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Aldi’s Next Big Thing: Where to buy Harrison & Griffiths fruit cake, Project D, Pastry Pédaleur and more
We also saw vegan meringues, gluten-free brownies and cakes disguised as sushi
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Aldi’s Next Big Thing is the latest Channel 4 business show sweeping the nation. A mash-up of MasterChef and Dragons’ Den, the show sees six entrepreneurs pitch tasty products, in the hope of winning a coveted contract with Aldi and a spot on the retailer’s shelves.
Last week, we saw dinner-focused businesses pitch their products to Aldi’s buying director Julie Ashfield, Countryfile’s Anita Rani and Eat Well for Less’s Chris Bavin. The trio taste-tested insect burgers, homemade curry and artisanal Chinese sauces, but it was Mud Foods’ chip shop chicken curry pie that eventually won the contract.
Mud Foods entered Aldi’s stores last week as an Aldi Specialbuy for a limited time. This episode, it was the turn of the pastries, and all the classics, plus a few surprises, were up for consideration.
Jamaican fruit cakes, artisan pastries, deluxe doughnuts, gluten-free brownies, vegan meringues and, yes, even rich cakes disguised as sushi were on display tonight. A real sugary feast for the eyes.
But ultimately, only one brand could win the coveted contract, and just like last week, you’re going to be able to go out and buy it from Aldi tomorrow morning. We’ve rounded up all the Next Big Thing products from episode two and where you can buy them. As always, spoilers lie ahead, so look away if you haven’t finished watching the episode!
Read more:
Harrison & Griffiths rum fruit cake: £4.99, Aldi.co.uk – available in-store only
Obsessed. That’s the word to describe Julie Ashfield’s reaction to co-founders Colin and Paulette’s Jamaican rum pie. Admitting that it was one of the best products she’d ever eaten, in the history of products, was it any wonder Harrison & Griffiths won the coveted contract? Needless to say, her reaction has us ready to dart out tomorrow morning to get the cake from our local Aldi.
While Harrison & Griffiths’ range of fruit and rum cakes usually retail for between £10.50 and £32.50, the rum cake in the new cardboard packaging stocked in Aldi’s stores nationwide retail for £4.99. You’ll be able to buy it from the link below tomorrow morning.
The pair also sells quarter-strength, half-strength and full-strength rum cakes, gluten-free versions, as well as chilli-chocolate cakes, pineapple cakes and ginger cakes.
Buy now from Aldi – available in-store only
Buy now from Harrison & Griffiths
Pastry Pédaleur pastries: Pastrypedaleur.site
Stephanie’s artisan pastries got excruciatingly close to finding a spot on Aldi’s shelves, but it just wasn’t to be for the Chester-based Pastry Pédaleur, who left Julie Ashfield speechless because her apple turnover tasted so good. Sadly, Aldi doesn’t have an in-store bakery like other supermarkets, so it would have been difficult to scale Stephanie’s tasty treats.
Thankfully, you can buy the fresh pastries if you live anywhere near Chester and can get down to the market. The entrepreneur bakes French-inspired pastries with an Indian twist, including apple turnovers and macarons.
Project D doughnuts: Projectdoughnut.co.uk
Aldi only sells two types of iced doughnuts, so Project D’s decadent delights could have been just the thing the retailer needed to add a bit more variety. Despite Bavin praising the flavour, the light, fluffy base and the creamy chocolate top of co-founders Max and Jake’s doughnuts, Ashfield felt the price point was a little too high for Aldi.
You can still try Project D’s doughnuts for yourself, though, albeit not from Aldi. Project D delivers direct to door and also sells its doughnuts in some independent stores. You can get a box of four doughnuts called “OG’s please” (£13, Projectdoughnut.co.uk). It features the Project D classics – we be jammin’, bad boy, red velvet and the Homer. You can also buy boxes of six doughnuts (from £15, Projectdoughnut.co.uk). The company sells vegan doughnuts too.
Yum Yum Sushi Desserts: Bakersmarket.co.uk
We’ve never seen anything quite like this before. Award-winning chef and founder of Yum Yum Sushi Desserts John makes cakes that look like sushi rolls. Wrapped in buttercream frosting, dipped in chocolate and topped with a variety of edible and colourful toppings, these mini desserts look like sushi, but there’s “no fish in this dish”, as John said. It might have been too much of a risky proposition in the end for Ashfield, however. It did feel very Marks & Spencer, given the high price point.
Yum Yum Sushi Desserts’ mini cakes can be bought online at Bakers Market. You can buy a box of sushi rolls in all 12 different flavours (£22, Bakers-market.co.uk) and the company does a gluten-free, vegan version for the same price. There are also boxes of 25 rolls and gift boxes, too.
Belle & Wilde gluten-free brownies: Belle-wilde.com
It’s hard to get gluten-free products that taste as good as their glutenous counterparts, so the show’s trio of testers were impressed with Belle & Wilde’s gluten-free brownies – describing them as “gooey” and “not too sweet”. But it ultimately came down to the fact that brownies were just too much of a competitive sector for Aldi.
Belle & Wilde actually sells its Belgian chocolate brownies on Amazon, as well as on its own website. You can buy standard-sized letterbox brownies (£9.99, Amazon.co.uk/£9.75, Belle-wilde.com) or large letterbox brownies (£14.50, Belle-wilde.com). The company also sells artisan toasts, crumbs and toppings, savoury rounds and gift sets.
London Apron vegan meringues: Londonapron.com
London Apron makes vegan meringues with aquafaba instead of egg whites. Although it had the crunch and the texture of a meringue, Aldi’s managing director of buying felt meringues were already a niche product in its stores, and founder Silvi’s vegan versions might sell even less quantities than those.
If you’re intrigued, however, London Apron’s vegan vanilla and raspberry meringues are currently stocked in Holland & Barrett (£2.99, Hollandandbarrett.com). You can also buy based meringues, candy floss meringues and dark chocolate meringues from London Apron’s website itself, as well as vegan brownies and gift boxes.
Buy now from Holland & Barrett
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