The inventor of a ready-to-drink frozen cocktail triumphed in the Welsh heat of this year's The Pitch competition.
Helen McAvoy and Naomi Kibble of Cardiff-based MK Rock Ltd reached the final, where the winning prize is £50,000 in business support, after impressing judges who included serial entrepreneur and founder of Simply Switch, Karen Darby, star of The Secret Millionaire and MD of Kloog, Carl Hopkins, and Adam Price, founder of Life on Show TV.
Explaining the decision, Karen Darby said: “It was a unanimous decision for the judges. It’s a very innovative product.
“We can imagine it selling like hotcakes. We think the girls put together a very articulate and confident pitch, they’re swimming with the tide in terms of over-the-counter sales of alcoholic products, the marketing and branding looks good and I can imagine people buying it.”
They’re swimming with the tide in terms of over-the-counter sales of alcoholic products, the marketing and branding looks good and I can imagine people buying it
Karen Darby, Secret Millionaire star and MD of Kloog
Tom Darnell, head of new customer strategy at Yell, adds: “Rocktails is a very deserving winner but all of the competing businesses are strong concepts that have a very high degree of market value.” The other competitors in the Welsh heat of The Pitch 2011 were:
- Marcus Hacker of Kitchen Pro, who promoted a new brand in kitchenware combining utility and aesthetics that appeal in today’s design conscience culture.
- David Millership of Multilog Ltd demonstrated good health and safety with his personal horizontal safety line, which he said prevents impacts from a height of 2.4m and allows for “total unobtrusive freedom of movement” for users.
- Jarrad Morris of Uni'd Clothing presented his one-stop-shop for university branded clothing, which he is currently running concurrently with completing a degree at Cardiff University.
- Gill Ellis & Nicola Morgan of Behaviour Stop Ltd introduced the Good Choice Teddy to the panel, which promotes good behaviour in 3-7 year old children with its behavioural processes.
- McAvoy and Kiddle will be joined in The Pitch 2011 grand final by Cara Sayer, founder of SnoozeShade, who won the England heat in June.
The remaining finalists will be selected at two outstanding heats, taking place in Edinburgh and Belfast later in the summer. Entries are still open for both heats at The Pitch 2011 website, with the grand final set to take place on 18 November in central London.
The Pitch 2011 champion will walk away with £50,000 of business support including 12 months free mentoring from Karen Darby, advertising solutions from Yell and free membership of employers’ organisation the Forum of Private Business.
The Pitch 2011 helps other entrepreneurs and start-ups build success by running free conferences alongside the heats with top expert speakers.
