Northampton spice company owner scoops business award from Dragons' Den star Theo Paphitis

A Northampton spice company has been given special recognition by Dragons' Den star Theo Paphitis at his Small Business Sunday awards.

Bite Me Spices was founded by Sera Harman in 2014 after she had to adapt a gluten free diet for medical reasons.

What started as a business venture operating from Sera's home went on to move into commercial premises during the pandemic, where Sera produces a wide range of gluten free spice mixes, sauces and relish.

In acknowledgment of her achievements, Sera was invited to the International Convention Centre in Birmingham on Friday, February 25 to receive a special award from Dragons' Den star Theo Paphitis at his Small Business Sunday (SBS) awards event.

Sera said: "Getting the award during what I think is the most difficult period I've been trading has massively boosted my confidence and motivated me.

"I'm an optimist at heart but I was struggling. This made me feel I could not just recover, but thrive."

The Small Business Sunday competition is run every Sunday night on Twitter, where hundreds of people tweet about their UK businesses to Theo and he choses six to give a special social media boost.

Sera was one of those six lucky businesses so she switched off the blenders and brushed off the spices to collect her award certificate from the Dragon himself.

The awards event additionally saw Theo have a 'fireside chat' with fellow Dragons' Den star Touker Suleyman, where they talked candidly about business life and answered questions from business owners about overcoming challenges.

Sera continued: "This lockdown period and upheaval caused by Brexit over the last few years have been incredibly challenging and it’s very easy to feel alone in this particularly as a sole trader.

"It felt reassuring to hear others felt the same and in fact building resilience was a key theme and my main takeaway from the event."

Bite Me Spices was not the only recent SBS winners from Northamptonshire.

Replete Flatbreads and Friar’s Farm also won awards but were unable to attend in person.

Bite Me Spices produces and sells a wide range of spice blends, sauces and award-winning relish available from their website www.bite-me-spices.co.uk.