Ole Smokes Coffee

By Liam Verster

Local Business

Grande Prairie based Ole Smokes Coffee asks for deal on Dragons Den

Oct 30, 2019 | 1:17 PM

This story contains spoilers from the web exclusive clip. Scroll down to the bottom of the story to watch the Ole Smokes Coffee pitch on the Dragons Den.

The owner and founder of Ole Smokes Coffee has struck a deal with on Dragons Den.

Tim Sanford, along with Ole Smokes mascot, Barry the Bear, appeared as web exclusive content on the CBC Show Dragons Den. Sanford asked the Dragons for a $300,000 investment for 5% of the company.

However, Sanford settled for a deal with Manjit Minhas, selling 20% of his company for $300,000. Sanford says that’s alright with him, as he went in with a high bid so as to shoot for the stars, but did plan to be talked down, and is happy with how the deal was finalized.

He says he’s very happy to have Minhas as a partner in his business.

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“I made [the deal] for a strategic partnership, and I thought that Manjit would actually be a great partner, with her background in brewing and everything else. I thought it would be a great partnership, and that’s why I made the deal that I did.”

Ole Smokes Coffee began in 2017 as a roastery, using a unique smoking technique to flavour the beans, that set it apart from the other companies. Since then, they’ve expanded and started a coffee shop in Grande Prairie, and are expanding, with franchises set to open in Hythe and Spirit River, as well as in Opasatika, Ontario.

The coffee shop, along with offering the usual cafe treats, also offers fresh game, including elk and bison, which sets it apart from the usual coffee shops.

He says they don’t plan on expanding to big cities, like Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto or Vancouver, where real estate is too pricey and the market is too saturated with coffee shops already. Sanford says Ole Smokes shops are opening in small towns where real estate is less pricey, and that the shop is trying to appeal to a specific market.

“So we’re after the blue collar workers, we’re the anti-yuppy coffee company. So we’re actually after small towns. The one thing that Jim [Treliving] and them didn’t understand is that we’re not buying million dollar pieces of properties, we’re buying property at like 50-60,000 dollars.”

However, he says if interest in Ole Smokes does continue to grow, he wouldn’t object to moving into bigger markets, but it’s not in his sights at this time.

Sanford has received the paperwork for the partnership with Minhas, and plans to use the investment to expand his marketing and brand awareness. He plans to continue selling the roasted beans across the country and down into the United States, and hopes to see more Ole Smokes franchises popping up across Canada.

The pitch was only aired as a Dragons Den Web Exclusive.