Biscuit The Apprentice

This is not a job. I'm not looking for bloody salespeople.

I'm looking for someone who's got a brain to start a business with me.

Heading to London, 16 of Britain's entrepreneurial elite, keen to start a company.

I'm going to inject £250,000 into a business, your business, and you're going to run it.

On offer, a 50/50 partnership with the nation's toughest investor.

If you sit in the office for three hours and do nothing, I ain't going to be a very happy bunny.

Passionate about new money-spinning ventures, Lord Sugar's on the hunt for a winning business partner.

If you see someone else who you think is superior to you, you might as well go home.

-Yay!

-We're not...

-It's a deal worth fighting for.

-Come on.

-This is heavy.

16 candidates.

-Are you not understanding?

-No...

-On and on and on.

-12 tough weeks.

DOG GROWLS Ted, chill out.

-One life-changing opportunity.

-You're fired.

You're fired. I don't think I could go into business with you. You're fired.

Previously on The Apprentice.

We're off to Paris.

-The task - export British design...

-This is really lame.

-Very kind of British.

-..to the French.

-Team leader for the first time...

-It's all right.

-..Tom lost out on the car seat-cum-rucksack...

-It's very, very comfortable.

-..to Susan's team...

You'll be the first people to bring this to France.

..boosting their sales.

I've got euro signs on my eyeballs!

-French speaker Melody...

-Melody, enchante.

-..kept the lion's share of appointments...

-Fine bone china.

-This has great potential.

-..leaving Leon lost for words...

-It's so impressive that you can speak and understand them back!

-..and her Project Manager without a sale.

-Not for me.

In the boardroom, a massacre.

-Thanks to the fantastic pitch that Helen did, they've placed an order of 214,000 euros.

-Wow.

-That's a big one.

-Melody outshone the boys.

You've got some aggression about you cos you want to win.

-Tom teetered.

-No sales, Tom.

-I had no sales, indeed.

-But Leon got lost in translation...

-All I've heard is you couldn't speak French. I don't know what you did.

-Leon, you're fired.

-Thanks for an amazing opportunity.

..to become the ninth casualty.

He said, "You've done a lot of high-profile things," and read out each award.

Now seven remain to fight it out to become Lord Sugar's business partner.

Sunday evening.

All day it's been rest and relaxation.

-Good evening, Lord Sugar.

-Hello.

Call the folks into the kitchen.

Hello!

-Lord Sugar's asked that you all come to the kitchen. He's in the kitchen.

-Are you serious?

-Yep.

You're dressed for the occasion!

Melody! Quick as you can, please.

I hope you're enjoying your rest day, but business carries on.

I'm here to tell you about your next task.

I want you to create a new brand of biscuit.

Not only the biscuit, but also the packaging, the presentation.

And then you're going to pitch it to three supermarkets I've laid on.

The biscuit market is very crowded and if they're going to order yours over the ones they've already got,

yours need to be different, distinct. Something that stands out.

I've laid on a development kitchen for you in Wales and later today

part of your teams will go off down there.

What I'm going to do is mix the teams up.

Helen, you'll be in the team with Natasha and Jim - Venture.

The rest of you are Team Logic.

The team that wins will be the one with the most amount of orders.

The team that loses, one of you will be fired.

- Everything clear? - ALL: Yes.

Good. Off you go. I'll see you in a few days' time in the boardroom.

Both teams have two days to invent and launch a brand of biscuit,

retailing at £1.99...

-What we want to do, guys, is create something new, exciting...

-Exactly.

..then pitch it to three of Britain's supermarket giants.

Yeah.

First, the new teams need leaders.

-I've got some experience in biscuits.

-Quick to step up, food retailer Helen.

I have run food outlets before that would sell bakery products, for example.

-Is everybody happy with me to be Project Manager on this one?

-Yeah.

TOM: This is a great task.

I really want to put myself forward as Project Manager. This is what I do, I put ingredients together

-and then I...

-Susie, you work in the cosmetics industry.

-Yeah. But it's a similar concept.

-You're putting different ingredients together.

-I'm really interested. I work in the food industry.

I pitch to these people. I've got our own factory and, with respect,

your last pitch was pretty dodgy.

That's really unfair, Zoe. Don't bring up old pitches.

-How many votes for Susie?

-I'd vote for myself, obviously.

-I'd vote for me.

-I'd vote for you.

Congratulations, Project Manager. Commiserations, Susie.

Zoe slapped down Susan a couple of times,

like she was a yapping puppy.

But Zoe was clearly the strongest candidate.

To break into the billion-pound biscuit business, they'll need to think up something different.

-I like the idea of a kids' biscuit that you can give them after school.

-It's a massive area.

Our scheme could be sharing with your loved ones. You do the weekly shop and want to surprise your partner...

On Valentine's Day it could be a major thing. Heart-shaped.

-But not too niche. We want it for the mass market.

