Two Sechelt entrepreneurs are about to enter the Dragons' Den with a bowl of cereal and a lot of dreams.
CBC's hit series the Dragons' Den gives entrepreneurs the chance to pitch their idea to a panel of Canadian business moguls who could provide serious financial backing and support to launch a business into the big league.
Corin and Brian Mullins hope the Dragons will enjoy the pitch they've prepared about their Holy Crap breakfast cereal, which Corin notes is "the world's most amazing breakfast cereal."
"It changes people's lives by giving them unbelievable energy and it also helps lower blood sugar and blood pressure, it builds muscles, lowers cholesterol and reduces the risk of heart disease. The bottom line is that it helps with elimination better than anything else on earth, and it tastes great," a media release stated.
Corin explained that the name Holy Crap came about after customers called her and said, 'Holy crap this stuff really works.'
"Brian is in marketing and he thought we should try the name out, so we changed it and we sold 100 bags that day," Corin said.
While the name may have gotten the producers' attention at a recent audition for the show at BCIT, it was the taste that landed Corin and Brian an audience with the Dragons later this month in Toronto.
After the pair gave samples to the producers and their assistants at the auditions, they received a call asking for more.
"The producers called us and they wanted another case. The loved it. They were stuck in hotels all the time with no real food," Brian said.
Holy Crap is wheat free, gluten free, lactose free and now salt free and sugar free. It's packed with Omega 3s, Omega 6s, protein, calcium, iron, zinc, fibre and antioxidants. It has organic apples, raisins, cranberries and cinnamon and it also contains wild chia, which is a seed that can absorb water to grow 10 times in size, making a small bag last a long time.
Creating a cereal that lasts a long time was the original reason Brian and Corin started work on Holy Crap back in 1998.
"We were in that terrible ice storm in Montreal and we really saw how important it is to have food if you had a package of Holy Crap and water, you could stay alive for eight days," Corin said.
Whether the Dragons like the name, the taste, the health benefits or the practicality of Holy Crap cereal, the Mullins hope they offer some financial support to bring Holy Crap to a larger consumer base.
"We don't want the Dragons to take a controlling interest. We hope for a small investment and a line of credit. I think that would be a good start," Brian said.
Although the Mullins are going to Toronto to film for season six of the Dragons' Den at the end of April, they won't be able to tell anyone what happened until after the show airs in September.
"We have a contract not to disclose anything," Brian said.
You can find out more about Holy Crap and the Mullins' other cereal, Skinny B, on their website at www.holycrap.ca, where you can also purchase the products.
