WHEN Rachel Watkyn set up Tiny Box Company ten years ago, she had no idea of just how successful it would be.

Now a decade on - fuelled by determination and a £60,000 Dragons’ Den investment from Peter Jones and Theo Paphitis - Tiny Box Company is celebrating its most successful year to date with no signs of slowing down.

The Tiny Box Company now stocks well over 700 products and has a customer base of more than 40,000 people.

Products range from independent designers to international corporations.

Ethics have always been at the forefront of Rachel’s agenda right from the start with her ethos that recycled packaging should be nothing less than excellent in quality and beautiful enough to complement the product.

Rachel said: “Tiny Box Company has come a long way in the past 10 years.

“I am overwhelmed by how my tiny business with big ideas has developed into a thriving international business.

“With new products planned, the recent acquisition of a new bespoke box factory and a loyal customer base, I am looking forward to seeing what Tiny Box Company achieves in the next 10 years.”

Originally employing a handful of staff, the company now employs more than 45 people. Located next door to the Bluebell Railway in Uckfield, Tiny Box Company is now in its fifth office following rapid growth.

The expansion and larger offices allowed Tiny Box Company to begin to manufacture its own boxes.

With a growth rate of 30 per cent per annum, the company is on track for a turnover of just short of £4 million this year.

Rachel recalls her appearance on TV.

She said: “We desperately needed funds though as we had grown so rapidly.

“We were having to finance more stock and we had started off with one small office and had spread over the farm we worked on to three premises.

“These still weren’t big enough and we were literally sitting on boxes - you couldn’t get through the office door.

“So a few months later we arrived at the “dragon” location at about 6.30am.

“We sat in the “green room” twitching and fidgeting, waiting to be summonsed, in the meantime helping ourselves to endless cups of tea and chocolate to calm our nerves.

“The BBC staff had done my hair beautifully first thing but the “green room” was so hot and humid, my hair just got frizzier and bigger as the day went on.

So by the time we got in front of the Dragons it looked outrageous - one massive frizzball.”

She said she was stunned at the success.

Peter Jones said: “Tiny Box Company has evolved from an ambitious start up to a robust successful enterprise with a key industry position.

“Rachel’s sheer determination, persistence and adaptability to industry changes have been the driving force behind the company’s success.

“I look forward to seeing what the next ten years hold for Rachel and Tiny Box Company.”