Levi received funding to develop the sauce from TV show Dragons' Den panellists Richard Farleigh and Peter Jones. They each gave him £25,000 in return for a 20% stake in his business.

The BBC reported that it was Levi's passion about his product that initially appealed to Peter Jones. The BBC also spoke to Sainsbury's buyer Nick Paddison, who explained that the sauce fitted in with the supermarket's current 'try something new' campaign, as well as its commitment to supporting small suppliers.

Enterprise NewsLine reported a fortnight ago that Tesco was also close to signing a deal with Levi.