-I agree.

With the biscuit laboratory in Swansea, they must decide who stays to create the packaging

and who hits the road.

I'll go to the development lab.

But I think you should perhaps be where you declare the final brand, the logo, packaging.

Branding is just as important. It needs to look good on the shelf.

The best biscuit, if it has rubbish packaging, no one will pick it up.

Yeah. I think the PM should be with the brand. If someone's neck is on the line, I'll do it.

-So you two go to the development lab.

-Yeah.

-I strongly, strongly believe

-that a good product sells itself.

-Absolutely.

I'm probably more happy working with Susie.

-Charged with creating prototype biscuits, half of each team set off.

-Right, Melody, let's go.

Ahead, a three-hour drive.

-We're looking at the after-school market. I thought of the name Munch Men.

-That's quite good.

-Mini Man.

-I really like Mini Men.

-Mini Munch Men!

-Mini Munch Men.

-Men that munch.

It sounds a bit rude.

I've done this. There's lots of different ones coming out here.

The first one is an emergency biscuit called Emer-crunchy or something.

To be eaten in an emergency. When there's an emergency, you buy this packet.

-Right, guys. Bye!

-Bye, Zoe.

He's trying to think outside the box, but emergency sounds a bit lame.

6am.

Swansea.

Each team will work with a biscuit development boffin.

-Hi.

-Pleased to meet you.

-Experts in the science of crunch and crumble,

they'll help turn the teams' ideas into professional prototypes.

We've got a list of ideas and we're trying to push the boundaries in creating something unique.

You can see how delicate the flapjack is now, right?

Nice.

Experimenting with a biscuit for kids, Helen's head baker, Jim.

I'll go with the small circles.

Shake.

How feasible is a biscuit for children?

You can do anything. Never say never.

This is this fizzy popping stuff.

Have you got it yet? At the back of your throat? Isn't it weird?

-So I can put any of those three bases through that for a star shape?

-Yes.

-In another part of the lab, Zoe's bakers.

-This is butter crisp.

-They have a very different texture.

-Yeah.

I'm going to make one with classic digestive.

Still coming up with new ideas, inventor Tom.

A biscuit within a biscuit. Digestive on the outside, a different biscuit in the middle.

- Isn't this a bit complicated? - It's a very simple thing.

'Yes, Tom's an inventor.'

We keep saying that.

'But we think in very different ways.'

I think big, then work out details. He works out little details, then tries to fit a bigger picture.

I'm going to do biscuits - the new popcorn.

You can be snacking on it whilst watching TV or a movie. There's a gap in the market for that.

In London, a later start.

I'm feeling really confident. I've got a few ideas for biscuits that I'm hoping Zoe will like.

When it comes to making biscuits, we'll be on roughly the same level.

But on a personal level, she's one of the bitchiest and most backstabbing people I've ever met.

While half their teams bake biscuits, the other half head off to brand them.

OK, this is important. Let's look at the prices of these biscuits.

£1.99 is actually quite expensive. This is quite a high-end biscuit that we're making.

-What colour would jump out?

-Pink.

-I'm thinking pink and orange.

-Purple is good.

Back in Wales, crunch time for Jim's after school treats.

-Hello, everybody.

-With a panel of experts.

Dig in, everybody.

Go, go, go!

BABY GURGLES Firstly...

That's a good reaction!

-What did you like?

-The flapjack.

-And yourself?

-I liked the flapjack.

-I didn't think the raisins went well with the cookie.

-OK.

If you got a star biscuit, is that a good thing to have or...?

Yeah.

You associate a star with what you get at school as a reward.

-Do you still get stars at school?

-Yeah.

-You could put bright stars on the sides of the packets.

-Like shooting stars that come out like 3D.

-Shooting stars.

I'll take credit for that one. LAUGHTER

I'm only joking, I'm only joking.

- Hi, guys. - Hi, Jim.

The focus group love the flapjacks and the stars.

In my mind, flapjacks stands out as the most unhealthy.

-Was it really a massive, runaway success? They wanted flapjacks.

-Yeah, a runaway success.

OK, stick with the flapjack if that's the feedback you got.

-And then Special Stars.

-A universal sign.

-That's our brand name.

-We definitely need a slogan.

-Any time is treat time.

They're not dogs! "Any time is treat time," contradicts after school.

Helen, you maybe have to make the call.

-We'll go with that one.

-I strongly disagree.

-Unless you've come up with a great idea now.

'Our strapline is a little bit contradictory. It's after school, but for any time.'

Is it for after school or any time? Which one?

I think it's a big risk sidelining someone in your team.

Signed off and into production, Special Stars.

Someone has to be bullish. Natasha's ideas weren't great.

My ideas seemed to appeal to Helen. Maybe she thinks I'm a sharper cookie.

I like Helen's personality. Probably because it's passive. Who doesn't like that?

-It's looking perfect.

