"I’d just hit the lowest point in my business"
Abilasha Bhohi received investment for her business on Dragons’ Den, however, she admitted she was “done” with Moonji before the success.
She is the founder of Moonji, a plant-based ice cream company inspired by Ayurveda.
Abilasha pitched her company on the September 3 episode, facing guest investor Tinie Tempah alongside regulars Peter Jones, Touker Suleyman, Deborah Meaden and Steven Bartlett.
Tinie and Peter agreed to jointly invest £75,000 for a 30% stake in Moonji, twice the amount Abilasha had originally offered.
However, Abilasha revealed that she almost never made it onto the show after experiencing the biggest loss in her business to date.
On Instagram, she said she had sold all her equipment and had no money left in her accounts after making the biggest loss to date with Moonji.
Abilasha wrote: “I ignored it (the email). I’d just hit the lowest point in my business and had quietly decided I was done.”
Abilasha had received an email from Dragons’ Den producers but was ready to walk away from Moonji as she travelled to a retreat in Mexico.
But while on the plane, she wrote in her journal that “maybe I could manifest my dream factory”.
At the retreat, she met a man who turned out to own an ice cream factory and offered to produce Moonji that summer.
In a video, she explained: “For more synchronicity on top of the synchronicity, the factory is half an hour from my house!
“You could not make this up… it’s too much.
“The night I flew home, my friend Corina told me I should apply to Dragon’s Den. I told her I’d just gotten the email.”
Abilasha responded to the BBC’s email just in time, revealing that “I beat the deadline by one day”.
She was subsequently invited to send samples of Moonji to the BBC building in Glasgow for tasting, but there was another problem: she had no ice cream left and no way to produce more.
She said:
“There was one stockist left, in Glasgow… around the corner from the BBC offices!”
After progressing to the next stage, Abilasha still needed to produce enough Moonji for the Dragons to taste during filming.
Her new factory supplier agreed to let her use the kitchen early so she could make stock for the pitch.
“Every hurdle after that solved itself the same strange way, right down to the friend who handed me his kitchen when I had no factory for filming day.”
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Abilasha went on to secure a £75,000 investment from Tinie and Peter in exchange for 30% of Moonji.
Reflecting on the sequence of events, she said: “None of it was planned. All of it was necessary.
“If you’re sitting on something right now, you don’t need the whole plan. Just take the next true step. The door opens when you need it to.”
Abilasha added: “Take the leap of faith – and trust.”
