Product Update

Is Optiat Still in Business? (2026 Update)

Is Optiat from Dragons’ Den still around in 2026? The deal it made, the dragons who invested, and where to buy Optiat today.

Dragons' Den IndexUpdated 20 May 20266 min read

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Optiat is a sustainable skincare brand with a slightly unusual answer to the still in business question, because the company is very much alive, but you will not find it trading under the Optiat name anymore. It rebranded as UpCircle not long after its Den appearance, and UpCircle is the name to look for today.

The Short Answer

Yes, the business behind Optiat is still trading, now under the name UpCircle. Companies House records show OPTIAT LTD as an active company with accounts filed as recently as 2024, and the brand continues to sell sustainable skincare products, built around upcycled ingredients like coffee grounds reclaimed from cafes.

If you search for Optiat directly and land on a discontinued or archived page, do not assume the business has closed. Look for UpCircle instead, since that is the operating name.

The Pitch

Optiat pitched in series 16, episode 3, in the Fashion and Beauty category. Founders William and Anna Brightman, a brother-and-sister team, brought their sustainable skincare range, built on the idea of upcycling waste ingredients into beauty products, to the Den.

They asked for 50,000 pounds for 30 percent of the business, a straightforward ask for a young consumer brand looking to fund its next stage of growth. Sustainability was still a relatively fresh selling point in UK beauty retail at the time, and a product built around genuinely upcycled waste ingredients, rather than a vaguer eco-friendly claim, gave the founders a distinct point of difference to lead with.

The Deal

Tej Lalvani and Touker Suleyman jointly backed the pitch, offering the full 50,000 pounds for the 30 percent asked. A joint deal between two Dragons is often a strong signal, since it usually means both saw enough in the product and the founders to want a stake rather than pass.

Part of the panel's feedback, reportedly, was that the branding and packaging needed work, seen as somewhat inconsistent and confusing for what the product actually was. That kind of direct criticism from investors, even inside an accepted deal, often ends up shaping a company's next moves.

Why It Became UpCircle

The founders took that packaging feedback seriously. Rather than tweak the Optiat branding, they relaunched the entire business under a new name, UpCircle, in December 2018, not long after the episode aired. The new name leaned directly into the brand's actual proposition, upcycling waste materials into skincare, in a way the original name did not communicate as clearly.

That kind of full rebrand shortly after a high-profile TV appearance is a bold move, since it risks losing the exposure the show generated. In this case it appears to have worked, with UpCircle going on to build a recognisable identity in the sustainable beauty space that has lasted years beyond the original pitch.

Why Rebrands Like This Happen

A full rebrand shortly after national television exposure is a genuinely counterintuitive move, since it means deliberately giving up the name recognition the show just generated. Founders who do it anyway are usually making a bet that the underlying idea is strong enough to survive a name change, and that getting the brand identity right for the long term matters more than short-term recall from a single broadcast.

For a sustainable beauty brand competing in an increasingly crowded market, having a name and visual identity that immediately communicates what makes the product different, upcycled ingredients rather than virgin raw materials, is arguably worth more over a multi-year horizon than the residual memory of an appearance on Dragons' Den. The years since suggest that bet has paid off for the Brightmans.

Where Things Stand Now

Optiat pitched in series 16 for 50,000 pounds at 30 percent and landed a joint deal with Tej Lalvani and Touker Suleyman. Soon after, the company rebranded as UpCircle, and it is under that name that the business continues to trade, with Companies House showing the underlying company as active with recent filings.

If you are looking to buy the skincare products from the Optiat pitch, search for UpCircle instead. That is where you will find the current range.

Where to buy Optiat

Still selling as of 20 May 2026. Check today's price and availability.

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See the full Optiat deal breakdown and term sheet →