Viral TikTok Account Not Generating Many Sales | SEASON 19 | Dragons' Den

Zara Saleem's family secret skincare recipe is what's on offer in The Den. She's seeking a £50,000 investment in exchange for 15% of Delhicious Skincare. Her business has over 1M views on TikTok, so why isn't it generating more business?
Season 19, Episode 12.
An international sensation, Dragon's Den features entrepreneurs pitching for investment in the Den from our Dragons, five venture capitalists willing to invest their own money in exchange for equity.
#DragonsDen #BusinessPitch #Viral

[@jm3231]

I just love Sarah for always acknowledging each person with a lovely big smile at the end of every pitch. So kind. So respectful.

[@JL-gf3yc]

Not very dragon like, if it was bunnys den she’d be brilliant

[@jasonm4332]

i know, right ?-and once in a while when she doesnt its when some real *hits gone down lol !

[@nivodejayathilake5196]

I agree 100%

[@nivodejayathilake5196]

@@JL-gf3ycread more about dragons. They are wise, strong and benevolent, not mindlessly violent for everybody. So Sarah fits that criteria perfectly. If you want mindless action, just watch a movie.

[@nivodejayathilake5196]

I agree 100%

[@JazzyMarineVet]

When she said during COVID she stayed home with the kids and took a step back that was the kiss of death. Other entrepreneurs would say I had my kids packing my husband and invited my mom over We all had masks on We used Hand sanitizer and we got 5,000 products out the door. That language she used and that dip in sales for COVID time frame really did her in

[@mullah4638]

Mum not allowed to visit

[@BenjaminGoose]

What does "kids packing my husband" mean?

[@somerandomguywastaken]

​@@BenjaminGoosesold the husband for extra profit for the business, duh

[@blackjoker1097]

​@@somerandomguywastakenloool

[@Wild1920]

@@somerandomguywastaken😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@benwood6998]

The products are actually incredible! The pink one especially helped sooo much with my eyelid eczema

[@AngelicVirgo]

Same here, it worked wonders on my hands.

[@AlmightyDoge665]

Her business is still going strong from what I see in Companies House records.

[@ButtrflyEffect]

What do you check? How do you know

[@nukaghoula]

yup! DELHICIOUS LTD currently has a net worth of £170.1k

[@TheBootneck69]

Get a life

[@jimmylittle9393]

​@@nukaghoulathat's...not good

[@AnnaH74]

Maybe she put her children first to make sure they stayed entertained and educated during lockdown.

[@YouMakeItHappen]

Of course. No problems with that except...dragons are looking to invest in a person that will generate $$$. That's part of the reason why in job interviews in the US, we don't mention anything about family or other commitments outside of work. (Employers cant ask you directly so they ask what do you do in your free time, what's your hobbies, etc.)

[@ahmed51988]

The testimonials on her website and the reviews seem to show the product is amazing ! She's still going and I can see this being a sustainable sucess. I think adapting might mean slowing down sometimes and she got out of covid with a business so she adapted. Just wish her good luck, she's investable for me.

[@ib9359]

A lot of BS investments in the den, why not this product? She is honoust and asks a small investment. Product looks nice only the packaging is bad, a dragon can fix this in a month. Weird one.

[@wge621]

it's weird, I feel like when an entrepreneur says they have anxiety or adhd or something, they all fall over trying to help them. but when she said that she had to take on more parenting responsibilities during covid, no one batted an eye and they all immediately lost interest. I mean didn't peter and stephen invest in a glorified PILL CASE?? basically just because the entrepreneur survived cancer. it had no real profit potential for an investor IMO. this product on the other hand has so much potential and it's a crowded market because it's not something that you just buy one of, skincare is something that customers buy hundreds of in some cases. has huge margins, huge potential for growth with the right marketing. they all missed a trick here and I absolutely loved the entrepreneur's honesty and humility. she has a lot of character and I hope she finds all the success that she deserves

[@laurellejoseph4223]

Dragons missed out on this

[@AngelicVirgo]

This brand has helped me with eczema can't believe these people turned it down. They must be kicking themselves now.

[@YourSoothebear]

Just ordered her product! Feel like I want to support her ❤x

[@gilded_lady]

"No chemicals." Everything is literally chemicals. 😑

[@danh5637]

It’s really not.