-Thank you.

-You needed the practice, mind.

They're delicious.

-On the other team...

-Hello!

-..an assortment of concepts, but no idea whose is best.

-These are the first biscuits that we've just made.

-To help choose, some Swansea locals.

We'd love your really honest thoughts on the design, on names.

The first one is this concept of an emergency biscuit.

Something's gone wrong and you need an emergency biscuit.

You put the phone down and think, "I have to have sugar." You go and get out a biscuit.

OK, lead balloon. Moving on... LAUGHTER

Then we have two different types of biscuit inside each other.

I think it's very good. You're looking for something different.

Who votes for a two-in-one biscuit? OK, that's a much better reaction than I was expecting!

Thank you very much.

Now to showcase her ideas, Melody.

What we also could do is using biscuits as the new popcorn,

so something like this.

-Do you have a name for it?

-What do we think of popscuit?

No?

They've all gone to sleep, Melody.

What we also could do is the heart and split the biscuit up like this.

-Half would be coated with chocolate, the other plain.

-It's good if you want to make up with the wife!

-I think it's a very good concept.

-So who votes for the heart biscuit?

OK.

Brilliant.

Result - stalemate.

Hello. We had a fantastic focus group and they said the hearts were good.

I think the hearts are the worst thing to do. I'm sorry, Melody, but I'm going to eliminate that.

We'd like a round biscuit to break and share.

Sorry? They thought that the hearts were much better than any other shape.

Melody is a nightmare to work with. She's come up with one idea

and she's pushing it and pushing it.

'I don't like the idea, Tom doesn't like it and Susie doesn't like it.'

I can imagine in the focus group she'll have talked them to death

until they held up a white flag and said, "Go with the bloody heart!"

They didn't like any other shape.

Melody, could you let Tom speak?

They loved the concept of two biscuits that fit inside each other.

I don't like that. I don't like it.

-OK, Tom, can you just make them?

-We're talking a round digestive biscuit

-with buttercrisp in the middle. And then milk chocolate on one side.

-Yeah, definitely.

I don't like that. I don't like it.

MELODY: Zoe, I don't like that idea.

2pm. Windsor. For both teams, a branding and packaging agency.

-Helen. Nice to meet you.

-Graham.

It's a biscuit for children. The name is Special Stars

and our slogan is, "Any time is treat time."

And going around the lid, "Any time treat for after school".

'The slogan, "Any time is treat time," is slightly contradicted'

by "After school treat". "Any time is treat time," says eat whatever you like, when you like.

They'll find that very difficult to explain to the supermarkets.

The occasion is after school. One the bell's gone and time's out, it becomes any time.

So our Special Stars take away the restriction of time, so...

we open up time, if that makes sense.

-Kind of.

-Kind of, yeah?

3.30pm.

On Zoe's team, a decision - Tom's biscuit in a biscuit.

Oh! It's too sticky.

Shit.

What names have you come up with?

-How about Biclets?

-Biclets...? Bix...

Bixfix.

Stackbix?

Bixdix?

No...

What about Bix Mix?

Feel like we've just made burgers.

We've kind of pulled two ideas together and have gone for

a middle to lower market, not luxury.

What we've got is pretty interesting.

- Looking good. - Melody, what do you think of that?

Yeah, I think it's good. I give you...Bix Mix.

They look wonderful.

Now Bix Mix needs a box.

The price point is £1.99, so it is at the higher end.

We're looking at quite luxurious colours like purples, golds.

Maybe make the X into purple ribbons that cross-cross?

-Yeah.

-That's exactly what I'm thinking!

-Designed to be snapped, halved and shared.

-Right.

-Designed to snap and share. Do you like that?

-I do.

Lord Sugar made it absolutely clear that this product should stand out on the shelf

and I think it's got a few things going for it. Different texture, you snap it and then half of it

is covered in chocolate. There's three different things. It could grow into a strong biccy.

-Bix Mix - snap'n'share.

-I like it.

-I love it.

5pm.

Beamed up from Wales, Special Stars, the first pictures.

The chocolate's a lot thicker than I thought. I'd imagine they're sickly.

I hope not. He's tested them.

Very crumbly and messy, aren't they?

Back to London.

And a plan for tomorrow's pitch from Melody.

I definitely, definitely think we should do role play. I think we'd be silly not to.

Am I coming in from next door? No, we're sat next to each other.

And we've got them. "Ooh, do you want a Bix Mix?"

You are doing it so cliched. You have to do it more natural.

-"Ooh, do you want a Bix Mix?"

-And the end will be...mmmm!

-OK, but not so cheesy.

You and I, Tom, are going to be lovers tomorrow. You'd better get your act together.

You and I, lovers!

9am.

-Delivery for Logic.

-Thank you.

-Wow!

-What do you guys think? What do you guys think?

-That's really nice.

-For Zoe's team, snap'n'share.

