Belly Ice Cream Company

Shelley Westgarth
Huntsville, ON

The pitch

Shelley Westgarth from Huntsville, ON, pitched Belly Ice Cream Company in Season 11, Episode 8, asking the Dragons for $50K for 5% of the company.

Asked for$50K for 5%plus a royalty
Valuation$1Mimplied by the ask
OutcomeNo deal

Offers in the Den

Dragon	Offer	Result
Joe Mimran	Objected to a royalty deal capped at repayment of principal with no real return, out	Out
Michele Romanow	Concerned about business acumen and poorly structured deal, out	Out
Michael Wekerle	Was already out before the deal terms were even discussed	Out
Jim Treliving	Felt the pricing was too high to compete and the royalty wouldn't be paid back, out	Out
Manjit Minhas	Felt the deal was not well constructed and worried about ability to keep both parties interested, out	Out

Shelley Westgarth, of Belly Ice Cream Company in Huntsville, ON, asked for $50,000 for a 5% royalty until the amount was repaid. The company makes small-batch ice cream from locally sourced dairy from a single family farm in Creemore, Ontario, with flavours including chocolate dipped strawberry, blackberry lemon, peppermint patty, buttered scotch whiskey, and wild blueberry cheesecake. Pints retail for $8.99 and wholesale for $6, with production costs ranging from 92 cents to about $3 depending on the flavour; the funds were intended to launch a freezer program with Toronto retailer Pusateri's. The company carries a $360,000 mortgage on a newly built factory.

The Dragons objected that the royalty offer capped at repayment of the $50,000 principal offered no real return on investment. Joe Mimran went out first calling the structure a loan with no return. Michael Wekerle noted he had already gone out before the deal terms were discussed. Michele Romanow, Jim Treliving, and Manjit Minhas all went out, citing concerns about the deal structure, high pricing relative to competitors, and business acumen, leaving Shelley Westgarth without a deal.

Pitch details from CBC’s Dragons’ Den pitch page.