A dad and daughter behind a market stall in Swansea are hoping to make it big on Channel 4 show Aldi's Next Big Thing. Hannah and Clayton Worth will be presenting their bowler-hat inspired bread to one of the UK's biggest supermarket chains on tonight's episode.
The pair's business, Bowla, is a micro bakery and market stall in Swansea. It is also home to the world's first bowler-hat-shaped bread, which is a unique loaf made of leavened dough. It can be separated from its top and bottom to make a roll and a bread bowl, which can then be topped with a variety of favourite fillings.
Hannah and Clayton were picked from hundreds of applicants competing for a life-changing contract to stock Aldi stores nationwide. Each week, the programme sees six artisan food producers present a pitch to Julie Ashfield, the managing director of buying at Aldi UK. From there, two producers are then selected for further development.
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The finalists are given four weeks to address any feedback, with a follow-up home visit from presenters Anita Rani or Chris Bavin, who will report back their findings to Julie. The three then taste test the improved products, before Julie decides the winner which will appear as a "Specialbuy" in over 1,000 stores.
Clayton and Hannah are desperately hoping to impress Julie. As Clayton explained on the programme, the bowler hat bread was initially produced by mistake. "An accident with a bread maker produced a top hat shaped loaf of bread that inspired me to make a smaller loaf," he said.
In a previous interview with WalesOnline, Clayton said that he had bought a second hand bread maker in 2007. After adding too much bread mix, the bread maker had produced an unusual looking loaf of bread. He said: "I let it cool down and I took the bread out and turned it upside down because it's a small square tin and it had mushroomed out over the top. When I turn it upside down it looks like a top hat." You can read our full interview with Hannah and Clayton Worth here.
At the start of their pitch, Hannah provided Anita, Julie and Chris with their very own bowler hats. While trying out the bread, Julie said that she liked the fact that it "looks like a hat", while Chris said it was "fabulous". He also complimented the duo for the "nice pepper flavour" of the bread.
Clayton and Hannah then went on to explain their big plans for the business. Hannah said: "We very much see this as an event food at football matches and festivals". Speaking to WalesOnline before the airing of the episode, Hannah explained that they appeared on the show only three months into trading at their market stall in Swansea. For the latest Swansea news, sign up to our newsletter here.
She said: "Appearing on the show was such a fun experience. I thought I would be really nervous appearing on the show but it was a really great experience." She added: "There was a range of businesses there, I think we were the smallest there. It was a real privilege to be there and speak to them.
"I think appearing on the show made me want to expand the business further. We have now launched a website off the back of appearing on the show. It has definitely made me more confident about the decisions I'm making.
"I'm hoping that while people are watching the show they can see the hard work my dad has put in to the business. I hope they can see how much we've put into it, how proud we are of it and how fun the brand is too."
You can find out how Bowla did on Aldi's Next Big Thing at 8pm on Tuesday, April 9 on Channel 4.
