Dragons’ Den star entrepreneur who was a plasterer ‘now turning over £1,000,000 a year’

Matt Kenyon and his wife and business partner Imogen Royall appeared on Dragons’ Den (Picture: BBC)

From homeless contestants to future entrepreneurs having to remortgage their properties to build their businesses, Dragons’ Den is no stranger to a rags-to-riches story.

However, for Matt Kenyon, who presented his business on the BBC series with his wife and business partner Imogen Royall, his journey certainly feels unique.

After leaving school at 16 and spending a decade working in construction, Matt’s British spelt pasta company, Northern Pasta Co., now turns over a whopping £1million a year.

Speaking to Metro about his joint £50,000 investment from Peter Jones and Deborah Meaden on the show, Matt said that going into the Den was absolutely ‘nerve-wracking’.

‘We did a little bit of work beforehand, just things like breathing and calming exercises. That definitely helped,’ he tells me.

‘Obviously going in, you’re thinking, “Well, this could go one of two ways,” and it could potentially be a really bad thing for the business.

Matt and Imogen presented their British spelt pasta company, Northern Pasta Co., to the Dragons (Picture: BBC)

‘There was that nervousness around not knowing how it was going to be received, or how you were going to be received.’

However, for Matt, the most surprisingly element was ‘honeslty how positive it all was’.

Since his episode of Dragons’ Den aired, the Northern Pasta Co. says its average daily sales have jumped by more than 675%.

Asked about his £1million turnover target for 2026, Matt adds: ‘Yeah, we are on track for that.

‘With all the opportunities that are arising, we’re very confident that we can meet next year’s target as well.’

The rapid growth comes as Northern Pasta Co moved into a new 12,000 sq ft factory in Carnforth, Lancashire.

The new site has allowed the company to dramatically increase production, with capacity rising from around 2.25 tonnes of pasta a week to 13.5 tonnes.

With his decade of experience in construction, Matt put those trade skills to good use and was personally responsible for overseeing the build of the company’s new factory.

The couple secured a joint £50,000 investment from Peter Jones and Deborah Meaden on the show (Picture: BBC/Drgaon’s Den)

‘The main thing is probably the move,’ he says.

‘We’ve moved into a 12,000 sq ft space, which is much bigger than where we were before, and it’s just given us that flexibility to grow.’

The Dragons’ investment has also helped the company buy new equipment, including a packing line and extrusion line.

But the sudden growth has meant the team has had to work hard to keep up with demand.

‘It has been manic,’ Matt says. ‘We’ve just had to really go for it.

‘We were hoping to make a little bit less initially, just to get used to the machine, but we had to jump in at the deep end.’

Despite the success, Matt admits the scale of the transformation hasn’t always sunk in.

The Northern Pasta Co. says its average daily sales have jumped by more than 675% (Picture: BBC)

‘It’s happened quickly,’ he tells me. ‘It didn’t always feel it, but definitely in hindsight it’s really happening quickly.

‘We can be super proud of what we’ve done and where we’re going.’

However, despite the huge amount of attention that Dragons’ Den has brought the business, Matt says he and Imogen aren’t interested in simply copying other successful food brands.

‘We don’t necessarily try to emulate others,’ he said.

‘We just do what we feel is right and obviously take advice from people. We’re just trying to make our own path.’

Dragons’ Den is available to watch on BBC One on Thursdays from 8pm.
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