Ah, beautifully! The proof's in the pudding, guys.

-It's got the chocolate as well.

-They're proper biscuits, aren't they?

'I'm so happy with how it snapped'

and also with the taste. It's nice, not too sweet. A proper biscuit.

Mmm!

-Have you made a decision as to what scenario it's aimed at?

-Family, friends, loved ones, children.

-That's the whole point of it.

-Just in the beginning, really clearly say exactly what it is.

And then go into all the details.

For Helen's team, an any time treat for after school.

-Mm, nice.

-You like it?

-Mm.

Today the branded biscuits must be pitched to Britain's supermarket giants.

I liked Melody's idea of when you start just give a quick one-liner of exactly what our biscuit is.

-And when I ask Melody...

-I couldn't give a shiny shit about Melody.

-OK.

-She's doing my head in.

Family values are not just about a treat for academic achievement.

-So we have the... This is crap.

-No, it's fine.

-First, a quick stop for a customer tasting.

-Good morning. This is a customer announcement.

I'm going to be sampling and demonstrating a new biscuit product

so please come along and I look forward to seeing you very soon.

-It looks really good.

-Stunning.

-Hello. Can we talk about Bix Mix?

-OK.

-The concept behind it is snap'n'share.

Share between the two of you or your husband...

Digestive on the outside and buttercrisp on the inside. Half is covered in milk chocolate.

-It's a bit dry, that.

-Yeah?

Hello. Do you want to come over? I'm going to show you the new biscuits that we've made.

I offered my services for pitching. However, Helen as Project Manager will be leading the pitch.

I've come here today to sample our biscuit product, which is a very key part of the process.

-Would you purchase them for the children?

-Maybe as a treat, but they are a bit rich, I think.

-Rich in flavour?

-Yeah. And they're not exactly healthy.

Britain's supermarkets dominate biscuit sales.

Their buyers can make or break a new brand.

Don't you think we should agree at who we're aiming at? You always have to aim at somebody.

We've got kids, girls' night in, couples, families. I want it open for the mass market.

Zoe's team's first pitch - Sainsbury's.

Their buyers stock the shelves of 890 stores.

-Oh, do you want to stick a movie on?

-Hi, honey. Give me that. OK.

What have we got on?

-Oh, leave this on. I love this.

-Oh, really?!

-You like girly stuff.

-As long as you have something decent to eat.

-You know, I've been craving Bix Mix all day.

-You know when you think about something all day and can't wait to eat it?

-Bix Mix - brilliant.

-I will share it with you.

-Snap'n'share.

-Go on. Perfect.

-And because I love you, you can have the chocolate half.

-I love the plain one.

-Oh, OK.

-Where was this manufactured? In heaven?

-No, actually.

This was manufactured by Logic here in the UK.

'Tom and Melody started the pitch'

with a little sort of playlet. The bemused look on the faces was something to witness.

They looked puzzled and with good reason.

Very, very odd way to carry on, really.

We decided that we wanted a biscuit with the concept of sharing.

You can share it with your loved ones, your friends, your family,

share it between schoolchildren. If they take it in their lunchbox, they can share it with a friend.

That's a lot of bases to cover and you've gone for a very feminine packaging.

You need to be very clear who you're aiming at.

-How do you feel that went?

-They asked tougher questions.

She's what I deal with daily. She's hard.

Next pitch, Special Stars, led by food retailer Helen.

We came up with a real gap in the market. This is an oatmeal-based flapjack biscuit

with a chocolate star on the top and it's aimed at children for after school.

-It's also applicable for an any time treat.

-Lots of mothers would be turned off by "Any time is treat"

because a treat is something that is special, a reward, not at any time.

When the school bell rings it's an opportunity for the child to have their own time

and for the treat time to be an any time treat.

'Jim and Helen seem to be absolutely on the same wavelength, leaving Natasha very much on the end.'

Every time she speaks, they have a "Here she goes again" attitude and I think she's feeling that.

Unless somebody when answering has missed something absolutely vital, don't butt in.

-If there's no room for improvement...

-Just shut up.

-That's it.

Owned by the world's largest retailer,

Asda sells 345 million packets of biscuits a year.

It's next for Zoe's team.

From any experience I do have, I would know they're going to ask who is your main market.

It's who you're aiming for. If you don't know, they won't know.

-I...

-Let me say one thing really quickly. I strongly feel we should have a very clear target market.

Let's say our product is targeted at "girls get together". Let's do what I said from the beginning.

I said, "Let's have a clear target market," and some people said...

Don't say you said that from the beginning. That's really naughty.

-What I said was...

-What you said from the beginning, you wanted heart-shaped biscuits.

-Yes.

So I am not having that at all.

-What I don't appreciate...

-What I'd like to do...

-I'm asking whether it sells.

-I've said nicely...

-You haven't said anything nicely.

-I don't want to have a full-blown argument.

-Don't wind me up.

