Kirsty Henshaw delivered one of the best pitches ever seen on Dragon's Den when she appeared on the programme in July 2010. A 24 year old, single mother born and bred in Preston, she electrified the Den with her passion, commitment and gritty determination to succeed. Kirsty became one of the youngest entrepreneurs to receive investment on the show when she secured a £65,000 investment from Dragons, Peter Jones and Duncan Bannatyne, in return for a 30% stake in Worthenshaws, her frozen dessert business.

Kirsty Henshaw delivered one of the best pitches ever seen on Dragon's Den when she appeared on the programme in July 2010. A 24 year old, single mother born and bred in Preston, she electrified the Den with her passion, commitment and gritty determination to succeed. Kirsty became one of the youngest entrepreneurs to receive investment on the show when she secured a £65,000 investment from Dragons, Peter Jones and Duncan Bannatyne, in return for a 30% stake in Worthenshaws, her frozen dessert business.

Kirsty’s range of dairy-free, nut-free and sugar-free frozen puddings has now been rebranded to Worthenshaws 'Freedom' and launched across the UK in all major supermarkets in September 2010. The rebranding will enable Kirsty to plan other healthy products to complement the dessert range.

Kirsty's business has been compared to the hugely successful 'Reggae Reggae Sauce' from fellow Dragon's Den contestant, Levi Roots, which now sells in excess of ten million bottles a year. Peter Jones has staked his reputation on Kirsty going on to sell millions of her desserts each year. This looks highly probable because Kirsty's product is innovative and offers a solution to a clear niche in the food market. Many desserts on the market contain lots of saturated fats or are labelled as 'low-fat' but actually contain a high amount of added sugar or are laced with artificial sweeteners and flavourings. There is a clear need for a range of desserts tailored to people with eating restrictions or for those who just enjoy eating natural and healthy foods.

Kirsty was inspired to create her range of frozen products by her four year old son Jacob who has a serious nut allergy and is intolerant to dairy and gluten. She began experimenting with a little ice cream maker from Argos in her tiny kitchen at home. Kirsty formulated a recipe for success combining brown rice milk, coconut oil and natural fruit extracts - all renowned for their health giving properties. Convinced she had a recipe that children and adults would enjoy as a healthy alternative to ice cream she approached a local ice cream maker to produce the products in larger quantities.

Kirsty then hired a consultancy to help her create a brand and design a website. She funded this with £14,000 of her own money which she had saved from doing two part-time jobs and also secured £6,000 of vouchers from the North West Development Agency through the University of Preston. Kirsty was so determined to succeed in business that she dropped out of university where she was studying for a sports therapy degree to pursue her business dream full-time.

An inspirational, confident and 'can-do' young woman, Kirsty talks about her entrepreneurial journey so far. She emphasises the importance of building great relationships with the people around you and knowing your business model inside-out. Kirsty is currently focused on building the Worthenshaws Freedom brand and is consolidating her position as one of the most inspirational young businesswomen in the country.