Founder of RoniB’s Kitchen, Roni Bandong-McSorley, along with her husband Steve, have won a life- changing contract with Aldi that will see their Banana Ketchup stocked on shelves from today, 1st May.
The small business owners, based in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey showcased their sweet, tangy condiment as part of Channel 4 series ‘Aldi’s Next Big Thing’. Roni and Steve were picked from hundreds of applicants competing for a coveted contract to stock Aldi stores nationwide.
From dinners and baked goods to party foods and confectionery, each episode sees hopeful suppliers compete for a space on Aldi’s shelves, before Julie Ashfield, Managing Director of Buying at Aldi UK, decides on a winner which will appear as a Specialbuy in over 1,000 stores.
Impressing with its flavour and uniqueness, Roni’s Filipino Style Banana Ketchup beat five other hopefuls in the ‘World’ episode including Turkish marinades, jerk seasoning, West African dough balls, vegan dumplings, and vegan ready meals, to secure an order to supply 100,000 bottles.
Roni’s Great Taste award-winning Banana Ketchup is the perfect condiment for burgers, hot dogs and chips. It can be sprinkled on food such as pizzas, omelettes, pork barbecue skewers and fried chicken. Vegan and vegetarian friendly, the ketchup has no artificial colourings, flavourings or preservatives.
As part of feedback given by Julie to focus on cutting food waste, Roni adapted her supply chain to purchase entire crops from a banana farmer in Rwanda. Not only does this provide the farmer with security, but every single banana is used regardless of its condition, and anything not used for the sauce is processed for fertiliser.
Roni was also tasked with redesigning the bottle packaging to make it look more like ketchup and less like hot sauce.
Roni’s emotional connection to introducing the food of her homeland, the Philippines, to the UK won over co-presenter Chris Bavin, and her devotion to creating the best possible product won over Julie Ashfield at Aldi.
Roni Bandong-McSorley, Founder, RoniB’s Kitchen, said: “It has been such a long journey getting to this point. Since arriving in the UK from the Philippines, it has been my mission to promote Filipino cuisine. Whenever I took a Filipino dish to a friend’s party, it was always the first to be eaten. I knew it was time to shine a spotlight on Filipino food but the ingredients to create the dishes were scarce, so I needed to change that. The Philippines is the home of the original banana ketchup developed during World War II due to wartime shortages of tomatoes.”
Steve McSorley, Director of Operations, RoniB’s Kitchen said: “When I heard Julie announce that we had won, I was overcome with emotion. Without a shadow of a doubt, this will change the face of the brand forever. We couldn’t be happier and can’t wait to get down to an Aldi store to see the banana ketchup on the shelf!”
Julie Ashfield, Managing Director of Buying at Aldi UK, said: “I was looking for something fun and exciting, and that’s exactly what I’ve got with Banana Ketchup. We’ve got something that might make a difference. I can’t wait for our shoppers to try it.”
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, and they provide more than three quarters of all items sold in its stores.
The supermarket has also introduced a ‘Best of British’ section to its website, which includes a wide selection of groceries from meat to dairy products and everyday essentials, in a bid to help shoppers support British businesses.
Roni’s Banana Ketchup (£2.49, 250g) is available in stores now. But shoppers need to get in quick for chance to try, as with all Specialbuys, once they’re gone, they’re gone!
Aldi’s Next Big Thing aired on UK TVs Channel 4, every Tuesday at 8pm up to 7th May 2024.
You can stream on Channel 4’s catch up service here.
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