Jaime Landry grew up playing a mock version of Dragons’ Den with her siblings, but she never expected to one day bring her business on the show.
In last Thursday’s episode of CBC’s Dragons’ Den, now in its 20th season, Landry pitched her Hubbards-based company, Black Harbour Distillers, to the panel of five, including guest Dragon and Property Brothers star Drew Scott.
Landry came with one ask: $1.5 million for 33 percent of her company.
Black Harbour Distillers originated in 2018. An 18-year-old Landry, still in Dalhousie University’s business management program, was tasked to come up with a business plan. While the plan wouldn’t be put into practice, it was an exercise to get students thinking about all they had learned so far and to act on it as if they had the capital to do so.
With a family rooted in the tradition of alcohol, from a father and grandfather who were moonshiners and a great-grandfather who was a rum runner based in Lunenburg back in the Prohibition era, Landry had a history with the production of alcohol. However, it wasn’t until a Grade 12 trip to the Dominican Republic that she visited a sugar cane field and, surprisingly, a rum factory.
“I fell in love with the whole process,” says Landry in an interview with The Coast.
So, for her business plan, she concocted what would eventually become Black Harbour Distillers.
“I didn’t think it was actually something I would decide to bring to life,” says Landry. “Neither did my parents because I was still 18, but on my 19th birthday, I decided to submit my applications and kind of made it a real deal.”
Black Harbour Distillers is known best for two spirits: its signature Lobster Vodka—and yes, it actually tastes like lobster—and its sparkling Moon Mist Vodka, based on the popular Nova Scotian ice cream flavour.
While some may see its products as a novelty, Landry and others have found that her products, specifically the shellfish aromas of the Lobster Vodka, work well in certain mixed drinks and are useful for cooking as well.
Thanks to the support of a viral influencer spotlight, the Lobster Vodka in particular saw orders from across the country increase drastically. It’s now the company’s best-selling product.
At 25 years old, Landry is already a successful businessperson with great acumen, especially when it comes to branding and marketing. It may come as no surprise then that a producer from Dragons’ Den noticed the products she and her team were creating and asked if she was interested in coming on the show. After a questionnaire and audition process, she went on the show last May and spoke with the Dragons for an hour about her business.
“I was picturing it to be like, ‘yes, no, moving on’, but I was really surprised at how much feedback and advice the Dragons gave,” says Landry.
In the episode, available on CBC Gem, Landry spoke about how when she started the business, it was originally with a partner. That partnership ended up falling apart, with Landry’s parents paying out the other partner and offering her their financial support to get Black Harbour Distillers off the ground.
In response to this, some Dragons rejected her proposal, explaining that they believe Landry has what it takes to make this business a success on her own terms.
“Arlene (Dickinson) was kind of giving me reassurance that I am creative and can do this on my own and don’t necessarily need a partner to scale to that next level,” says Landry. “I’m 25, so sometimes I’m like, oh, I don’t know, can I grow this business myself to the next stage? Maybe I do need someone to help me. But to hear her kind of be like, ‘Sometimes a partner’s not the answer,’ that was really motivating and inspiring.”
The other piece of advice that hit home for Landry was from Michele Romanow, who said that Landry’s energy reminded her of herself at that age, encouraging her to keep pushing forward.
“That was a really good reminder for me that there will be roadblocks along the way, and I faced them when I started, and I’m going to face them again,” says Landry. “The feedback was really inspiring, which I wasn’t expecting.”
While no Dragons took up Landry’s offer in the end, she walked away feeling positive about her business and where it was going. Better yet, she had a full crowd of locals gathered at the distillery on Thursday night, proof that her business and her product are well-loved.
“There were around 100 to 150 people there, which is something I did not expect at all,” says Landry. “I think it was the first time in six years that I thought I was going to cry just from the happiness of people coming out just to hear me on TV for seven minutes. It was wild.”
Of course, within the distillery’s crowd that night were Landry’s parents.
“They’ve been my biggest supporters since day one,” she says. “I wouldn’t be here without my family’s support, and I think it even surprised them more when they walked in. They knew the community has supported me since day one, through the winter months and everything like that, but they were even caught off guard when they [saw] just how many people showed up to be part of the show.”
Learn all about Black Harbour Distillers’ vast array of products on its website.