Entrepreneur Yasir Patel proves a confectionery hit with “Aldi’s Next Big Thing”
An ambitious young entrepreneur from Blackburn, Lancashire, Yasir Patel is celebrating success after securing a major contract from the Aldi supermarket chain after triumphing on its ‘Next Big Thing’ screen series, reports Neill Barston.
The popular Channel 4 television show has so far placed a valuable spotlight on aspiring businesses across the food and drink sector, with confectionery gaining its turn last night’s edition.
Yasir’s premium Cluster Club product, fusing 50% high quality nuts with fine Belgian chocolate impressed judges and offered a unique selling point over other market competitors.
Notably, the show had highlighted the need for the company to prove it was capable of expanding its capacity, which the Lancashire firm duly demonstrated with putting forward production facility enhancement that would enable it to scale-up manufacturing to meet the demands of the supermarket chain.
In the series, which is hosted by author and broadcaster Anita Rani, 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 Managing Director of Buying Julie Ashfield decides on the winner.
The family-owned snack company beat five other hopefuls to land the coveted contract, including the world’s first cocoa-free chocolate, Vegan toffee and CBD gummies.
For the episode, 28 year-old Yasir was tasked with improving his packaging format, so it stood out better in stores amid considerable competition. After also learning that he’d lost his usual manufacturer during filming, the father of two returned to Aldi HQ with a bigger pack format and robust new production factory, to secure an order to supply 100,000 packs in over 1,000 Aldi stores nationwide.
Commenting on his big win, Yasir, founder of Cluster Club, enthused: ‘’I put everything I have into this opportunity — money, sweat, time and effort. All the hard work was worth it as I am now a supplier for Aldi. How do I even put that into words? I am living a dream!’
The Cluster Club snacks are available in Belgian Milk Chocolate, White Chocolate & Cranberry and Belgian Orange Chocolate (£2.29, 100g), available in a special edition limited run.
Julie Ashfield, Managing Director of Buying at Aldi UK, added a note of praise for the victor. She said: “Yas has been on a really challenging journey. He lost his manufacturer but picked himself back up and managed to organise an alternative production site. That’s really impressive, so I want to see this product do well.”
As Aldi noted, the multi-category competition is part of Aldi’s ongoing commitment to support British suppliers. Last year, Aldi spent an additional £1.3 billion with British suppliers and growers, meaning they now provide more than three quarters of all items sold in its stores.
