An Scottish baking enthusiast and entrepreneur will compete in a new Channel 4 series to try and get her creations sold in Aldi stores.
Gillian Ferguson, 37, runs small batch bakery Twisted Empire in Ayrshire. It is known for its unique spin on the classic Scottish Empire Biscuit, which have proved popular with locals.
The biscuits caught the attention of Aldi, which selected them amongst hundreds of applicants to take part in its new show. Aldi’s Next Big Thing is a six-part series that sees suppliers compete in categories such as dinners, baked goods, treats, and store cupboard essentials to win a place on Aldi shelves.
In the programme, which is hosted by Anita Rani of Countryfile and BBC Radio 4, and Chris Bavin of Britain's Best Home Cook and Eat Well for Less, products are presented to managing director of buying at Aldi UK Julie Ashfield. She will consider factors such as price, packaging, shopper demand, and the ability to scale up, before whittling contestants down to just two.
The finalists will then be given four weeks to respond to feedback, before presenting an improved version of the product to Julie again. At this point, she will decide which one will appear as a Specialbuy in all Aldi stores.
Gillian, who gave up her office job in 2019 to focus on her baking business, will be hoping her modern take on Empire Biscuits will carry her to victory. The tasty treats are vegan and come in a range of flavours, such as coffee and pecan, and rose and pistachio.
She will be competing against other products in the treats category, including Yorkshire Pudding Beer and chocolate bars stuffed with crisps.
Gillian commented: “Securing a contract with Aldi would be absolutely life changing. My dream is to get my own premises with a production kitchen and make it a community space in my town.”
Julie Ashfield said: “I'm really looking forward to the treats category because it's so broad and there are so many opportunities for creativity. The challenge is how will the producers bring the X Factor that we're looking for.”
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