Brendon and Jaydon Manders took the Den by storm securing investment for their Lumberjaxe barbecue seasoning and sauces firm

Two brothers from Birmingham who came up with a business idea on a walk during lockdown have secured the backing of a Dragons’ Den star.

But they so nearly left the den at the BBC show empty-handed.

Brendon and Jaydon Manders grew up in Bartley Green and became entrepreneurs as a result of the Covid lockdown.

Brendon came up with an idea of seasonings and sauces – after enjoying many a happy afternoon at their nan and grandad’s, with Grandad Rob’s barbecue made from reclaimed bricks taking centre stage.

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The brothers, two of four siblings, decided to start the business in 2020 during the Covid lockdowns when Brendon suggested the plan.

They started their business Lumberjaxe with just £100 each – selling to friends and family creating seasonings and sauces with ‘bold flavours and all-natural ingredients.

Unbeknown to Brendon, as their fledgling home industry got up and running, his younger brother Jaydon watched Dragons’ Den in 2024 and applied to go on the show.

They had grown the business from £5,700-a-year sales to £82,000 by year three with an £8,000 profit and an expected £220,000 turnover in year four, with a £33,000 projected profit. But they wanted help.

So the duo appeared on the hit show for budding entrepreneurs in an episode screened yesterday, Thursday, February 20.

They spoke of being brought up by a single mum, with dad-of-five Brendon becoming tearful. Jaydon stepped in and said their mum had instilled a ‘work ethic’ into them.

Dragon Touker Suleyman described Jaydon as ‘one of the brightest 21-year-olds ever to enter this den’. And Brendon said ‘in Year 11 he won the Bill Gates award at school as the ‘most likely to become a millionaire’.

But it looked like their investment dream was slipping away, despite universal support for their idea from Den regulars, Peter Jones, Deborah Meaden, Stephen Bartlett, Sara Davies, Stephen Bartlett and Suleyman.

All declared themselves out when the brothers asked for £90,000 in return for a 20 per cent share of their business, describing it as a ‘tough market’.

But guest Dragon Emma Grede, who runs clothing brands Good American and SKIMS with Khloe and Kim Kardashian, saved the day.

In an impassioned speech Emma said she had doubts but it was about ‘paying it forward’ and ‘taking a chance’ as the brothers felt ‘way too familiar’.

She said they deserved for someone to take a chance on them – leaving Brendon shedding a tear again.

‘We were pitching ideas and always found ourselves coming back to food’

The brothers spoke with BirminghamLive the day after the show. Brendon spoke of his grandad, Robert, being his male role model – particularly with his barbecues and also the best man at his wedding.

Recalling their business idea, the 31-year-old said: “We were on a walk when Boris (Johnson) would let you walk together. Two brothers on a Boris walk.

“My grandad had built a barbecue from reclaimed bricks at my nan and grandad’s house in Bartley Green.

“We were pitching potential business ideas and we always found ourselves coming back to food. Creating memories for us. There’s a lot to be said for mealtimes.

“It’s important to sit down with your family and have that time creating memories around the dinner table. That was a big thing for us.

“I went away and had this idea to make seasonings at the time and came back to Jaydon and he liked it.”

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‘It all happened so quickly and then we recorded the episode’

The brothers bought 100 tins and paid for 100 labels to create their first batch of what became Backyard BBQ seasoning and Lumberjaxe was born.

Brendon, who now lives in Halesowen, said: “We were doing events and cashflow was always a problem.

“We were making money but unable to take any out to live off. We were doing all the festivals and it got to a point we were struggling to fund it and cope.

“I didn’t know Jaydon had applied for Dragons’ Den.” Jaydon said: ” I applied while I was watching the show around this time last year.

“I got a phone call from the producer about three weeks after that. He said he liked us and asked us to record a pitch, which we filmed in the back garden.

“It all happened so quickly. We recorded the episode last June.”

‘We are two Brummie lads that are going to work harder than anyone else’

Jaydon, who lives in Quinton, continued: “Since the show we have had a lot of talk around branding and co-manufacturing.

“We have secured a co-manufacturer in Banbury. Had a rebrand. My brother-in-law Reece worked on that. Cleaned up the branding.

“Sometimes on the show you see them critique the business. We felt we didn’t get any of that in the pitch.

“We are like sponges and really listened to what the dragons said.

“Emma’s absolutely amazing, so down-to-Earth. She has given us lots of advice, another way of thinking and enabled us to think bigger.”

Brendon said: “We are so lucky. We are over the moon to be able to pair up with Emma and she took a chance on us.

“We are two Brummie lads that are going to work harder than anyone else!”

The brothers held a watch party on Broad Street as the Dragons’ Den episode aired last night.

After eight months of not telling anyone other than their close family it was a relief. Jaydon said: “We were at shows and people were saying ‘you should go on Dragons’ Den’ and we couldn’t say anything!”

Brendon, who used to be a mobile barber, said: “We spent some time with Emma on Thursday morning and had a nice meeting with her and discussed future business.

“We had a watch party with family and friends at the Novotel on Broad Street. I brought the children along. Jaydon’s girlfriend made balloons.

“I thought it would be really weird watching it. But it was a nice thing. The BBC did a really good job of editing it – we were in there for an hour-and-a-half and it was down to less than 20 minutes.”

‘We really look after each other’

On working with his brother, he said: “We have always had a really nice bond. I trust his judgement.

“We have a really good working relationship and an even better relationship as brothers. We look after each other.

“His entrepreneurial nature mixed with my ideas and branding. Knowing the industry.”

Grede said: “Brendon and Jaydon are exactly the type of founders I like to back, self-starters with a super-clear vision and a best-in-class product.

“The fact they have bought Lumberjaxe this far with so little aside from ambition and hard graft, tells me everything I need to know.

“We’re going to build a brand customers will love and enjoy every day with distribution all over the UK and that’s just the beginning.”

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Jaydon said: “Me and Brendon are proper grafters. We did car boots and have even made candles.”

The Lumberjaxe name came from their love of north America and was another idea born from a meeting – this time in Brendon’s garden. And what of the sauces?

Jaydon said: “We started with BBQ and then did the buffalo. We had two that worked with chicken and needed one for beef. So we did the Cajun which is a nice all-rounder and works with fish and vegetables as well.

“Our best seller is mango and chilli – the sweetness of the mango and a bit of heat at the end goes really well. It goes with fish and salads.

“The combo of mango and chilli seasoning and sauce really launched our business in 2022.”

‘We want to go global – to the EU, America and Canada’

They now sell six sauces – Moonshine Mango, Louisiana and Backyard BBQ and six seasonings, those three plus Hot Buffalo, Smokehouse Beef and Cowboy Butter.

And from being stocked in 70 places from garden centres to farm shops, their products now sit on the shelves of Birmingham’s biggest shops.

Brendon added: “Since the show we have carried on increasing our stockists and revamped our website.

“We have our products in Selfridges now. I remember going there as a teenage lad from school.

“I remember they had a Bull like the one outside made from candies. To have our products in there is a bit of a name for us.”

Jaydon said: “What we are looking for now between me, Brendon and Emma is nationwide distribution – at supermarkets. We want to become a store cupboard essential.”

And Brendon added: “We want to go global – to the EU, America and Canada.”