[@valeextalks]

She was too honest.

[@voiceportal6752]

Exactly my thoughts....the number of people who claim they became 'superman' during covid is all for TV time appearance....she was completely transparent and deserved an investment. Goes to show that we still live in a time where perception matters more than honesty.

[@AdamBechtol]

:( sad face, not necessarily in disagreement with you, but a sad face nonetheless.@@voiceportal6752

[@GreenDudeHC]

She cant figure out how to convert views into sales of her existing "hero" product and yet she mentioned twice that she wants to expand the range. This seems to be a common fallacy of entrepreneurs. Adding more products isn't going to magically fix the poor sales-through of the other products in the line.

[@TheManInBlueFlames]

Maybe it can change their direction.

[@Aclow]

Having millions of views on tiktok and no sales is extremely common. Felt like Peter doesn't fully understand what tiktok is actually like. Odds are tiktok isn't her highest point of leverage and it's likely facebook. I know brands who absolutely crush Tiktok for sales and others who can't get sales there but do millions over on facebook. If she's managed to sell 60k of a product, there's clearly demand. It's just a case if she has the margin to scale it. We've had millions of views on tiktok and get very little sales. It's because our audience doesn't hang out there / its being served to the wrong audience A very small section of her target audience would actually be on tiktok. It's mostly young females and kids. Not the buying audience of females aged 30-45

[@coastalsandwich]

Prove them wrong! They accept complete trash but go harsh on this, ridiculous

[@HKAMILAH]

The brand is now stocked in Sephora

[@bluesky6386]

Hope she achieves all the success 🎉🎉🎉

[@santhoshgeneva]

An Ayurvedic product named "Delhicious"? 🙄 Ayurveda (which she mispronounced every single time - Steven Bartlett actually pronounced it more accurately than her 🙄) comes from Kerala, and has absolutely nothing to do with Delhi. 😑

[@dxpsumma383]

No one in Europe cares

[@00Kuja00]

Good old orientalism at work for the market. ;P

[@santhoshgeneva]

@@dxpsumma383 Of course, because ignorance is so fashionable, and casual racism is just more fun, right? 😀

[@santhoshgeneva]

@@00Kuja00 Lol exactly! Just sprinkle some Indian words here and there, and no one will even notice. Heck, someone even commented above that they didn't care. I guess she's smarter than I thought 🙃

[@dxpsumma383]

@@santhoshgeneva "no one will notice", this, but unironically. And playing the racsim-victim card, seriously, because not everyone cares about Indian geography? Pretty pathetic of you. Even if I cared where ayurveda is from, I wouldn't care if the product branded itself by referencing a different place from the same country. The product name is an ok pun, after all.

[@MarkMoran10]

Zara all the best, I hope you prove them wrong...

[@aidankelly840]

She million made today Dragons missed the boat ⛵ They could have had 20% Shed have went with that Her business is upwards Going forward 2024

[@ansahbudu8274]

how did you know?

[@jazzabighits4473]

It's almost like tiktok is a joke and only kids use it. Kids don't have money, their parents do.

[@LoveLove-ev1cm]

What a great idea and I’ll be buying to support you sister for what I’m not excited about at lush or Holland and Barrett’s.

[@mx4833]

I just ordered this morning lol didn’t realise she was on dragons den

[@mary_syl]

The name confuses me, it's called dehlicious but then it's a skin creme..... just don't think it's good for marketing when your skincare product sounds like a food line.

[@Ziggykitty666]

Why ever come to shark tank or dragons den with skincare ? Not only does every investor have at least 1 in their portfolio so won’t invest in another but there are a trillion ppl doing the same thing and they are never proprietary

[@kobusvanstaden3747]

I thought Touker would make an offer at 40%

[@shadaba.qureshi4367]

Funny neither the entrepreneur nor the dragons know about Ayurveda let alone pronounce it. AYUR-VEDA literally translated means Ayur=life and veda = knowledge/science, its a 5000 year old Sanatan Dharma (Hinduism) medical practice, which is not limited to surgery and medicines alone. Its a complete human body study.

[@mulawarmankwsuper]

ackshually

[@aronquemarr7434]

You forgot to mention that it is a pseudoscience.

