Northern Pasta Co., the brand behind Britain’s first regeneratively grown spelt pasta range, appeared on BBC One’s Dragon’s Den, pitching to the panel in a bid to secure investment for the next stage of the business’s growth.

Founders Imogen Royall and Matt Kenyon walked into the Den to face all five Dragons: Peter Jones, Deborah Meaden, Touker Suleyman, Steven Bartlett and Susie Ma – bringing a taste of home grown pasta with them. The couple served their signature ‘naked pasta’ – Gigli pasta, which is stocked exclusively in independent retailers across the UK, dressed simply with olive oil and salt – in handmade pottery and presented each Dragon with a personalised recipe card matched to their personality to create at a later date.

The pitch was met with a warm and, at times, emotional response from the Dragons. Alongside the expected finance questioning, the Dragons dug into the detail of the brand’s provenance and process: Deborah Meaden in particular quizzed the founders in depth on their regenerative farming approach and was struck to learn the couple make the pasta themselves.

Packaging drew praise across the board, notwithstanding a few raised eyebrows over how fiddly the bags were to open, while Peter Jones declared the pasta “the best thing I’ve ever eaten in the Den,” and Steven Bartlett cleared his full portion on camera.

Asked why the couple named the brand ‘Northern Pasta Co.’, the founders’ answer centred on honesty, heart, warmth and being real – values that run through the brand’s story from its market-stall beginnings to the Den itself.

The offers soon followed. Peter Jones opened with £50,000 for 10% of the business. Deborah Meaden matched the offer on the same terms. With two strong offers on the table, the remaining Dragons stepped back, recognising Peter and Deborah as the strongest fit for the brand. Imogen and Matt made a counter proposal to welcome both dragons for an 8% stake in the business but ultimately accepted a joint offer, live on camera, of £50,000 for 10% of the business from Peter Jones and Deborah Meaden together – a moment the founders met with visible emotion.

Imogen Royall, co-founder of Northern Pasta Co., comments: “Walking into the Den was one of the most nerve-wracking and extraordinary things we’ve ever done. To have Peter and Deborah believe in what we’re building meant the world to us, and we’re so grateful for their time, insight and generosity throughout the process. We’re more determined than ever to keep building something honest, something real, and something that puts British farmers and British-grown spelt at the heart of the plate.”

The Den appearance comes at a pivotal moment for the brand, which secured its first major supermarket listing at Waitrose and published its debut cookbook, Pasta for the People, both in April 2026. With a second major listing soon to follow, Northern Pasta Co. has set its sights firmly on the next chapter of growth.

Over the coming years, the brand is focused on building a bigger network of British farmers growing regenerative spelt and getting people thinking differently about pasta – as the main ingredient on your plate, it should be delicious.

Imogen and Matt want to champion spelt and introduce more people to this ancient grain, while championing British farmers in a part of the supermarket where they aren’t usually represented, as well as championing the North, with pride in British manufacturing.

At its heart, the brand wants to change the way Britain thinks about food at the table, bringing pleasure and connection back to everyday eating – no counting, no optimising, just proper food enjoyed with the people you love. Alongside this, Northern Pasta Co. is committed to building craft skills for the next generation and making pasta production a real career in the north.

Northern Pasta Co.’s appearance on Dragon’s Den aired on BBC One on 17th September and is available now to watch on BBC Catch Up.