Dragons Den investors will be eating their rejections now after all five panelists refused to provide a budding entrepreneur with any funds on the programme. However, Mark Wong is the person having the last laugh now, with his company now worth a whopping £12 million, despite the initial blow and set back on the BBC One competition.
Three years ago, he bravely decided to throw his hat in the ring, taking his idea which was a non-alcoholic beer brand Impossibrew, asking the Dragons for £45,000 in exchange for 10% of his company. As part of his pitch, he told the likes of Peter Jones, Deborah Meaden, Touker Suleyman, Sara Davies and Steven Bartlett: "I love beer, but because of my health, I had to stop two years ago.".
After facing fears about his liver health Mark decided it was time to change but didn't want to give up the luxury of enjoying a nice cold beer entirely, and so he set out to create a beverage that would be better for his health. He stated: "Since then I’m on an impossible mission to find a healthier alternative to alcohol, for when you don’t want to drink but still want to unwind with a pint.".
The then 24-year-old explained to the business investors that he'd used alcohol as a means of fitting in with peers at school after leaving Hong Kong, with just his brother and without his parents when he was just age 13. Many years later, Mark return to Asia and discovered an entirely new world of plants that were used to make tea but also contained "relaxing, medicinal benefits" too, these ingredients would go on to inspire his clever creation.
Mark's business Impossibrew has really taken off, the pre-money valuation of the company currently standing at £12,000,000, with more than £500,000 in sales from just January 2025 alone. It is understood the the extraordinary profitable company is actually seeing one beer purchased every 15 seconds on it's website, boasting more the 1 million of it's beverages sold in the past 12 months.
But it seems the Dragons missed a huge opportunity as none of them had been excited or convinced that Mark's company had a chance at success, despite loving the taste. Stephen was up first and he couldn't see how Mark's company would stack up against the likes of Brewdog and opted out. Touker then commented that his turnover hadn't been high enough at that point to turn his head and he also took the high road.
"I think the product is great, you're clearly a great beer brewer, but I don't know if that price point is going to work outside of a £10,000 test… so regretfully I'm not going to be able to invest today, I'm out," Sara echoed. Deborah was worried that Mark might just get a lot of "one off business online" and would struggle in the emerging digital world against its rivals and she too, stepped back from investing her cash.
That left just Peter to conclude the full five rejections, he said: "You’ve done everything right, you've pitched at the right amount, you've answered the right questions.’. He added: "You have a nice little business for you, but it's not as exciting as the taste of the beer, so sadly for that reason I'm going to say that I'm out, but good luck.".
