By Ian McConnell
A CURRY-loving entrepreneur based in East Lothian, who developed a passion for spices while working and travelling in India in 1993, has won a deal to supply 1,050 Aldi stores in the UK and Ireland.
Melanie Auld, founder and managing director of Gullane-based Spice Pots, will see her products hit the shelves of Aldi from Sunday. This will be in time for National Curry Week, between October 7 and 13. The Spice Pots collection going on sale at Aldi features four curry powder blends in 40-gramme pots: korma, bhuna, tandoori, and Goan. Each blend is 100 per cent natural and vegan-friendly.
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Back in the UK, Ms Auld developed a passion for making Indian curries from scratch by roasting, grinding and combining whole spices.
Late in the first decade of the new millennium, Ms Auld was living in the west coast village of Arrochar, where she had three sons in three years. Without time to shop for and cook all the different spices from scratch, she began to make her own spice blends. She then started sharing the blends and recipes with friends. In 2014, the former events manager turned her spice blends into a business.
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Initially, Ms Auld blended, packaged and distributed Spice Pots from home, while selling at farmers’ markets and small local outlets. Spice Pots’ products are on sale in more than 400 stockists across Scotland, England and Ireland, and on Amazon marketplace.
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