, ‘There’s my way!’”
The entrepreneurs brought on very the stir in the Den when they arrived with a number of dancing, bikini-clad models but all five dragons had been vying to invest right after their pitch.
“They have been all fighting amongst themselves and we didn’t know what to do,” says Cotton.
The pair opted to work with Piers Linney and Kelly Hoppen, much to Duncan Bannatyne’s disappointment. “He said, just so you know, I won’t be placing your tanner in any of my gyms,” says Ferguson. “So when we left the show I imagined I’m absolutely going to get Skinny Tan into his wellness clubs.”
The Skinny Tan founders had been keen to perform Hoppen and Linney as they have been the two recent additions to the investor panel. “We knew that as their initial investment, they would be operating full throttle with us,” says Ferguson.
Skinny Tan obtained £60,000 worth of investment for 10pc equity in the organization. The publicity was priceless, claims Cotton. “Our site crashed after the show aired,” she says. “We turned more than £250,000 in excess of the following five weeks just through our very own site.”
The Dragons’ Den investment led to an chance with purchasing channel QVC. The entrepreneurs offered their merchandise live on air final month, and have now been invited back for a 2nd spot.
“We offered 100 bottles a minute,” says Ferguson. “We’re not normal presenters so it was a bit of a sweaty palm moment, but not nearly as terrifying as Dragons’ Den.”
The Dragons have taken a quite lively role in the enterprise. Hoppen usually talks about making use of the brand, although Linney, in spite of telling the Skinny Tan founders that he had no require for fake tan, did say “my bum is undoubtedly firmer” right after making an attempt the solution. The company has landed Lucy Watson, the outspoken star of Produced in Chelsea, as a brand ambassador.
Soon after cracking the domestic industry, the entrepreneurs are hoping to launch across the planet. Skinny Tan is previously accessible in Australia, the place the two entrepreneurs commit half their time, via pharmacy chain Priceline.
“International distribution deals are presently popping up,” adds Ferguson. “We’re searching at Canada, Spain, Mexico, South Africa and Ireland. We’re increasing at a charge of knots.”
However, obtaining all the proper accreditation to promote products in the EU has been a challenge. “It’s easier to break out of a optimum protection prison than to get your merchandise into the EU,” jokes Ferguson.
To ramp up income development, Skinny Tan is set to launch a amount of new merchandise to the industry, which includes a spray tan formula for beauty salons. “We’re also looking at deeper colours, skin preparation products and servicing products,” says Ferguson. “Watch this space.”