Dragons' Den to feature Hope Blooms entrepreneurs

A group of young Halifax entrepreneurs will be pitching their business proposal to the Dragons tonight on CBC Television's Dragons' Den.

The 43 young people from north-end Halifax are looking to expand their salad dressing business called Hope Blooms.

The small business began as a community garden project with less than a dozen kids. The students planted and tended the crops turning them into a line of organic salad dressings sold at the Halifax Seaport Farmers' Market.

The dressing sells for $8 a bottle. From each bottle sold, $1 goes into a scholarship fund for the kids.

The teens were making 200 bottle per year. Now the business has grown to making 200 per week. Christina Hubley said they can't keep up with demand.

"We usually sell out by 10 a.m. and the other vendors are jealous of us because we're sold out before them," she said.

The business could continue to grow if it had a year-round greenhouse — a pitch that impressed at least one Dragon in the promo for Wednesday night's show.

"We're social entrepreneurs. With a small portion of our profits, we use [that] to buy seeds and our tools and teach community members … how to grow," said one of the young entrepreneurs.

"Makes me cry," said Arlene Dickinson in a commercial for the episode.

The students are hoping they're granted a $10,000 loan so Hope Blooms can continue to grow.

The episode airs Wednesday night at 8 p.m.