Charcuterie brand The Greek Farmer has landed the “contract of a lifetime” within the first year of the business, after winning the latest episode of Channel 4’s new series ‘Aldi’s Next Big Thing’.
After initially setting up the business in December 2021, the award-winning product has been catapulted into the limelight and is now set to hit Aldi shelves on 25th November.
Founded by Tony Charalambides and Aaron Grey, the duo was awarded the contract in last night’s episode of the show based on the German discounter, which focused on the health and deli category.
Subscribe to Grocery Gazette for free
Sign up here to get the latest grocery and food news each morning
In the show, which is hosted by Anita Rani of BBC Radio 4 and Chris Bavin of Eat Well for Less, hopeful suppliers compete for a space on Aldi’s shelves before Julie Ashfield, managing director of buying at Aldi UK, decides on the winner.
The product impressed from the start with its great taste and provenance – as only free-range British pork and beef are used, and everything is produced on Tony Charalambides’ Hertfordshire farm.
Co-founder of The Greek Farmer, Tony Charalambides said: “It’s mind-blowing for the pair of us. We only launched in 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.
“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.”
Julie Ashfield said: “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 news comes as Freddie’s Farm products have officially hit Aldi shelves after winning a previous episode of ‘Aldi’s Next Big Thing’.
The multi-category competition is part of Aldi’s ongoing commitment to locally sourced products. The discounter 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.
