A Birmingham-born contestant appears on Aldi’s Next Big Thing tonight(Tuesday, April 23) after inventing an ethical chocolate to rival Cadbury. Dr Johnny Drain grew up in Bournville in the shadow of Cadbury's famous chocolate factory and has now won a coveted place on the Channel 4 show.
Taking inspiration from his Brummie surroundings, Johnny is now a chocolatier with business partner Ahrum Pak. But the pair's start-up business Win-Win Food Labs is trying to be more sustainable than big companies as they are producing the world’s first cocoa-free chocolate.
Johnny and Ahrum, both aged 37, beat off competition from hundreds of hopefuls to appear on Series 2 of Aldi ’s Next Big Thing. They are on the fourth episode of the series tonight on Channel 4 that has a theme of Confectionery.
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Contestants are competing for a chance for their products to be stocked on Aldi shelves, which could lead to big business success. The pair are just one of an array of food and drink companies featuring over six episodes, hoping to be listed in over 1,000 Aldi supermarkets nationwide.
Presenters Chris Bavin, known for stints on BBC One's The One Show, and ex-Strictly Come Dancing star Anita Rani will meet the pair of entrepreneurs to understand how they came up with the price, packaging and idea.
Heralding from Birmingham, Johnny is now based in Hackney at the award-winning cocoa-free chocolate company. They have used innovative technology to transform whole plants, like carob & barley, into sweet ingredients instead of cocoa and have devised a secret recipe.
Their ethos is all about producing sustainable and ethical alternatives to well-known chocolate bars like Cadbury's Dairy Milk. Viewers will see Johnny pitch the world’s first ever cocoa-free chocolate to Managing Director of Buying at Aldi UK, Julie Ashfield.
The chocolate has been created with a combination of legumes and cereal, and is available in flavours of salted caramel and crunchy hazelnut. Cocoa beans are primarily grown in hot countries including Ecuador, Colombia, Mexico and India.
By using an alternative to cocoa it takes away the environmental and ethical impacts of shipping the cocoa ingredients across the world, using child labour and deforestation. Win-Win Food Labs' tag line is "100% ethical, 100% sustainable, 100% delicious".
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Johnny, a leading global fermentation expert, said: “I grew up near a very big chocolate factory in Birmingham and I’ve always loved chocolate. I came up with the idea for cocoa free chocolate while boiling potatoes.
"I smelt the steam and thought it smelt like hot chocolate which triggered the light-bulb moment: “can you make something that tastes like chocolate that’s not from a cocoa bean?”
"When people try our products, they can’t believe it’s not chocolate.’’
After much experimenting, Johnny finally mastered his creation. Ahrum, a former banker and management consultant who wants to tackle food waste, added: “Johnny is a wizard at cocoa free chocolate. We know if the recipe gets into anyone’s hands, they’ll probably want to make it as well.”
The pair came up with the idea in 2020 when Ahrum was put in touch with Johnny and sent him a DM. Johnny had become well known for using insights from his PhD in Materials Science from the University of Oxford to help the world’s best bars and restaurants pioneer sustainable solutions.
Their chocolate has already won international awards including Best Finished Product at the International Confectionery Awards and Most Innovative Sustainable Solution prize at the Food Ingredients Europe Awards.
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The six-part TV show covers everything from dinners and baked goods to party products, world items, and confectionery. In each episode, viewers see Aldi's Julie Ashfield deliberate on factors such as price, packaging, shopper demand, and the ability to scale up, before shortlisting contestants down to just two.
Those two companies then get four weeks to address any feedback, with a follow-up home visit from Anita or Chris who will report back their findings to Julie. Three judges then taste test the improved products, before Julie decides the winner which will appear as a Special buy in over 1,000 stores.
Julie Ashfield, Managing Director of Buying at Aldi UK, said: “Offering shoppers an affordable indulgence is a big focus for Aldi. We’re looking for fun flavours and twists on classics, so innovation is key.”
Aldi’s Next Big Thing, the ‘Confectionery’ episode, will air on Channel 4, tonight( Tuesday, April 23) at 8pm. Find out more about Win-Win Food Lab products here. The series continues until May 7 and can also be seen on More 4.