You can't keep them waiting any more.

-Hello.

-Hello.

Target market revised, now Bix Mix is for best female friends.

I've been craving Bix Mix all day! You know when you think about something all day

-and you can't wait to have it?

-Definitely. What are these?

-Do you want to snap and share?

-Wow!

-Snap and share, that's amazing!

-Why do you get the chocolate?

Because I'm special.

Bix Mix is what we've come up with. We've used the concept of sharing

between two ladies, as you can see from our girly tiff there.

Girls can use this to share during their sleepovers,

during nights in, during morning coffee breaks.

Our products are... Recommended retail price at £1.99, so it'll be at the higher end of the biscuits.

I'm just a bit confused cos I feel it's... You talk about it as an indulgent product.

If I was sharing with my girlfriends, having digestives on a night in, I'd feel a bit cheated.

We tried to go for a product that is the nation's favourite and you can snap it.

No other biscuits in the market do this.

-Zoe did sort of lash out at me in public and I didn't really appreciate that.

-No.

-You should remain dignified.

-She's had a bit of a problem with you the whole time.

I feel that we've been paired because she doesn't want to work with you.

For Helen's team, upmarket supermarket Waitrose.

-Good afternoon.

-Hello.

-We are Venture Biscuits. My name is Helen.

We have a really special product, one that fits a gap in the market.

Special Stars are what children are all about. Every child to their parent is a special star.

Stars are synonymous with treats. They're used to this concept for school

and to receiving it on charts in the home.

Health and well-being is a really important message for Waitrose.

In terms of percentages, it might be more chocolate than biscuit.

Would you be confident to be so overtly marketing a kids' product that's very heavily sugar-based?

We want a treat to be a treat. We don't need that much educating any more.

If we want something really healthy for our children, we'll give them a banana or an apple.

Next up...

..Bix Mix.

We looked for something new. We looked for something that can break the mould and push the boundaries.

We've got the concept of sharing where we can snap the product and share on a girls' night in.

The "snap and share" is a very interesting concept.

What inspired you to come up with that?

To snap it in half and have one half chocolate, one half not chocolate, it brings more variety. It's more fun.

Given that list of ingredients and the high quality packaging and the pitch,

the only bit I'm disappointed in is the biscuit.

No?

6.30pm.

For Special Stars, one last bite.

Hello.

Project manager Helen steps aside for experienced salesman Jim.

We're here today to launch our fabulous new biscuit Special Stars.

We want to be positioned with the mass market of biscuits,

so we came up with dynamic packaging with the silver and the purple.

If that were to launch on to Asda's shelves, how would you actually launch it?

We envisage a very significant, mass market structured and strategic marketing approach.

We have to do above and below the line marketing. There has to be TV advertising.

We can get our product endorsed at an aspirational level with whatever's current with kids in terms of movies

and integrating it with our brand. "Stars" lends itself to the likes of Harry Potter.

And we'll be very unashamed about this.

We want to encourage you, based on our strategy and on our product, to make a significant initial order.

Go big or go home.

'Jim needs to be really careful on all the claims that he's making.'

"We can change the product, we can advertise on TV, re-package it, make the chocolate bigger, smaller."

He's trying to be everything to everyone.

Orders, if any, will be placed tonight.

Tomorrow, they'll find out in the boardroom.

From my point of view, Melody contributed least.

I don't think she's very creative or very practical. I found it very hard to work with her on this task.

-HELEN:

-I have won eight out of eight tasks and on the Parisian task,

I made £250,000,

so I'm hoping I will win a ninth.

You can go through to the boardroom now.

Good afternoon.

ALL: Good afternoon, Lord Sugar.

Now, Logic...

-This is yours here.

-Bix Mix.

Bix Mix and, um...

-Team leader was?

-I was, Lord Sugar.

I'm in the food and drink industry and I pitch to major retailers,

so I felt compelled to step up as project manager.

Good team leader?

I think it was... it was a tough one.

Zoe has strengths as project manager, but I think her weaknesses let her down.

-So tell me what happened.

-I sent Melody and Tom to the manufacturing facility.

Susie and I stayed to do the design.

We had quite a big debate before we left to go to Swansea in terms of what the product's USP should be.

-What is it?

-We couldn't decide...

-Describe it to me quickly.

-The USP is "snap and share".

-You might be interested to know

that particularly the final supermarket said that the concept of sharing was smack on the target.

-Really?

-Yeah.

Then you see the three supermarkets. Good pitches, do you think?

Obviously, with my experience of buyers, it's how I personally would have expected it.

-They were very tough on us.

-I heard that you played out an imaginary television advertising campaign.

It was sort of like a role play at the beginning to gain impact.

-They must have called a bloke with a white coat for you.

-It's a really effective technique, Lord Sugar.

I'm maybe in a different time warp, but if I'd tried that out

in front of the boss of Dixons, I'd have been thrown out.

