Two of the UK beauty industry’s most successful founders, Susie Ma of Tropic Skincare and Jenna Meek of Refy, are set to join the BBC’s Dragons’ Den as guest dragons in 2026.
The pair will sit alongside Peter Jones, Deborah Meaden, Touker Suleyman and Steven Bartlett, as well as fellow guest dragons Tinie Tempah and Gary Neville, in a line-up designed to bring a new generation of entrepreneurial voices into the Den.
Both Ma and Meek have built multimillion-pound brands from the ground up and will bring formidable experience to the reality investment show, which invites entrepreneurs to pitch their ideas in the hope of securing financial backing.
Beauty founders are no strangers to the Den, with brands including Pavan Beauty, Hello Klean, UpCircle and Faace all stepping into the lift in previous series. But the addition of two industry leaders marks a significant moment for the UK’s fast-growing beauty and skincare sector.
Jenna Meek, who co-founded Refy with influencer Jess Hunt in 2020, has overseen one of British beauty’s biggest social-first growth stories. Refy now boasts close to one million Instagram followers and retail partnerships with Selfridges, Sephora and Space NK. Before Refy, Meek founded the festival-inspired beauty brand Shrine, known for its glitter and face jewels.
She described joining the programme as a personal milestone: “I am so excited to be joining Dragons’ Den. This has been a lifelong goal of mine. I grew up watching it with my dad, and it inspired me to become an entrepreneur. It’s such an empowering environment, and it’s incredible to sit alongside the dragons – especially Deborah, who inspired me from such a young age.”
Susie Ma, founder and CEO of Tropic Skincare, brings an equally compelling story. She turned a £200 loan from her mother into a stall in Greenwich Market at 15, eventually building it into a £68 million-a-year natural skincare empire headquartered in Croydon.
Her big break came after appearing on The Apprentice in 2011, where she secured investment from Lord Alan Sugar. She later bought out Sugar to become the company’s sole owner.
Ma has also become known for her philanthropic leadership, committing 10% of Tropic’s profits to charity. The business has funded the construction of four schools in remote regions with United World Schools, planted more than 7,000 trees in the Tropic Forest, and supports reef conservation efforts in Australia.
On joining the Den, she said: “It is an absolute honour to join as a guest dragon. I started Tropic Skincare from a market stall at 15, so I know the grit, vision and belief it takes to turn an idea into something extraordinary. I’m here to back the bold – the next generation of changemakers building businesses with purpose. Sitting in that iconic chair is a pinch-me moment.”
The BBC hopes that bringing in founders who have built modern, socially conscious brands will resonate with a new wave of entrepreneurs. Their arrival also underscores the booming influence of the UK beauty industry, which now produces some of the country’s most dynamic start-up success stories.
