Product Update
Is Frida Rome Still in Business? (2026 Update)
Is Frida Rome from Dragons’ Den still around in 2026? The deal it made, the dragons who invested, and where to buy Frida Rome today.
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Frida Rome pitched vegan luxury handbags with a genuinely unusual twist, an optional erotic story printed inside the lining, alongside a serious case for cactus leather as a sustainable alternative to animal hide. If you are here to find out whether the Manchester-based brand kept going after the Den, the short answer is yes.
The Short Answer
Frida Rome is still in business. The brand sells its full range of vegan leather handbags and accessories directly through its own website, and it has picked up genuine industry recognition since its Den appearance rather than fading after the initial press cycle.
There is no Amazon listing for the products. Luxury and near-luxury handbags almost never sell through general marketplaces, since the brand experience and packaging are part of what customers are paying for, and a direct storefront protects that.
The Dragons' Den Pitch
Founders Rebecca Joy and Natalie Deana, best friends running the business together, pitched structured, chic handbags made from cactus leather, a sustainable material developed by the Mexican company Desserto as an alternative to animal leather. The distinctive twist was the option to have an erotic story printed on the interior lining, with customers able to choose a saint version without the story or a sinner version with it included.
The founders asked for 50,000 pounds in exchange for 20 percent of the business, valuing the company at 250,000 pounds. A confident but not outlandish valuation for a fashion accessories brand with a genuinely differentiated material story to tell. The pitch appeared in series 19, episode 3, the same episode as Kandy Kitchen Creations, giving that night two very different founder stories, one in fashion, one in food.
The Deal That Got Done
Steven Bartlett made the investment, putting up the full 50,000 pounds for the 20 percent stake on offer. He said on air that he wanted to help make sustainability attractive, framing the deal as much about the material innovation as the product design itself.
Bartlett has consistently gravitated toward consumer and lifestyle brands with a strong story to tell, and a vegan luxury handbag brand with a sustainable material at its core and a distinctive, talked-about design detail fits squarely into that pattern.
The erotic story detail was a genuine talking point at the time, and it is easy to assume a gimmick like that fades fast. What has kept the brand relevant since is the material innovation underneath it, cactus leather is a genuinely credible sustainable alternative, and that is the part of the pitch doing the long-term work.
Why Staying Open Matters Here
Luxury and near-luxury handbags are one of the hardest categories for a small independent brand to break into, dominated by heritage names with decades of brand equity that a young company simply cannot buy its way past. Success here tends to depend on carving out a genuinely distinct niche rather than competing head-on, which is exactly what the cactus leather and story-lining concept was designed to do.
Frida Rome appears to have found that niche. The brand picked up Best Vegan Handbag honours at the PETA Fashion Awards after its Den appearance, and has drawn public endorsements from figures including Steven Bartlett himself and actress Alicia Silverstone. That kind of ongoing press and award attention, rather than a single spike around the broadcast, points to a business still actively building its profile.
Where Things Stand Now
To recap: Frida Rome pitched vegan luxury handbags made from cactus leather, asked for 50,000 pounds for 20 percent, and closed that deal with Steven Bartlett.
Today the Manchester-based brand is still selling its full range through its own website, has collected industry awards in the years since its Den appearance, and continues to lean on its sustainable material story as its core differentiator.
If you came here to check whether this one made it, it did, and the distinctive concept that got it noticed on the show is still central to how the brand sells itself today.
Common Questions
Is Frida Rome still in business after Dragons' Den? Yes, the Manchester-based brand still sells its full range through its own website and has picked up industry awards since its appearance.
Can you buy Frida Rome handbags on Amazon? No, the brand sells exclusively through its own website to protect the luxury shopping experience.
Who invested in Frida Rome on Dragons' Den? Steven Bartlett, who put up the full 50,000 pounds asked for in exchange for a 20 percent stake.
Where to buy Frida Rome
Still selling as of 15 March 2026. Check today's price and availability.
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See the full Frida Rome deal breakdown and term sheet →
