Aldi has launched a nationwide competition to find ‘undiscovered’ UK suppliers who will see their products be stocked as Specialbuys in Aldi’s 950 stores.
The supermarket is calling for applicants to compete for a spot on its shelves across the country, with shortlisted suppliers to visit Aldi’s headquarters to showcase their products to a judging panel.
After a process of deliberation, the judges will decide on the winning products, which will be launched as Specialbuys.
The ‘Grow with Aldi’ campaign follows last year’s spirits competition, which saw gin distillery Penrhos Gin, a Herefordshire-based fruit farmer turned craft gin distillery, have its products stocked in Aldi stores nationwide.
The 18,000-bottle order was the largest of its kind for the distillery.
Charles Turner, Farmer, distiller, and co-founder of Penrhos Gin, said: “The biggest challenge for small craft distillers like us is breaking out of the local 40-mile radius.
“To go from that, to winning Grow with Aldi and being stocked in 950 stores nationwide was a major breakthrough for our business.”
The multi-category competition is part of Aldi’s ongoing commitment to locally sourced products. The supermarket has invested an extra £1.6bn with British suppliers since the start of the pandemic, including £125m spent with meat, poultry and dairy farmers in the UK.
Aldi has also reaffirmed its pledge to prioritise home-grown suppliers as it works towards spending an additional £3.5bn a year with British businesses by the end of 2025.
Budding applicants can enter by downloading an entry form at https://www.aldi.co.uk/grow-with-aldiand then send it via email to growwithaldi@clarioncomms.co.uk.