Right, Venture... Who was the team leader?

I put myself forward quite quickly as project manager.

-Cos you're in the bakery business?

-I work for a bakery retailer.

I'm not on the manufacturing or the marketing side, but I have knowledge of what would sell in the market.

-Good team leader?

-I've been with Helen when she's been a stronger team leader, but yeah, I was happy.

-Whose idea was this star-shaped biscuit?

-It was Jim's idea to use the actual star shape itself.

We quickly came up with the after-school treats for children,

so it would be a reward at school or at home.

"Any time is treat time."

That's... It's kind of contradictory, isn't it?

-Good pitches to the supermarkets?

-Mm-hm. I think they wanted us to be clear on our unique selling points.

My pitch was clean and crisp and received well.

I've had a bit of feedback from Karren that you got a bit carried away, Jim.

Jim had an unlimited budget, nationwide television advertising, links with films and film stars.

-I stand by that.

-Jim, you get the BBIW Award, the Biggest Bullshitter In The World Award.

Do you know what you're talking about - 20, 30 million pounds of promotion?

Yeah, but we're pitching it with a bit of clout.

I could go to any retailer and say to them,

"I'll spend 20 million quid on TV and drive them into your shops." Anybody could do that.

-It doesn't help the initial order, Lord Sugar.

-It does. Excuse me, that's what it does do!

Quite frankly, if you're prepared to spend millions and millions of pounds

to drive customers into their stores, they'll buy anything.

Let's see what went on. Have you got some details for me?

-What about you, Nick?

-Yeah.

Bloody hell!

Well, here's the surprise.

Bix Mix, Zoe, three retailers,

no orders at all, none at all.

Amazing!

But the biggest surprise is this. We are back in business here.

We are back in business.

Helen, you have got yourself an order for 800,000 units...

..if we give exclusivity to Asda.

We'll agree to that.

That's very nice of you. It's unbelievable.

I've never seen anything like that. That is a launch of a mega product. They must have loved this product.

Very, very well done. So I've booked you a luxury country hotel

where you can indulge yourself. Very, very well done.

-Off you go.

-Thank you very much.

Helen, you haven't lost a task yet.

I'm delighted!

Well done, girls. Well done.

No orders from any of the three retailers.

There's something fundamentally wrong here.

You need to go and work out what the real reason is yourself

because at least one of you will be leaving this process today.

OK? Off you go.

-800,000 units?

-Yeah.

-Unbelievable, unbelievable.

-Versus zero on the other team?

-Yeah.

I felt good for all of us as it was a team effort, but it's good to know it was on the pitch I delivered.

Yeah, it felt amazing.

This was my best win. I think the others will be feeling absolutely devastated. I really feel for them.

-Well done, guys.

-Well done, girls.

That takes the biscuit.

-LAUGHTER

-I got you!

SIGHS LOUDLY It's... It's really disappointing.

Zoe said that she does this day in, day out. She made it very clear that this is the business she's in,

yet she failed to see that we need a target market and that the product should be in line with that.

The product and the packaging, there was a disconnect.

I'm sure that certain individuals will try and push the finger at me,

saying Tom made the biscuit, but a couple of Melody's ideas bombed.

Whilst the project manager didn't combine the whole thing, one member of the team shouldn't be here.

Sharing wasn't the problem. That part was good.

No, it was the actual biscuit.

Ultimately, the product team are responsible.

No matter how good your concept is, your packaging is, if the product's bad, it won't sell.

PHONE RINGS

-Hello?

-Could you send the four of them in, please?

-Yes, Lord Sugar.

You can go through to the boardroom now.

I've had a good debriefing here from Nick,

in particular, the feedback from the three supermarkets, so I've got an understanding of what's gone wrong.

Do you know what's gone wrong?

The main thing that's gone wrong is the product. The quality wasn't premium.

In the words of the retailer, "Love the pitch, love the brand, hate the product."

-The quality of the biscuit was not good enough.

-Nor did we have a clear target market.

That was another issue.

-If the product was wrong, whose fault was it?

-That would be down to Tom and Melody.

They should have figured out what basis to use in the biscuit to make it premium to match our packaging.

If I'm honest, I didn't realise that I was supposed to be making a really exclusive, luxury product.

If I had realised that, I wouldn't have selected "digestive" and gone forward.

But the thing is, Zoe, if you're placing the blame on the factory,

I want to know why you didn't go there.

-You've got a factory. You've got production knowledge, production techniques for your day job.

-Indeed.

-Why didn't you go and do it?

-I said I wish I could split myself in half because I believe...

-You split the biscuit in half!

-I believe the product is as important as the branding.

-Whoa!

-I said, "Can I put my faith in you?"

-Whoa, whoa!

At the end of the day, packaging, marketing, it's all superficial

if what's in the box is a load of rubbish.

So the most important thing to make sure is what you've got in the box represents great value for money.

