Shelf life

Food producers compete to win a life-changing contract with Aldi

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Aldi's Next Big Thing Thursday, 8pm, C4

It's Dragons' Den meets MasterChef in C4's competitive new series Aldi's Next Big Thing, which pitches small-scale British food and drinks suppliers against each other to win a contract to supply all of Aldi's 950 supermarkets for a year.

Categories include bakery, store-cupboard staples, and treats. But this week's first set of producers go up against each other in the hope of bagging a contract in the dinner-time category, which includes jarred sauces, ready meals and meal kits.

'Each week, six producers will pitch head-to-head but just two will be selected as finalists, and only one can win,' says Anita Rani, who's judging alongside Aldi executive Julie Ashfield and award-winning greengrocer Chris Bavin.