Product Update
Is Imperial Candles Still in Business? (2026 Update)
Is Imperial Candles from Dragons’ Den still around in 2026? The deal it made, the dragons who invested, and where to buy Imperial Candles today.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Imperial Candles pitched scented candles and bath bombs with a genuine piece of sterling silver jewellery hidden inside each one. The short answer to whether it is still in business is yes, the brand is actively selling today, although its Dragons' Den story is a more mixed one than the company's own marketing tends to suggest.
The Short Answer
Imperial Candles is currently trading, with an active website selling jewellery candles, bath bombs, reed diffusers and related gift products, plus a large social media following. It does not sell through Amazon.
There is a wrinkle worth flagging honestly: company records associated with the original Dragons' Den-era entity show a dissolution filing from 2020. What is selling today under the Imperial Candles name and website is clearly an active, ongoing consumer business, so either the brand continued under a restructured entity or the dissolution record applies to a related company rather than the trading brand itself. We could not fully resolve which from public sources, so treat that detail as an open question rather than a settled fact.
The Pitch
Imperial Candles appeared in a Series 17 episode, with founders asking for £100,000 in exchange for 40 percent of the business, pitching soy wax candles and bath bombs that each conceal a piece of jewellery inside, an idea built around the appeal of unwrapping a small surprise with every use.
It's a strong gifting concept, one part candle brand and one part treasure hunt, which is exactly the kind of hook that plays well both in the Den and on social media afterwards. The company began in 2014 as a small operation making soy wax candles by hand, before building out the jewellery-inside concept that became its signature product.
That kind of product, part self-care ritual and part gift, tends to travel well in the gifting season, which is when the episode aired. A Christmas special slot puts a product like this in front of exactly the audience most likely to buy it as a present within weeks of watching.
What Actually Happened With the Deal
This is one of the more clear-cut no-deal stories in our index. Despite the appeal of the pitch, Imperial Candles did not secure investment on the show. The episode helped build brand awareness regardless, which is a familiar pattern: a company doesn't need a Dragon's money to benefit from millions of people seeing the product on television.
Post-show, the brand grew its own following substantially, building a large audience on social media around its jewellery candles and bath bomb ranges without a Dragon's backing behind it. Company filings tied to the original entity show a dissolution record from 2020, which we think is worth being upfront about rather than quietly leaving out, even though the brand's current website and social presence are clearly active and trading.
Reading the Company Record Honestly
When a company's public filings and its live commercial presence appear to point in different directions, the honest approach is to say so rather than pick whichever story is tidier. What we can verify directly, an operating website, an active product catalogue and continuing customer engagement, all point to the brand still being in business today under the Imperial Candles name.
What we cannot fully resolve from public sources is the precise corporate history connecting the entity that pitched in the Den to the one trading today. That could reflect a straightforward restructuring, a change of trading entity, or simply an administrative filing that does not reflect the brand's actual operating status. We would rather flag that gap than paper over it.
The Broader Pattern of No-Deal Survivors
Imperial Candles sits in a category of Dragons' Den companies that is worth knowing about generally: businesses that pitched, walked away without a Dragon's cheque, and thrived anyway on the exposure alone. It is a reminder that the investment itself is only ever one part of what a Den appearance offers a founder. National television exposure to an audience of millions is, for a consumer gifting brand, worth a great deal on its own, deal or no deal.
Founders who leave without an offer sometimes describe it as a blessing in disguise, since they keep full ownership of the business while still getting the marketing boost. Whether that was the outcome the Imperial Candles founders intended or not, it appears to be roughly how things played out.
Where Things Stand Now
Imperial Candles pitched for £100,000 and 40 percent but left the Den without a completed investment. Despite that, the brand is still trading today, selling jewellery-hiding candles and bath bombs direct to customers with a substantial social media following built in the years since.
If you're wondering whether the candle brand from the show survived without a Dragon's money, it did, which is its own kind of proof that the product worked on its merits, even with a slightly murky corporate history behind the current trading entity.
Where to buy Imperial Candles
Still selling as of 31 May 2026. Check today's price and availability.
Affiliate link — we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
See the full Imperial Candles deal breakdown and term sheet →