-Indeed.

-Then all the glitz is added on afterwards.

In hindsight, it was a mistake and I wish I'd gone.

But I tried to go with my team, I put my case forward for going,

but everyone assured me that this was the best solution.

One of the biggest problems the first supermarket had was that when you break it open,

you've always got to have somebody who likes that or likes this.

The split should have been that way, so that when you broke it off, you had a bit of chocolate on each one.

The concept to go for half chocolate and half not came from the fact

that we merged about three different ideas together.

I personally believe that I did a huge amount of the ideas and I'm not sure that Melody was quite there.

-Excuse me?

-In many respects...

-You did a huge amount of the ideas?

-Yes.

-I had a whole concept built up. You came up with random names.

Which scored zero when we went for it.

It doesn't mean I didn't have ideas.

Because you were so keen on one of your ideas, we created a biscuit that was only chocolate on one half.

-You want to put that on me as well?

-Had we completely created a chocolate biscuit,

this prospect of someone getting the raw end of the stick may not have come up.

The three supermarkets said the packaging was not very good.

It didn't stand out on the shelves. There was no clarity as who you were trying to reach. What was the market?

The concept was "snap and share", yet the packaging was very much "girls' night in" communication.

-That was designed by these two?

-Indeed. It didn't communicate the "snap and share",

so on the second and third pitches, we had to change it to suggest "snap and share between women".

-That was how the packaging described it.

-You gleaned that at the first two pitches?

-Indeed.

I started off when I was pitching and I said it was a product that can be snapped and shared

and it can be shared by all types of people.

It was suitable for elderly, for children, for couples alike.

But Tom and Melody had organised the role play. The communications expert Melody suggested that would be good.

With all due respect, communication is a part of what I do. Absolutely.

But the misdirection and unclarity as to what our target market is, that's not down to me.

It was my strong suggestion and Tom's to say that we need to really choose a strong market.

-That's when Zoe jumped in out of nowhere...

-That's all very dramatic.

-It was very dramatic. I'm not used to that behaviour in a public place where we're pitching.

-Oh, please!

-She was shouting her head off in the middle of Asda.

-I wasn't.

However, I feel that you disturbed the team a lot

and when you've realised the ship's sinking, you're like, "I didn't want to be on that ship."

-You've got a reputation for it, Melody.

-No. I haven't worked with you since Week Three.

Any reputation I have is because you've built your alliances. That's not my style.

No, your style is to slate other members of the team.

Lord Sugar, I can look you in the face and say that's an absolute lie.

I do not lie. You can ask anyone in this process.

-I am very honest.

-Someone's lying.

-Yes, Melody.

-I would never do that.

-I wouldn't worry because as you came back from the boardroom last time,

-you said Lord Sugar had nothing but praise for you.

-I didn't say that.

-You're safe. I wouldn't worry(!)

It's getting ridiculous. This is not to do about the business. This is to do about personalities.

I can assure you I have no personal problems with Melody. However...

-Really? You could have fooled me.

-She was shouting her head off.

-Have you got an agreement with her, Susan, that she's not bringing you in the boardroom today?

-No.

-No.

-She's built her alliances.

-I haven't built alliances.

-I answer when I'm spoken to.

I absolutely understand that our focus should have been more concise.

I don't think Zoe communicated the concept across the entire task.

I don't think we had a full-on focus with regards to our target market or our USP.

But at the end of the day, it was all down to the product.

Zoe, you'd better make sure you have very good reasons why you're bringing the people back in

and it shouldn't be anything to do with personality or whatever else, so who is it?

-Lord Sugar, there's no allegiances...

-Who is it?

Melody and Tom.

Right, thank you. Susan, go back to the house. I'll see you on the next task.

You three wait outside and I'll call you back in shortly.

As far as Tom is concerned, he does know what he's talking about. That's the frustrating thing about Tom.

I don't know why he can't get it over when he's in the task.

Every week we hear, "I'm learning. Next time, it'll all be great."

At some point, he's actually got to get it right.

Zoe's been a strong project manager before.

But in the drinks industry with her own factory, she should know better. The product's got to be good.

Alan, she said as much. She said as much.

As far as Melody is concerned, again she talks a lot of sense.

But we have to watch her very carefully

-because her interaction with some of the other candidates is not good.

-No.

Lord Sugar will see you now.

Zoe, you've been in the final three three times. You've been the project manager three times.

-You've lost as project manager twice.

-Mm-hm.

-Tom, you've been in here twice.

-Once. This is my second.

-Yeah.

-Sorry.

I'll give you the opportunity to tell me why I should let you remain in this process.

On this task, I came up with a huge number of very powerful ideas

and I'm a bit surprised as to why I'm here.

It wasn't communicated that we were making a luxury product,

so there is a disparity between the packaging and the biscuit.

I think I'll classify you as The Hindsight Man.

