I was a single teen mum struggling to survive – now I’m worth £15m & starred on Dragons’ Den thanks to my ‘genius’ idea

A SINGLE mum has told however she transformed her beingness from teen gestation to featuring connected Dragons' Den and present being worthy £15m.

Kirsty Henshaw, 39, grew up successful a working-class household successful Preston, Lancashire, and became a azygous mum astatine conscionable 19.

But implicit the past 2 decades, the single mum-of-two has turned a concern thought into a whopping £15m empire.

Her thought came portion she was raising her lad Jacob, who was diagnosed with a terrible seed and dairy allergy.

To marque her son's beingness simpler and safer, Kirsty created a dairy-free crystal pick look from her tiny kitchen.

This would service arsenic the starting constituent of her multi-million lb idea.

Then the pursuing year, 2010, she took it onto Dragons' Den and secured a £65k concern from Peter Jones and Duncan Bannatyne.

The marque dubbed Kirsty's expanded into a scope of free-from acceptable meals.

After 3 years successful the business, she bought the 2 dragons retired of their investment.

15 years connected from its archetypal launch, Kirsty's is the UK’s fig 1 free-from acceptable repast brand, worthy £15 million.

Now surviving successful Hale, Cheshire, the azygous mum-of-two said: "I had ever been entrepreneurial but we didn't person overmuch wealth increasing up.

"After having Jacob I realised the free-from sections of supermarkets were dull - backmost past determination was nothing.

"I wanted to make thing to consciousness I wasn't unsocial successful this allergy satellite - I made thing Jacob could devour and could besides payment others.

"When I went connected Dragons' Den I was lone making ice cream but I had ideas for a overmuch bigger postulation of products.

"My friends advised maine not to spell connected the amusement but I wanted to beryllium radical incorrect - and it ended up being the making of the business. Investment enabled maine to grow - and present Kirsty's is stocked successful astir each supermarket.

"It's been a batch of blood, sweat and tears but I've ne'er fixed up anticipation - present I conscionable privation to support growing."

Kirsty recovered retired however terrible her present 18-year-old son's allergies were erstwhile helium was conscionable six-months-old.

Jacob went into anaphylaxis arsenic a effect of Kirsty kissing him connected the rima an hr aft snacking connected unknowingly peanuts.

However, the mum said astatine the time, the enactment of allergy-friendly options successful supermarkets was "dull" and it felt isolating.

She worked precocious successful a bar to wage rent connected a tiny two-bed location for them, portion raising her lad unsocial arsenic a teen mum.

In her constricted escaped clip she began experimenting with making free-from foods successful her tiny room of her two-bed home.

When Jacob was three, aft getting herself a fund crystal pick shaper from Argos for £30, Kirsty developed a tasty dairy-free recipe.

She thought others would payment excessively and started a concern with a tiny shaper to merchantability it successful section wellness nutrient shops - backing it by picking up other barroom shifts astatine work.

Kirsty said: "I was naïve, and I was truthful nervous. But due to the fact that I did everything successful the concern myself, from concern to pitching and marketing, I knew the answers to each of their questions.

"And that concern from Peter Jones and Duncan Bannatyne, successful speech for 15% each, was the making of my business."

Over the pursuing years the marque moved distant from crystal pick and into frozen and chilled acceptable meals, pizzas and yet desserts.

Kirsty's products are already seen connected the shelves of supermarkets including Asda, Sainsbury's, Morrisons, Tesco, Nisa and Co-op.

She said: "Now, we are known to beryllium a free-from marque but we're not conscionable sold to radical with allergies."

The marque present has a mill in Yorkshire, wherever 90% of its products are made, and is moving towards becoming carbon-neutral.

The concern has immoderate 60 employees now, including her lad Jacob, the inspiration down the full company.

Kirsty, besides mum to Sophie, six, said: "Sales are £15million a year, and we're moving towards bringing that up to £25million successful the adjacent 2 years. For me, the learning implicit the past fewer years has been immense - I deliberation I could constitute a concern grade from everything I've learnt.

"I ne'er truly halt and deliberation astir however acold we've come, but I'm precise pleased. It hasn't been easy. But I've ne'er fixed up anticipation and I privation to amusement my children what you tin execute if you enactment hard.

"I conscionable privation to normalise free-from nutrient - that really tastes bully and is healthy. It's thing that tin beryllium portion of your diet, allergies oregon not."