[@lakbirsinghjohal3333]

That pitch was like me rambling on a 10,000-word essay to reach the word count.

[@annaagapova3583]

No, it wasn't.

[@mahaman2031]

The way she pronounces ayurveda is giving me ptsd

[@00Kuja00]

I fail to see how it's even ayurvedic.^^*

[@JoshHitHai]

All dragen said product so good why are your not investing 😊😊

[@scottarmstrong8968]

How does being 100% natural automatically mean it is safe to put on your face? You wouldn't go out side and rub a bunch of 100% natural nettle leaves over your face😂

[@cha3265]

Yeah I hate when they say “no chemicals” - water is a chemical, it’s just a buzz word and shows lack of cosmetic education.

[@scottarmstrong8968]

@@cha3265 Exactly. There are some very nasty natural chemicals out there! Means nothing

[@dxpsumma383]

Try the part from circa 8:00 at double-speed

[@Wlooby]

Thank you very much

[@metalheadfin8239]

Peters lack of understanding on the Indian tea cream surprised me

[@llnny863]

I would love to buy Indian ancestry beauty products!!!! It’s a lovely niche idea

[@ellenkarlsson9490]

Except it's not niche. Ayurvedic beauty products have been a thing for a while now, I'd even say that she's late to the party.

[@AliKhan-yx1dy]

She should have had a deal she was fantastic and she is very smart think she can stil do it 💯

[@noncekilla8848]

Man why didn’t anyone invest, all ways the good guys that lose out, I wish her all the luck

[@mad-cyantist3159]

Should have asked for more money, because she is going to need it

[@00Kuja00]

This one ticked all the BS boxes.

[@nivodejayathilake5196]

How, explain

[@00Kuja00]

@@nivodejayathilake5196 Used all the buzzwords and failed to explain it's connection to ayurveda, which she both mispronounced and don't seem to understand.

[@crazy-jake]

Great minds think alike.

[@DevilNeverKnows]

why are they shaming her for losing sales in a time when everyone was out of work and not spending all their money on beauty products? genuinely, what did they think she should have done?

[@lukeporter6186]

I agree that they were a tad harsh. However most online products had a massive increase in sales during Covid. Mainly because people were on furlough, had less outgoings (mortgage breaks, no eating/drinking out etc.) so her drop in sales showed a lot of weakness. She should’ve made up a story about supply issues to try and get off lighter.

[@keglenico]

At a time where the entire population had no other choice but to buy stuff online, she lost a massive opportunity. Covid year was the best year ever for online sellers. So no it s not really harsh. Business is about adapting, she fully stepped back.

[@Haywood-Jablomie]

Beauty products, especially skincare was through the roof popular during COVID because Covidiots were using hand sanitizer and causing all kinds of skin/liver problems... funny how the MSDS of all sanitizers say avoid contact with skin. lol

[@Imcool666]

She’s a millionaire now

[@laurellejoseph4223]

Peter looks old and haggard and Touker is older but looks better than Peter

[@sadikmeah4057]

Same old rubbish packaged differently

[@nivodejayathilake5196]

Do it differently then, go on

[@sadikmeah4057]

@@nivodejayathilake5196 I don't do rubbish I'm afraid

[@ZaraSaleem-mw2qp]

Ah shame you think so! Lots of ppl love it ❤

[@Boshek2019]

“Organically grew my tick toc platform” 😂

[@nivodejayathilake5196]

TikTok *

[@ZaraSaleem-mw2qp]

…but I did 😂

[@user-cz7sb1ow5d]

@boshek2019 are you not good at english? What is funny about that! That is a phrase used in English, to say grew naturally without investment or ad or additional help!

[@bangersandmash8036]

So family first end off

[@bluceree7312]

She's doing well, it seems.

[@maateverywhere]

Well me she convinced me to buy it

[@Steven-ze2zk]

I love washing machines. They're great. A great invention. You put your clothes in there, close the door, push some buttons and that's it. Your clothes get cleaned.

[@danh5637]

Had a look at her website. Controversial view but her products are too cheap. Organic natural people won’t trust beauty products that are that cheap. Me included.

[@vilmamaritz8265]

Advertise to Jain community and other Indian communities who understand Ayurvedic products.

