Welsh entrepreneurs make a deal with Deborah Meaden and Peter Jones in the Den
Kelli Aspland (44) and Laura Waters (40), from Cwmbran in South Wales, appeared on Dragons’ Den last week, securing an £80,000 investment for their sun care product – Solar Buddies.
Solar Buddies is a no-mess applicator that enables children to put sunscreen on themselves. Kelli and Laura came up with Solar Buddies in response to the ‘no touch’ policies at their children’s schools. They found that, without help, their kids would make a massive mess of applying their sun cream or end up sunburnt if they forgot to reapply it.
Kelli said:
“Going into the Den was a heart-in-mouth moment. But we know our business inside out, so as soon as we started talking, the nerves disappeared.”
Laura said:
“We’re so thrilled to be working with Deborah and Peter. To have such titans of the industry come on board is incredible.”
Solar Buddies rose to fame thanks to the #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt trend. Influencers, including Juliana Claire (45.8mn likes), At Home With Shannon (39.6mn likes), Lauren Clutter (32.9mn likes) and Hello Happy Mom (24.6mn likes) love their product.
Before launching Solar Buddies, Kelli had a placement at Cardiff University for nursing, and Laura was writing a book. They describe Solar Buddies as a ‘sliding doors’ career moment for them both.
Solar Buddies can be used universally with all lotions. Kelli and Laura have heard from painters who have used the product to create art and farmers who have used it to apply sunscreen to their animals.
