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Aldi’s Next Big Thing: Where to buy Freddie’s Farm fruit shapes, fava bean snacks, camel milk and more
We also saw roast-dinner kimchi, a kombucha company and a Nigerian soft drink on tonight’s episode
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After indulging in some pastries and cakes in last week’s episode of Aldi’s Next Big Thing, it appears the retailer was after something a little less sweet this time around. That’s right, healthy food and drink items were up for consideration tonight on the new Channel 4 show.
This week, six small-scale British suppliers took to Aldi’s tasting room to pitch healthy snacks with low sugar, low salt, low fat, and added protein and vitamins, in the hope of winning a spot on Aldi’s shelves. They didn’t just have to be good, they also had to taste good.
Aldi’s managing director of buying Julie Ashfield, along with presenters Anita Rani and Chris Bavin, were served up everything from camel milk, kombucha and roast dinner kimchi to protein-rich fava beans and kids’ fruit snacks, but only one producer could win the contract with the budget supermarket chain.
What sets Aldi’s Next Big Thing apart from other televised business competitions is that viewers can go out and buy the winning product in their local Aldi store the very next morning. So far, we’ve already seen the budget supermarket chain stock a Jamaican rum cake and a chip shop chicken curry pie.
If this week’s episode has got your taste buds tingling, we’ve rounded up where exactly you can buy all the products seen in tonight’s episode, including the winning healthy snack. As always, spoilers ahead, so look away if you haven’t finished watching the episode.
Read more:
Freddie’s Farm fruit shapes, pack of five: £2.29, Aldi.co.uk – available in-store from 4 November
The theme of this week’s episode was healthy and wholesome, and you couldn’t get more wholesome than the Freddie’s Farm range of dried-fruit shapes, which wowed Julie Ashfield enough to win a place on Aldi’s shelves. Freddie’s Farm fruit shapes contain lower free sugars; added vegetables and come in paper packaging, so it’s completely plastic-free.
The snack comes in apple, blueberry or raspberry flavours, and Aldi sells one pack of five 20g paper pouches for £2.29. You can also buy a mixed bag of 12 fruit shapes or a mixed bag of 30 fruit shapes direct from Freddie’s Farm.
- Buy now from Aldi – available in-store from 4 November
- Buy now from Freddie’s Farm
The Honest Bean Co fava bean snacks: Honestbean.co.uk
Julie dubbed The Honest Bean Co’s roasted fava beans snack a supermarket-ready product, praising the flavour, the design and the packaging. But despite founders Zoe and Adam and sales manager Tom working on upping the salt content in the company’s lightly salted range, it wasn’t to be for the high-protein superfood. Thankfully, you can still buy Honest’s fava beans elsewhere.
The Honest Bean Co sells its fava beans snack bags at Holland & Barrett, Ocado and on the company’s own website. There are four different flavours – lightly salted; sea salt and cider vinegar; chilli and lemon, and BBQ. A 300g share bag costs £3.50 at Ocado, while a 40g bag costs £1 at Holland & Barrett. There are also mixed bags available. You can buy 12 packs for £10 or 24 packs for £20.
Daisy’s Dromedairy camel milk: Jacamels.co.uk
One of the most intriguing products on offer this week was Daisy’s Dromedairy’s camel milk. Said to be rich in vitamin C and good for your skin, as well as being lactose-intolerant-friendly, it took Ashfield a little by surprise, tasting slightly different to cow’s milk, but not in an edgy way, as she put it. Sadly, it might have just been a little too tricky for the dairy farmers to scale up production with their five milking camels.
If you want to give it a go, you’ll have to trek to the company’s farm in Warwickshire, because you can’t buy it online, but the website does say the company delivers if you enquire. Daisy’s raw camel milk costs £20 per litre, but you can also buy a 500ml bottle for £10 or a 250ml bottle for £5. It comes either fresh or frozen. Not anywhere near Warwickshire? Asda sells a different brand’s long-life camel milk (£3.50, Asda.co.uk), but we can’t vouch for this one’s quality.
The Fermentation Station roast dinner kimchi: Thefermentation-station.co.uk
Ashfield and Rani loved the taste of The Fermentation Station’s twist on kimchi, describing it as a pleasant and light eat – so delicious it made Rani’s mouth water. The only hitch? The potential size of the market and whether Aldi’s customers would buy it. Thankfully, despite not winning, The Fermentation Station sells its products via its own website, so you’ll be able to get it delivered to your home.
The roast dinner kimchi seen on the show is packed with seasonal veg you'd find in a roast dinner, combined with a Wasabi kick. The website says this kimchi “emulates those comforting, sweet and nutty root vegetable flavours with the warmth of a side of horseradish on your roast dinner plate”. A 275g jar costs £5.75 and a 450g jar costs £7.75. The company also sells other fermented goods, including sauerkraut and tepache.
Buy now from The Fermentation Station
Calyx Drinks Nigerian zobo soft drink: Calyxdrinks.co.uk
It was a professional and premium-looking product, with founder Raphael offering a good story behind his Nigerian soft drink company, but Ashfield felt it lacked a little sweetness for what someone might expect when drinking it.
If you want to try Calyx Drinks’ zobo for yourself, you can find it on the company’s website. The authentic West African fruit-and-flower recipe is made using traditional methods, blending white grape with hibiscus flower and four natural spices. The company also sells other organic flower-powered drinks on its website.
NaturAlly Fed kombucha: Naturallyfed.store
Federico’s kombucha really impressed the panel, with Bavin commenting on the lovely citrus flavour in the orange bottle, but it ultimately wasn’t to be for the Swansea-based entrepreneur’s fermented green-tea drinks. Still, that doesn’t stop you from having a taste yourself. NaturAlly Fed sells its raw, unpasteurised kombucha on its website.
It comes in original, cherry, green apple, orange, ginger, lemon, blackberry and violet flavours, with a crate of six small bottles starting at £17.50 and 12 large bottles costing £83.99.
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