[@thatpeskyswan]

Her lack of any passion and the minute she spoke of "diversity and inclusion" just made my eyes roll, seems like a hobby/leisure brand that's not being taken seriously and isn't in a investable stage, where are the recognition by skin associations or lab testing on how this could benefit people with eczema/lupus/acne etc. etc.??

[@shannonsmith4174]

They think they can get anything cause there "influancers" it's pathetic honestly shut up and pay like the rest of us oh and grow up....

[@kaceywebster5071]

she never stated she was an influencer, she started her platform when she started her brand. which by the way has more then 300k followers now.

[@ZaraSaleem-mw2qp]

…literally not an influencer 😂

[@margkropf5541]

All this obsession with beauty products does not paint a very complimentary vision of women.

[@crazy-jake]

The covid story or excuse didn't add up.

[@ZaraSaleem-mw2qp]

…do you have small children? 😅

[@crazy-jake]

?

[@GS-sm3jo]

Fossil fuels forever. ⛽

[@SamJohn52]

LMAO....Forever???? There is a finite supply of fossil fuels. They will run out.

[@Firedancer100]

Ethereum 👍

[@sanjuansteve]

More natural, fewer chemicals is always better.

[@dxpsumma383]

Wrong, only dumb people rant against "chemicals" per se

[@BenjaminGoose]

Ah yes, because natural = safe according to people who don't understand science. Deadly nightshade, anyone?

[@aidankelly840]

Free advertising Lots of halal Buy the product She needs boots Other big stores Covet time more people on line buying

[@dancutd]

India…bodycare…i would never have thought it

[@johngreen8026]

Maternity leave is for bringing up children, not starting a business while still being paid (part of) a salary by the tax payer.

[@acs6785]

How a person chooses to spend their mat leave is entirely up to them! She started the business from home so its possible to do that along side bringing up your children! You also still pay tax and NI out of mat pay.

[@johngreen8026]

@@acs6785 if she was unemployed, I would agree that it's her choice. But she's being paid by the tax payer to do a job. If she's unable to do that job due to bringing up children then that's what maternity leave is for. If she can run a business from home then she can do her job from home.

[@IshaHaHa-fw2df]

And who are you 😂 The Gestapo?

[@johngreen8026]

@@IshaHaHa-fw2df no, a tax payer, who's paying for her free income while she starts a business on the side

[@IshaHaHa-fw2df]

@@johngreen8026I’m surprised you are a taxpayer. Such moronic display of logic+ 0 level of emotional intelligence would suggest you to be unhireable.

[@MJamilHoque]

Let's think for a moment and be blunt. Did the face fit? However, she stepped back during COVID!?

[@ZaraSaleem-mw2qp]

Not sure what you mean by that.

[@rboeyrt4054]

Last time I was this early Jenny was still out

[@Peteristrate]

Oh, gosh, she killed me with that ending about how her cream is about diversity and representation :)) Give us a break, you all lefties - can't keep politics and activism out of anything, isn't it? :))

[@nivodejayathilake5196]

Incorrect

[@drenchedinblack894]

You're the only one bringing up politics. Very ironic.

[@oliasterjo4131]

I know right?? I knew right there she is a dummy

[@crazy-jake]

Yeah I was like here we go again.

[@mizzcookiecrumble]

I smell racism

[@appleratpipe]

Ooga booga indomonke

[@anubusx]

Kali Ma.

[@bottlewaddle6677]

oo basse nean

[@bottlewaddle6677]

Wooooooooooooo

[@dani15sports]

Good luck Zara

[@maximum8]

She should have used lockdown to double her sales and push extra on her online promotions and marketing. Beauty sales were through the roof during Covid.

[@coolbeanz1702]

Thanks for repeating exactly what the dragons said

[@AntGorgeous]

Actually, beauty was down a lot during covid because people were hiding their faces with masks.

[@LuvableAF]

I actually do not believe she really grew up with Ayurvedic medicine, or she didn’t pay attention. I feel she picked up on it, and ran with it for a business opportunity and is trying to be Authentic. She seems uncomfortable explaining it, makes faces when talking about it, and the way she said “Ayurvedic” back Debra at 2:39/2:39, gave me the impression she was worried where Debrah was taking her questioning. But that’s just me. 🪴

[@ZaraSaleem-mw2qp]

Hi! I was uncomfortable because I was in the den. No other reason.