The pitch
What walked into the Den
Norm and Natasha Strim of Vancouver founded Nonna Pia's Balsamic Reductions, a maker of artisan balsamic glazes, and brought it to the Den in season 10.
They asked for $180,000 in exchange for 18 percent, a $1 million valuation for the sauce brand.
After the show
What happened next
The pitch landed a Dragon. David Chilton put in $100,000, and the story did not stop there: he reinvested another $250,000 in a later round, reported at the time as the biggest reinvestment the show had seen.
The brand is still on shelves. As of July 2026 its site listed balsamic glazes, pasta sauces, apple cider vinegar and wine vinegars, with a Where to Buy page pointing to retail.
Our read
The Hub verdict
The story is not the original $180,000 ask, it is what David Chilton did afterward. He came in at $100,000, then doubled back with a further quarter-million-dollar reinvestment, described then as the biggest the show had recorded, which is a Dragon leaning in rather than making a one-time bet.
Balsamic glaze has to earn its place on a crowded shelf one grocery buyer at a time, which is exactly the slow, distribution-led grind a second cheque is for. The brand is still on shelves, with glazes, pasta sauces, apple cider vinegar and wine vinegars listed and a retail finder pointing shoppers to stores.
A Dragon who did not just invest once but came back with a record reinvestment.
