Cook It

Judith Fetzer, CEO and co-founder of Cook It in Montreal, pitched a meal-kit subscription service delivering boxes of fresh, pre-portioned ingredients with recipe cards, asking $350,000 for 10% of the company. Cook It creates eight new recipes each week including three vegetarian options, with 30-minute prep time; a box for two adults and two kids for three meals a week costs about $90. The self-funded company reached $200,000 in monthly recurring sales over 15 months and was expanding from its Quebec base into the Toronto market and eastern Canada, and the funds were sought mainly for marketing.

Michael Wekerle went out, questioning how the business would compete against established local players when expanding into new regional markets. Jim Treliving went out despite liking the business. Joe Mimran, Manjit Minhas and Arlene Dickinson each offered $350,000 for 10%. Judith Fetzer chose Arlene Dickinson's offer, citing a wish to have a woman on her cap table.

One year after Judith Fetzer's original pitch on Dragons' Den for $350,000 for 10%, where she accepted an offer from Arlene Dickinson, Cook It had grown from $200,000 in monthly recurring sales to $6.2 million in annual sales, expanded to a new office and production space with 60 employees, and was shipping 1,500 boxes a week across Quebec and Ontario. Arlene Dickinson returned with a follow-on investment of $1.1 million, three times her original offer, and the company was launching a new retail product called Cook It To Go in convenience stores such as Couche-Tard and Circle K, priced under $15.