After seeing our beloved product grow and grow over the past few months, we decided to bring it to the next level. Lao kombucha is very proud to share our presence on the Quebec variation of the Dragon’s Den show, simply called “Les Dragons”. In the two years since our inception, we’ve seen many trials, but none of which bore a more direct fruit than this encounter. We went in asking for a 20,000.00$ investment for a 10% share in the company, read on to find out what happened.

A highly competitive market

As most of the Dragons were quick to mention, the current competition for the kombucha market is at an all time high, let alone the competition to be the top choice for daily consumption beverages. Many small brewers and artisans are unfortunately often overshadowed by the presence of beverage giants who make mass-production their priority. We’re very aware of our competition, because we spent endless days taste-testing every single product available to our market with a single mission: How can we make it better?

The best tea house in the world

The answer was simple, you need high quality tools and ingredients to make a high-quality result. We were adamant on encouraging local producers, and it didn’t take long before we found the answer to our needs. The world-renowned Camelia Sinensis tea house in Montreal, voted two years in a row as “The world’s best Tea House” had to be the official supplier of our foundation: The best quality tea leaves. From there, we poured our hearts and souls into brewing something we felt had no market equal, something that was simply the best.

Entering the Den

And once we had that done, we started distribution. With currently over 330 distribution points, we already had our hands full enough, so we brought our beloved product to expert investors. All impressed with the quality, the story and the pedigree behind the product, all Dragons could agree that we had something impressive on our hands. But the fear of a highly competitive market made most reluctant to invest their capital in a company unrelated to their areas of expertise. Thankfully, we only needed one.

Being “The Best”

If there is an investor out there that understands the beverage market, it’s Nicolas Duvernois of Duvernois Creative Spirits. Once Nicolas had a taste of the product, he felt drawn in to have a taste of its market. Proudly bearing the badge of “Best Canadian Vodka” with PUR vodka, and having created multiple canned spirits for distribution, he was in the best position to understand the full potential of what we at Lao can make. So even though 4 of the Dragons passed, Nicolas wasn’t letting us leave without an offer.

An influential partner

He ended up offering us the 20,000.00$ that we asked for, but for a 20% stake in the company instead of 10%. We spent what felt like endless minutes discussing the offer in the bunker, but in the end, the choice was clear. Given his high level of experience, business and entrepreneurial acumen, we would be not only happy, but proud to be partnered with such an influential investor with firsthand knowledge of the very market we covet.

On track to becoming the best

With the Camelia Sinensis tea house known as the best in the world, and with the Best Canadian Vodka that is PUR along with the entrepreneurial minds behind these products, we feel confident that we’re on track to maybe one day becoming The Best Kombucha in the World. Want a taste? Find Lao in a point of sale near you, and if you want to jump on board to help a small Quebec company become one of the best, contact us to become a distributor.