Penticton soda company wins spot on Dragons’ Den

PENTICTON – A local entrepreneur has made a successful pitch to the television show Dragons' Den and will go before the panel next month.

Jason Cox is going to Toronto May 13 to try and talk the Dragons' Den panel into investing in his Penticton-based soda company, The People's Crafthouse.

Cox has been in the business for two years now, having developed the first product in August 2014, and the sodas are available at several local stores. He says the 'good-for-you soda' is made from natural ingredients, traditional recipes and no preservatives

At Dragons' Den, Cox will be looking for an investment to allow the company to expand locally.

“We were in four locations last year, this year we have 12, and that’s just people who have approached us. We haven’t had the opportunity to go out and sell the product because I’m just meeting the demand we have. If we can increase production, we can increase sales, possibly throughout the region and the province,” Cox says, adding the company is just looking for enough money to advance their local market at this time, and continue the growth they’ve experienced in the last couple of years.

Cox has also started a GoFundMe page to raise enough money to make the trip to Toronto.

“The opportunity to get on Dragons' Den came up very quickly, and we just received word last Friday we would appear on the show May 13, so we are just looking for some support to get there because it’s not something we budgeted for, and it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity we have to prepare for,” he says.

Three hundred people are invited to a Dragons' Den audition, but only one in three have an opportunity to get on television. Cox says he was told by producers he would be getting a spot on TV, based on his strong audition, in a new feature starting this year.

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