Competition joy for chilli ace whose business is now a hot prospect

A Rotherham man has proved that he’s hot stuff in the business world after his chilli-based sauces landed him a big prize.

Alex Ward, who co-founded Rawmarsh-based Chilli Charva with his brother Tom, was named as the overall winner of the NMTF Young Traders National Final in Stratford-upon-Avon, beating 89 other finalists.

Alex said: “This weekend I competed in the NMTF Young Traders National Final in Stratford-upon-Avon.

“After a competition that started with thousands of young traders across the country and was narrowed down to 90 finalists, I was incredibly proud to be named the overall winner.

“Going from making chilli sauce because we loved the stuff to having what we’ve built recognised with a national award is a pretty surreal feeling.”

Alex said that the business began from a passion for the spicy foodstuff.

He said: “Chilli Charva started from our love of everything chilli.

“We began experimenting with making our own sauces at home, before spending around six months travelling through Southeast Asia in 2023, where we picked up inspiration from the different foods, flavours and chilli cultures we experienced.

“When we came home, we decided to take the idea seriously and build Chilli Charva.

“Since then we’ve developed the sauces ourselves and done our own branding, labels, design work and market setups, continually trying to improve every part of the business.”