A business which won the support of three multimillionaire investors on BBC’s Dragons’ Den has opened its first Kent branch.

Pop Specs, which makes eyewear on site in 20 minutes, has launched a kiosk inside Bluewater Shopping Centre, Greenhithe.

Founded by two optical experts, Lina Tejoprayitno and Daniel Barnes in 2020, the pair went on to get investment by Dragons Peter Jones, Touker Suleyman and Sara Davies in January 2024, when they each agreed to invest £25,000 for a 4% stake in the business.

Now, the company has expanded its presence in the southeast and opened its first branch in Kent under married franchise owners Aizza Memon and Kasim Hafeez.

It opened at the start of the month in Lower Thames walk, near AllSaints.

Explaining how the business works, Kasim, 28, said: “You bring your prescription in and then we make your glasses in 20 minutes. It can depend on your prescription, but generally, if it’s not out of the ordinary we will make them in 20 minutes.

“We live in an Amazon era where people want things faster on the same day or next day, and that’s again why we do it in 20 minutes so people can get what they want there and then and go for a coffee and come back and get their glasses.

“We just want to bring affordable glasses to Kent and that’s the biggest difference if you look at what else is offered in Bluewater - it’s quite expensive, high-end glasses, whereas we want to bring more affordable glasses to the masses.

“We want to make sure that everyone is getting the best experience, we spend time with the customers, I can spend up to an hour or two hours with someone just picking out a pair of glasses and making sure they are the correct pair for that individual.”

The business partners are both optometrists with 10 years of experience and joined the company in October 2023 where they opened the Brighton chain.

Kasim explains the business model is different as it splits the optics from the retail as he says currently the two are “intermingled” which can mean there is sales pressure on an optometrist.

“But this way, if you’re coming to us, you’re coming for the sole purpose of buying a pair of glasses, so I like the fact we are able to separate the healthcare aspect and the glasses aspect,” he added.

The pair have been with the company since before the Dragons’ Den investment and Kasim says its been “amazing” to see the growth with plans to go international in the next few years.

And while they can both technically do the prescription, Pop Specs does not offer this service and customers come to them with their prescription after an eye-test elsewhere.

Single vision glasses start at £75 and included frames, lenses and an anti-glare coating.

The business offers quirky frames in bright colours and says glasses are “part of your personality”.

The store is the 35th to open across the UK with the nearest nearby location at Lakeside over the Crossing in Essex.

It is open in Bluewater from Monday to Friday, between10am to 8pm and Saturday 9am-8pm, and Sunday 11am-5pm.