Barenaked Foods Noodles, 6 x 380g

Product Information

Bare Naked Foods specialises in low-carbohydrate, gluten-free noodles, pastas, rice and ready meals. The language barrier was difficult but he knew that he had to find a factory which met UK food production standards. His patience paid off when he found the ideal place to produce his own style of konjac (or shirataki) noodles. We have a turnover of 600, 000 as of June 2015, a 110 per cent increase on the previous year. With our extended distribution, turnover for the next year will hit 1m. I started off by importing 3, 000 units of product, and now we import 80, 000 units every six weeks. The entrepreneur decided that he would make this food available in the UK, so he created his own recipe with a blend of konjac, soybean and oatmeal flour to give his noodles a texture similar to traditional rice noodles. His recipe had no fat, sugar, dairy or gluten and was low in carbohydrate — and so… Barenaked Noodles were born! Set realistic goals and work hard to achieve each one. You are not a success because you have a great idea; even the best ideas fail because a founder has made a wrong decision. Be willing to learn, work hard and never give up.

Help with cash flow, to give the business the financial boost it needed to help market my new product and brand. The biggest contribution though is the knowledge and experience they offer. But you do have to have the drive and self belief, as it gets harder the bigger you get. You have to be able to climb any obstacle that you come up against. Ross was given initial funding from his future father-in-law, to get the business started. He travelled to the Chamber of Commerce, in China, to find out more about noodle manufacture. When Barenaked Foods founder Ross Mendham went on BBC investment show Dragons’ Den in 2013 to pitch his business it had been in operation for two years. Set up to provide low carbohydrate and gluten-free products, goods have now reached the shelves of major supermarket Morrisons.

“…people suggested I should appear on Dragon’s Den…”

Having more confidence in my abilities. Sometimes even managing directors have bad days! What one thing do you wish you’d known when you started? It's expanding year on year. Consumers are always looking at healthy alternatives. In the future, there will be a healthy gluten-free alternative for every product. What is the single most important piece of advice you would offer to a less experienced entrepreneur? Barenaked Foods was founded in 2011 by Ross Mendham, who after years of dieting and worrying about the food he was eating, decided that ‘enough was enough.’ It was time to do something about it…

Getting your goods into a big supermarket can be transformational (5) What made you want to take part in Dragons? Den? I had no experience in the food sector, apart from being a foodie at home. Since my company’s incorporation, and with the help of thepeter Jones? team, I have learnt so much about this industry. Breaking into the multiple grocery market. Our first listing in the UK was in Morrisons. What numbers do you look at every day in your business? To find out more, Business Advice caught up with Mendham and asked him how Jones has contributed and what his tips for dealing with supermarkets are. Surrey-born, Delia Smith, is Norwich City Football Club's joint majority shareholder and is known for teaching basic cookery skills in a no-nonsense style. Smith became famous by hosting a cookery television show Family Fare which ran between 1973 and 1975. Her first television appearances came in the early 1970s, as resident cook on BBC's Look East.Konjac (‘Shirataki’) noodles can be created by harvesting fibre from the konjac root by mashing it down into a flour, before mixing it with water and calcium hydroxide to create a gel which can be cut into strips. Appearing on BBC2 Dragons’ Den seeking investment after my wife's third miscarriage. It was terribly emotional but I needed to seek investment to help grow my business. What was your biggest business mistake? It was my girlfriend (now wife) that gave me the confidence and courage to construct a business plan and seek investment to start Bare Naked Foods. I can remember the pep talk! She told me to stop moaning about my current job and either carry on doing it, or write a business plan and go and start-up the low-carb pasta business I kept talking about.

After struggling with “always being on a diet”, I wanted to make it easier for people in a similar situation to lose weight without missing out on the food they like and love. There was a gap in the market and I thought I would be able to launch my new product and food brand. It's one of the hardest roads you can ever go down but the rewards are amazing and I’m not talking just financially – one year after I appeared on Dragons' Den, my son Oliver-Jude was born. Personal growth Biggest luxury: Since then, Bare Naked Foods has gone from strength to strength and is now on the shelves of big-name grocery stores. I don’t have ANY regrets. Any decision I make I stand by. Even if I was wrong, I learn by it and it makes me a better businessman. What is the most common serious mistake you see entrepreneurs make?

Less is More™

Ross admits that he has always found weight loss ‘especially difficult’ due to his love of pasta and rice. He thought ‘there must be a low fat, low carbohydrate version of the foods that he craves and loves – especially pasta!’ Since I first featured on Dragons’ Den it’s been an emotional roller-coaster and as with any business, it’s been challenging to get to the top. Even when you get investment, success is not guaranteed. But with hard work, we have managed to take Barenaked Foods to where it is today. These products are made from the konjac plant. Each serving (125g) of noodles or rice is only 15kcal! Each serving (125g) is only 22kcal! They also contain Glucomannan, which supposedly encourages weight loss.

Ross Mendham is the Managing Director and brain behind Bare Naked Foods. He took his idea of low-carb, low-calorie, and zero fat noodles and protein noodles to the Dragons in season 11. He had a difficult pitch with Deborah Meaden and Kelly Hoppen opting out very early. After an emotional explanation of funding, Mendham received interesting offers from Duncan Bannatyne, Piers Linney, and Peter Jones. Barenaked noodles and rice have also caught the attention of celebrities and influencers, who now enjoy them as part of a balanced/restricted diet or to aid their weight management plans.

Bare Naked noodles are available to buy in Tesco, Morrisons, Waitrose, Sainsburys and many independent outlets www.barenakedfoods.co.uk.