Entrepreneur Roni Bandong-McSorley from Walton-on-Thames, Surrey will appear on Channel 4’s ‘Aldi’s Next Big Thing’ on 30 April alongside husband Steve McSorley.
Roni runs award-winning RoniB’s Kitchen, which produces Filipino sauces using family recipes. The company’s hero product is a sweet, tangy Banana Ketchup, made with ripe bananas, great for burgers, hot dogs and chips.
Roni, with her unique Banana Ketchup, was picked from hundreds competing for a life-changing contract to stock over 1,000 Aldi stores nationwide.
She ays: “I want to put Philippine cuisine on the map. The Philippines is the home of the original banana ketchup, first developed during World War II due to shortages of tomatoes. It would be a dream come true to get my product into Aldi. I believe it deserves to be there.”
Hosted by broadcaster and author Anita Rani and Chris Bavin of BBC’s The One Show and Eat Well for Less, ‘Aldi’s Next Big Thing’ sees suppliers compete in a range of categories including dinners and baked goods, as well as exciting new additions: party, world and confectionary.
Products are presented to Julie Ashfield, managing director of Buying at Aldi UK, who deliberates on factors such as price, packaging, shopper demand and the ability to scale up, before shortlisting contestants down to just two.
Finalists are then given four weeks to address any feedback, with a follow-up home visit from Anita or Chris who will report back their findings to Julie. The three then taste-test the improved products before Julie decides the winner which will appear as a Specialbuy in over 1,000 stores.
Julie said: “What’s most exciting about the world foods category is the breadth of what’s possible. What used to be a narrow selection of cuisines, such as curries and noodles, has expanded into new flavours, dishes and ingredients. World cuisine presents an affordable alternative to eating out or buying takeaways.”
The multi-category competition is part of Aldi’s ongoing commitment to support British suppliers. Last year, the company spent an additional £1.3 billion with British suppliers and growers and provides more than three quarters of all items sold in its stores.
The supermarket has also introduced a ‘Best of British’ section to its website, which includes a wide selection of groceries from meat to dairy products and everyday essentials, in a bid to help shoppers support British businesses
