Murray, who moved to Edinburgh from the north east of England 15 years ago, said he grew up in a "food and drink-obsessed family where Aperitif was a daily tradition". The launch comes as the threat of hospitality businesses closing across the UK has resurfaced amid a surge in Covid-19 cases. Sales of beer in supermarkets performed particularly well while pubs and bars were closed from March to July, with brewers such as Northern Monk and SALT choosing to list in ‘Big Four’ retailers such as Tesco for the first time. Kate Darracott and her husband and co-owner Graham Darracott appeared on episode 6 of season 18 and although they left the den with some new customers, no investment was forthcoming from the dragons. For any drinks brands wanting to take part in the programme, they have also created a blog post on ‘ How to apply to be on Dragon’s Den‘.

Less than six months into his business journey Mr Wong was invited to pitch his business to the Dragons’ Den panel, after winning several start-up awards. The 24-year-old had moved to the UK from Hong Kong when he was 13 and was unable to speak any English, and went on to study philosophy at Durham University. The company, called The Greater Good Fresh Brewing Co, was originally launched as Victor’s Drinks and set up by university friends Alex Dixon and Ralph Broadbent, who were also part of the team behind Derbyshire’s Y Not Festival. The pair appeared on Dragon’s Den in 2014.The news that I had to give it up meant the end of my career, but it also felt like the end of my social life.

It was not the taste of their product that was the issue - all the dragons loved the unique champagne and fruit gin blend. The problem lay with the name of the brand, which was called "immature" by Steven Bartlett and declared the "worst business proposition" since Sara Davies first joined Dragons' Den. Called the Pinter, the device allows people to make up to 10 pints of beer at home, which the company claims will make it fresher than anything bottled or canned. Murray said: “The obvious dragons for me were either Deborah Meaden who is well renowned as a premium foodie or Peter Jones. This is a staggering 1295 per cent increase since the duo behind the company landed investment from entrepreneur Jenny Campbell in 2018.

Energy drink start-up PerfectTed managed to garner interest from all five Dragons when two of its co-founders, Marisa Poster and Teddie Levenfiche, appeared on the BBC programme on 2 March. Two years later Impossibrew, based in Durham, was formed, with all the drinks crafted at a brewery in Allendale, Northumberland. The investment of cash was secondary, but it allows me to think bigger and go after some larger accounts like Sainsbury’s." We found a massive barrier for people switching to matcha was its umami flavour and the time it took to prepare,” explained Levenfiche. “So, when Marisa moved to London last year, we quit our jobs in finance and created an on-the-go solution – the UK’s first matcha-powered energy drinks flavoured with real fruit, so that everyone else could feel as amazing as we did. Our drinks will keep you energised for twice as long, improve your focus and give you the antioxidants you need to look as young as Steven [Bartlett].”