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Launch a mince pie contest

This is a fun and inexpensive idea that anyone can try. 

Make a list of every shop or venue in your town or area that sell mince pies. Supermarkets, department stores, convenience stores, service stations, sandwich shops, etc, etc.

Buy mince pies from each of them and judge them from 1 to 10 on the taste, the filling, etc, etc.

(Image courtesy of  PublicDomainPictures and Pixabay)

Tony "The Greek Farmer" Charalambides is the "Next Big Thing"

The Channel 4 TV series ‘Aldi’s Next Big Thing’ sees food and drink suppliers vying against one an other to compete for a space on Aldi’s shelves.

‘The Greek Farmer’ Tony Charalambides and his British charcuterie business beat hundreds of other hopefuls to land the contract of a lifetime, within just 12 months of launching his business

The award winning product will land on Aldi's shelves on November 25th.

Hackney born, Tony Charalambides, 42, launched his business in December 2021 with the assistance of his side kick and best friend, Aaron Grey, 32. 

And a mere 11 months later his British charcuterie has been catapulted into the limelight and will be on shelves in Aldi stores nationally.

The pair were awarded the "life changing" contract in last night’s episode of Aldi’s Next Big Thing, which focused on the fresh & deli category.

In the show, hosted by Anita Rani, of Countryfile and BBC Radio 4 and Chris Bavin, of Britain’s Best Home Cook and Eat Well for Less, hopeful suppliers compete for a space on Aldi’s shelves, before Aldi’s Julie Ashfield decides on the winner.

Tony and Aaron fought off tough competition from freshly made samosas, scotch eggs and even peanut butter and broccoli sausages, before finally beating ‘I AM NUT OK’, a vegan cheese producer to take the top prize.

Former builder Tony is of Greek Cypriot and Irish heritage, and it’s his childhood nickname ‘The Greek’ that inspired the eponymous brand.

Tony says: “Family and food were and still are the most important factors growing up in a Cypriot and Irish household. I’ve been in Cyprus quite a lot of my life eating Greek food, and it was something that I wanted to bring back to the UK. When I met Aaron at my son’s birthday party four years ago we bonded over good food.  So when the opportunity came to start curing meats together, it just made sense.

“We smoke our meats in an old disused silo on my farm using traditional Greek methods and flavourings – that makes us the only UK Greek producer of cured meats.”

The product impressed the judges from the very beginning, with its great taste and provenance. Only free-range British pork and beef are used and everything is produced on Tony’s Hertfordshire farm.

 Julie challenged the duo with tweaking their packaging to include a selection of cured meats and to bring out the Britishness front of pack. But the biggest test was the time frame the duo had to produce the cured meat.

Aaron explains: “You must be patient with cured meat so you can’t speed up any processes. It takes time.”

In the programme presenter Chris Bavin was concerned about the lead time, but Aaron is seen reassuring him: “You worry too much.”

Luckily for Aldi, Aaron proved to be right, as The Greek Farmer’s charcuterie selection of air-dried meats (including beef, pork loin, pork belly thins and ham) will be available in stores from 25th November. But shoppers will need to get in quick to get a chance to try, as with all Specialbuys, once they’re gone, they’re gone!

Tony says: “It’s mind-blowing for the pair of us. We only launched last December, and now we’ve won this amazing competition and are going to be on Aldi’s shelves. What I was hoping for in year three, four or five potentially has now come to play in year one, not even year one. It’s going to catapult our business for sure.”

Julie Ashfield said about choosing the winner: “It was tough for me to decide because I could see how hard both of the finalists had worked to get there but the provenance and the traditional method of The Greek Farmer won out for me in the end. The product tasted excellent and I just felt if we can get that product to store, customers will really, really love it.”

The multi-category competition is part of Aldi’s ongoing commitment to locally sourced products. Aldi has pledged to prioritise home-grown suppliers as it works towards spending an additional £3.5 billion a year with British businesses by the end of 2025.

Aldi’s Next Big Thing airs on Channel 4, every Thursday at 8pm until 24th November.

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Gunna drinks. Alcohol free but by no means soft

Gunna has taken one of the oldest so-called soft drinks, lemonade, and had remade it into a fantastically refreshing drink and taste experience. 

It's absolutely ideal for drinking at a Christmas and New Year party, with your lunch, your evening meal, whilst on a train journey or whenever you feel the need for a refreshing drink with a bit more punch than you might be used to. But all in a non-alcoholic format. 

What flavours are available? Ginger Lemonade, Tropical Lemonade, Raspberry Lemonade, Lemonade with a hint of mint and  Lime Lemonade. There's also Cola and Ginger, too.

Gunna is amazing because it is a craft drink maker and they are lower in sugar are all vegan friendly and contain only 73 calories per can. 

They are also campaigning to stop the use of single use plastic bottles for soft drinks. The link to their petition to the government is on their site and they say “Ban single-use plastic bottles in the manufacture of soft drinks for the UK market. We want the Government to take action to cut down plastic pollution by banning single-use plastic bottles in the manufacture of soft drinks in the UK."

So, what do the drink taste like? Like absolute heaven. They taste delightfully fruity, are delicately carbonated and will be the life and soul of your party. Or the life and soul of your trip to a trade show at the Birmingham NEC? Actually those cans made a very fraught and dreadfully overcrowded train journey to the V Show at the NEC just that little bit more pleasurable than it might have been!

It's our suggestion that you lay in a couple of crates for Christmas and the New Year. 

You can buy them online at https://gunnadrinks.com/collections/retail.

They are available from a variety of retailers and they are looking out for other retailers to stock their drinks so please take a look at https://gunnadrinks.com/pages/wholesale.

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