Miss Millie’s Food Company

Rich Brown
Burlington, ON

The pitch

Rich Brown from Burlington, ON, pitched Miss Millie’s Food Company in Season 15, Episode 2, asking the Dragons for $100K for 40% of the company.

Asked for$100K for 40%
Valuation$250Kimplied by the ask
OutcomeNo deal

Offers in the Den

Dragon	Offer	Result
Jim Treliving	Likes the product but wants more organization before expansion	Out
Arlene Dickinson	Wants the concept proven out further before investing	Out
Manjit Minhas	Feels ingredients are missing from the pitch	Out
Lane Merrifield	Would be a customer but doesn't think it is smart money at 40%, suggests bootstrapping	Out
Vincenzo Guzzo	Passes for now	Out
Michele Romanow	Loves the product but too early for an equity deal	Out

Rich Brown, from Burlington, ON, sought $100,000 for 40% of Miss Millie's Food Company, maker of Canada's number one Jamaican pie, based on a nearly 300-year-old family recipe using a proprietary spice blend and a proprietary crust called Ludacrust. The pies are handmade and sold frozen through his website, ranging from $25.99 to $64.99 depending on the tier (basic, supreme, ultimate), with margins between 44% and 58% after tax; he had sold 2,000 to 2,500 units per week, generated $30,000 in sales over three months since starting the business full time in April during COVID, and projected $100,000 to $120,000 by year end, after having invested $100,000 of his own money, including refinancing his home.

Jim Treliving, Arlene Dickinson, Manjit Minhas, Lane Merrifield, Vincenzo Guzzo, and Michele Romanow all declined to invest, citing the business being too early-stage for an equity deal, the high valuation relative to current sales, and a preference that Rich Brown bootstrap or prove the concept out further. No deal was made.

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