Malvern couple slay the dragon

4:20pm Tuesday 19th August 2008

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A MALVERN-born inventor is celebrating after his company received a £200,000 investment on yesterday's Dragon's Den TV show.

Guy Unwin presented toastabags, as well as a number of other innovative cookwear products, with partner Caroline Kavanagh on the BBC 2 show.

Mr Unwin, who is managing director and chief inventor of Planit Products, based at Enigma Business Park, Sandys Road, Malvern, said he went on the programme to get the money to push the business onto another level.

“We are unusual in the fact a lot of companies go on there when they haven’t got a product to market but we are in most of the major supermarkets now with the toastabag and we have got other lines in Tesco,” he said.

“We think the whole world knows about toastabags but it’s not the case so another reason to get on there was to raise awareness and drive customers back to them because if you don’t supermarkets will just de-list them.”

Mr Unwin, 55, who also plays hockey with Worcester Severners, said he invented toastabags - a bag you can put in a toaster to make toasted sandwiches - in an old stable workshop on the Madresfield estate in Malvern about 10 years ago following a trip to Belgium where he was inspired to make toasted baguettes.

Mr Unwin said he hoped Mr Caan would now help make Planit Products a success at home and abroad, especially in America.