Teddie Levenfiche talks to Grace Galler about why Matcha is his opinion an “superior source of caffeine” and how PerfectTed has been taking the UK by storm since appearing the show Dragons’ Den.
After appearing on the BBC’s hit show Dragons’ Den and receiving a clean sweep of offers from all investors, matcha energy drink company PerfectTed had a difficult decision. Which dragon could help catapult their brand onto supermarket shelves across the UK?
The brand New Food has several concerns of its own about the process of creating the brand. What void in the market will it fill? Why should you switch to matcha instead of coffee or other established energy drinks? What’s happening in the background when you pitch a new beverage to five of the most ruthless investors?
In the role of a dragon, Grace talked to Teddie Levenfiche,, the co-founder of PerfectTed,, and asked for an updated business pitch to check out how far the company has progressed since the filming of the cult TV show in 2022.
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Q: What’s the background story behind PerfectTed?
Teddie Levenfiche (TL): PerfectTed is a brand that aims to spread positive energy. We’re also the creator of Europe’s first matcha-powered energy drinks.
My co-founder Marissa Poster suffered from ADHD and anxiety throughout her childhood. She found that energy and coffee drinks aggravated the symptoms. When she changed on to matcha she discovered that it provided her with longer and more lasting energy, with no anxiousness, jitters or crashes and didn’t cause any more symptoms.
The three founders of PerfectTed are Teddie Levenfiche, Marissa Poster and Levi Levenfiche (left to right).
I was hooked. We quickly realized that it was a great source of caffeine, allowing us to gain other incredible advantages like vitamins and antioxidants. At the time we started our company, we were living in America. US, Marissa was in New York, and I lived in LA where matcha was a considerable ingredient. We relocated back to the UK. The UK and saw an immense chance to assist people by offering them the exact source of caffeine we had been using ourselves.
What is it that makes PerfectTed distinct from the other Matcha beverages?
The Low: PerfectTed is a matcha energy drink. How we look at the energy sector is divided into three distinct waves. Brands like Red Bull and Monster invented this first one, and they aim to provide energy at all costs. The second was a natural energy drink that focus on delivering the same type of energy but with natural ingredients.
PerfectTed is an additional wave of. People are now taking natural ingredients for granted, and we’re focusing on ways to give an energy boost that is more effective,, which means a more lasting form of energy that doesn’t cause crashes or negative effects other energy drinks can cause.
Matcha is grown mainly in Japan, so where do you get the ingredients you need to ensure they are authentic?
TTL: We partner directly with farms in Japan, eliminating all middlemen. We control the quality and sustainability of the product and make it available in the most easily accessible form possible: a can.
Many people love matcha, but the hassle of making it may prevent them from drinking. We’ve aimed to remove this barrier and let users access the beverage by simply opening a bottle.
How easily can UK customers access PerfectTed in 2023?
The Low-Low: It’s always half a mile from the perfect Ted and probably even less. We’re located in more than 1200 Tesco stores but also in Planet Organic, Holland and Barratt, Marks & Spencer, and in sushi bars.
One of the earliest ways we gained in the market was by providing offices to companies like Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, and Amazon. Companies were contacting us with the message, “Hey we’re providing employees with unhealthy energy levels that are making them crash at lunchtime. We want to make sure they are as productive as they can. Do you have a way to stock your products?” That’s how it began to take off.
We have demonstrated how PerfectTed is a well-known beverage. There are many amazing people working in the industry of food and drink who inspired and pushed us. They truly set the stage for us to achieve what we do.