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Aldi’s Next Big Thing: Where to buy Cluster Club, Moosh Mallows, cocoa-free chocolate and more
We also saw CBD gummies and a protein chocolate bar in this week’s episode
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After devouring crab cakes, flake bakes, halloumi rolls and wine spritzers, supermarket chain Aldi was tempting us with innovative bites of confectionary in this week’s episode of Aldi’s Next Big Thing.
In Channel 4’s mash-up of the BBC’s Dragons’ Den and Masterchef, six British independent food suppliers pitch their products to Aldi’s head of buying Julie Ashfield, Countryfile’s Anita Rani and Eat Well for Less’ Chris Bavin in the hopes of winning a coveted contract to get onto the supermarket’s shelves nationwide.
Following last week’s party episode, in which two suppliers secured some supermarket space, tonight’s food producers included a nutty chocolate snack, CBD gummies, cocoa-free chocolate, artisanal marshmallows, vegan toffee and protein chocolate bars. We’ve got all the details on how you can buy the winning product, plus all the other sweet treats seen in the show.
Cluster Club: £2.29, Aldi.co.uk
It seemed like it was going to be a cakewalk for Yas to get his nutty chocolate creations Aldi-ready, with Ashfield simply tasking him with making the packaging more supermarket-friendly. But after finding out that his manufacturer had upped the prices of production, things became more challenging and Yas decided to build his own manufacturing facility.
Thankfully, not too much of a hurdle, Ashfield was still nuts about Cluster Club, delighting in how moreish the product was, giving Yas the win. Made with 50 per cent chocolate and 50 per cent walnuts, brazil nuts and hazel nuts, all three pouches of Cluster Club’s nutty snacks will be making their way to your local Aldi from tomorrow morning.
Aldi is stocking all three signature flavours – white chocolate and cranberry, Belgian orange chocolate and Belgian milk chocolate, costing £2.29 per pouch. But as all Aldi’s Next Big Thing winners, they’re specialbuys, so will disappear from shelves once sold out.
Moosh Mallows: £6.50, Mooshmallows.com
Cornwall-based Teagan got real close to securing some Aldi shelf space for her handmade adult-focused marshmallows. Described as “absolutely delicious” by Ashfield and “light, soft, chewy and gooey” by Bavin, it was its small-scale nature that was the biggest hurdle for Teagan.
While she was able to find a factory to produce her marshmallows on scale and produce some bitesize marshmallows with a second textured crunch, the challenge of upscaling, while keeping the same artisanal feel worried Ashfield.
Luckily, you can still try Moosh Mallows for yourself direct from the company’s website. A mixed bag of all nine flavours (incluzing the boozy ones) costs £6.50. There’s vanilla, raspberry rapture, double chocolate, lemon meringue pie, salted caramel, peppermint & dark chocolate, gin and lime, espresso martini and dark and stormy.
Win-Win cocoa-free chocolate: Eatwinwin.com
Bavin’s eyes have never lit up quite like this before. Him and Rani were gobsmacked when they were told that there was zero cocoa or milk in London-based Jonny’s Win-Win chocolate bars at all. While Bavin was left repeating the word “unbelievable” as the leading global fermentation scientist was sent packing by Ashfield, who felt the product was too niche, we found ourselves wanting to try it out.
Made using oats, barley and carob, sadly, Win-win’s ethical and sustainable cocoa-free chocolate isn’t yet available to buy for the average consumer, but you won’t have long to wait before you can get your hands on it. The company says that a new range of consumer products are “currently in development” and due to be launched online and in UK grocery stores from September 2024.
Jeavons vegan toffee: £1.75, Jeavonstoffee.com
East Sussex-based Lesley and Corin Jeavons hoped to impress the panel with their completely vegan toffee. Described as “creamy and caramelly” by Bavin, the pair made it to the second stage, but it wasn’t to be for Jeavons toffee.
If you were eying up the sweet creations, Jeavons has a range of different toffee treats on its website. There are original toffee, banana toffee, liquorice toffee, mint toffee and tracle toffee candy bars, as well as chocolate bars with toffee inside.
WheyBetter protein chocolate bars: £3.50, Wheybetter.co.uk
Scarborough-based Mark and Laura walked into Aldi’s taste kitchen promising chocolate bars with a guilt-free twist. But while the panel loved the taste, seeing the pair through to the second stage, Ashfield struggled with it straddling the line between protein bar and chocolate bar.
WheyBetter produces 40 per cent cocoa milk chocolate bars with no added sugar. Each chocolate bar also contains 17g of protein and 13 added vitamins, including vitamins C, D, B12, and Folic acid to support your immune system. It’s a chocolate bar that might actually be good for you. WheyBetter sells its chocolate bars in boxes of 12, with each bar costing £3.50.
CBD Guru gummies: From £15.25, Amazon.co.uk
Scunthorpe-based CBD Guru Neil hoped to bring a dose of calm and relaxation to the kitchen with his high-strength CBD gummies. But while Ashfield agreed that CBD was growing in popularity, she thought the gummy was too bitter and wasn’t quite right for Aldi.
CBD Guru’s high-strength vegan gummy bears are hand-coated in cannabis extracted from industrial hemp with no THC. A bottle of 60 20mg and 10mg CBD Guru gummies can be purchased from Amazon and the company’s own website.
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