In this boardroom, you keep talking about all the things that should have happened,

what we should have done and shouldn't have done.

-It's like a broken record.

-Indeed. I've learnt a great deal from this process.

-This is not a learning process. This is an elimination process for me to find a business partner.

-Absolutely.

-This is not school.

-I know. It...

In that respect, I've learnt that I've got to be much more in tune and listen to my gut reactions.

Lord Sugar, Tom said he didn't realise it was a premium product.

I don't believe at this stage you should be learning how to know the price of biscuits.

£1.99 is a premium product. We developed premium packaging to go with the premium product.

But we were let down by the product.

-Which you signed off.

-I signed off the theory of the product.

I had not tasted the cheap, horrible chocolate.

And I didn't realise how thick the digestive ring was around it

which gave it a really wheaty, common, horrible taste.

You spotted it straight away when it came back? You said, "We're dead in the water here"?

-There was no feedback about the product when it came back.

-She said it was great.

-I heard no mention of, "I hate this."

-As soon as you saw it, you thought, "Oh, blimey"?

Not as soon as I saw it. When I tasted it, I didn't enjoy it.

I stressed so much the importance of a good product, but I couldn't control the product.

-You could if you went down there as the manufacturer.

-I know I could...

-We didn't have the direction of the fact it's high luxury.

-You didn't understand it was high luxury?

-What part of £1.99...

-RRP £1.99?

-What part of that doesn't mean luxury to you?

-I didn't realise that £1.99 meant high luxury.

-If you don't know the price of biscuits...

Lord Sugar, may I just say what I've contributed to this task?

Firstly, the concept of sharing. Secondly, I came up with quite daring concepts.

What were the daring concepts? You came up with the sharing which was the first concept we all went with.

-Can I just finish?

-Yeah, go on.

-Sharing we went with, absolutely.

-What were the daring ones?

-Making biscuit the new popcorn.

-Which was voted down by every single person in the room that we spoke to.

Yes, by the ten people in Swansea.

They said they'd want a sour, a savoury version, so it was very daring,

-but it was completely unpopular. No-one liked it.

-Yes, ten people out of 60 million people in the UK.

And the final thing was before Tom, before anybody, I said we need to agree on a clear target market.

Who should go on this task, Melody?

I feel that Zoe should go because we went in there with no clear target market.

We went in there with disparity between the product and packaging.

-Who are you saying is responsible?

-The fact that there was disparity between the two...

-Tom, be decisive. Who should go?

-The project manager, Zoe.

It's a scapegoat. Why are you just choosing the project manager? Your product was awful.

Out of these two then, who should go?

I don't know. Melody was incredibly disruptive, but if Tom decided on the digestive, then Tom should go.

Tom, I've got over the stage now that you're a charming man, nice man, polite man and all that stuff,

but I don't see you asserting your authority if you have any at all

-because you seem to always be talking about what we should have done and what we could have done.

-Right.

And that is no good to me at all.

Yeah?

Melody, I'm thinking about this business partner that I'm going to be in with.

I've got lots of concerns. There's too many arguments amongst your colleagues.

And you seem to be always saying that nothing's your fault.

Zoe, you are a good contender in the sense that you have a business,

you manufacture something and you've brought it to market already.

-Yeah?

-Yes.

-But as team leader, you should have been in the factory.

Tom...

It's regretful that...

I can give so much, Lord Sugar.

I don't want to hear any more from you. It's regretful that I haven't seen much from you.

And this has fallen down on the product.

But Zoe, I'm looking for someone to come into business with

and someone who can't actually perform in the business that they're in

is not going to be able to perform with me.

Zoe, you're fired.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I am flexing my muscles because somebody

-who is supposed to be expert in a subject has failed. Do you get it?

-Yes, Lord Sugar.

-Do you get it?

-Yes.

-Good. Go back to the house and I'll see you on the next task.

-Thank you.

The product wasn't good enough. If I could go back and change it, I'd go back and I'd be in the factory.

But I was swayed by them. I went against my gut instinct. I shouldn't have done.

The right person definitely went.

That sort of behaviour is childish, it's personal, it's unnecessary.

I don't rate that sort of behaviour and I certainly wouldn't want that to be a reflection on my business.

All three have a reason to be fired.

Hello.

-Welcome back.

-Good to see you.

Well done - Special Stars!

In the fight for Lord Sugar's quarter million pound investment,

six candidates remain.

Next time...

I expect you to sell that stuff and smell the best seller. Buy some more and just keep going.

-Nodding dogs.

-Hey... Bye!

First umbrella sold for £10, folks.

-Cat fights.

-Stop being such an angry person.

-I'm just telling you how I feel.

-Stop embarrassing yourself.

Is it best if I take over as project manager?

And one unhappy bunny.

There's no balls, no guts, no reinvestment. You're fired.

Subtitles by Subtext for Red Bee Media Ltd 2011

Email [email protected]