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This Wigan schoolboy has landed his dream job of ‘chief taster’ at Uncle Joe’s Mint Balls

Bosses at the confectionary company said they were "bowled over" by Ethan Rowbotham's ideas and enthusiasm.

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 24th January 2023

It’s hard to see someone else living out your dream, but a Wigan schoolboy has got himself a side gig as a professional sweet taste-tester.

Ethan Rowbotham is a massive fan of Wigan’s finest fresh breath treats, Uncle Joe’s Mint Balls, and after the world-famous confectionery maker made an appeal for volunteers, the 10-year-old from Standish was appointed ‘Chief Taster’.

Bosses at Uncle Joe’s Mint Balls said they were “bowled over” by Ethan’s ideas and enthusiasm, and have invited him to start his new role at the town’s Toffee Works factory.

They weren’t kidding about his passion either, as Ethan not only insisted that Uncle Joe’s Mint Balls were his “absolute favourite” sweet in his application for the role, but he also suggested a bunch of potential new flavour ideas too.

Some of his suggestions include a ‘summer tropical’ edition – consisting of mango, pineapple, passionfruit, jack fruit and dragon fruit – several winter-themed flavours such as pomegranate, spiced pear and plum, some spring editions with cherry blossom and apple blossom, and an extra-special Christmas pudding-flavoured Mint Ball for the festive season.

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We can see why he got the job.

The confectionary company said they were “bowled over” by Ethan’s enthusiasm / Credit: Uncle Joe’s Mint Balls

“I entered the competition because I am excited to taste new flavours,” Ethan told ITV Granada.

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“Uncle Joe’s Mint Balls are my favourite because I like the sweet taste and when I crunch it, I like the explosion of mint [so] I’m so excited to go around the factory.”

His proud mum Lisa added: “Ethan was so excited when we told him he had been asked to be Chief Taster [as] he worked hard on his application, thinking of all the reasons why he would be perfect for the job.

“We are incredibly proud and happy for him.”

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The chance to become a member of the Uncle Joe’s Mint Balls tasting panel was open to people of all ages, and follows the overwhelming response from fans to social media posts about new products and innovations.

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Ethan will be joined by five other volunteers to help taste prototype sweets and put forward their own ideas, as well as give feedback on existing varieties.

Featured Image – Uncle Joe’s Mint Balls

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Manchester’s Club de Padel claps back at ’embarrassing’ copycat ASOS product

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson

A local Manchester business has sarcastically pointed out the glaring similarities between a new t-shirt on ASOS and one of its own designs.

Club de Padel has a range of retro-inspired merch with UN:IK, a small independent streetwear brand also based here in Manchester.

Its collection of t-shirts, hoodies, tracksuits, hats and bags often feature a design of an illustrated padel ball (which to the untrained eye is basically a tennis ball) in motion.

But this week a t-shirt appeared on ASOS that also featured an illustrated padel ball in motion, just in a slightly different colour palette.

The ASOS version, which has now been removed from sale, also undercut Club de Padel’s price by £6.

Since Club de Padel took the ’embarrassing’ copycat product public on their Instagram page, ASOS has launched an investigation and taken it off their website.

The sports venture, based at Deansgate Square and the only padel club in Manchester, wrote: “Love the new designs ASOS, kinda reminds us of something though…

The ASOS t-shirt that Club de Padel has said copies their merch. Credit: ASOS
The ASOS t-shirt that Club de Padel has said copies their merch. Credit: ASOS
Club de Padel's t-shirt created by Manchester brand UN:IK
Club de Padel’s t-shirt created by Manchester brand UN:IK. Credit: Club de Padel

“Ah. Well that’s embarrassing… We’ve got a new line coming soon with UN:IK Clothing you’re just gonna love ASOS.

“In the meantime we made this for you @asos, save your design team a job.”

An ASOS spokesperson said: “We take intellectual property issues very seriously and have removed this product from sale while we investigate further.”

Of the Club de Padel and UN:IK collaboration, aka the real deal, UN:IK says it has ‘served up a staple for us, retro inspired leisure pieces with Manchester’s first ever padel club’.

Club de Padel in Manchester has gone public to poke fun at ASOS

They wrote: “Inspired by owners after a trip to Spain, Club de Padel has hit the city with a wave and the lifestyle brand we have created with them reinforces the fastest growing sport across Europe.

“Our classic vintage washes and oversized fits, working with independent designs as always on this local independent partnership. Don’t be afraid to the sport, we’ll guarantee you love it as much as these clothes.”

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Featured image: Club de Padel

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Yorkshire Tea is Manchester’s ‘favourite’ brand of teabags, according to new data

Danny Jones Danny Jones Yorkshire Tea is Manchester's favourite teabag

The Great British debate of which teabag is best is one that will rage on for millennia, that’s just the way it is, but according to new data, it sounds like we might at least have an answer to which brand makes for Manchester’s favourite brew.

It won’t be a surprise to many of you and we can certainly confirm it on our end but the one and only Yorkshire Tea looks to have taken the cuppa crown when it comes not only to Manchester’s preferred teabag but seemingly the best-loved in Britain as a whole.

This is according to numbers pulled by local firm, TonerGiant. The Atherton-based ink and toner suppliers decided a poll around the office wasn’t enough and instead chose to turn their knowledge of the market and consumer trends into a bit of online research.

At the end of the day, tea has got to be the most important of all office supplies, surely?

mancunians favourite brand of teabags
According to the stats, Yorkshire Tea is Manchester’s favourite brand of tea bags. (Credit: Yorkshire Tea)

Using data from trusted online source Statista, which nailed down the top 25 teabag brands in the UK, each make was then ranked in relation to its average monthly searches via Google Keyword Planner to reveal that Yorkshire Tea was clearly the top dog.

With roughly 390 searches per month in Manchester alone, compared to PG Tips as the next best (260), it seems us Mancs have to concede at least one thing to our fellow Northern county: Yorkshire makes a bloody good brew.

The Roses rivalry raged for centuries but if there’s one thing that brings us together, it’s a good cuppa.

In terms of other tea brands that came in high on the leaderboard, Pukka Tea (170), Twinings (140)and Teapigs (90) made up the rest of the top five most-searched tea brands in Greater Manchester. It’s also interesting to see how those figures looked when extrapolated nationwide. Here’s the full ranking:

RankTeaAverage UK monthly searches
1Yorkshire Tea27,100
2PG Tips18,100
3Pukka Tea14,800
4Twinings12,100
5Teapigs8,100
6Whittards Tea6,600
7Tetley4,400
8Clipper Tea4,400
9Lipton Tea3,600
10Barrys Tea3,600
11Thompsons Tea1,300
12Typhoo1,300
13Taylors Tea1,300
14M&S Tea1,300
15Tesco Tea1,000
16Tick Tock Tea880
17Sainsbury’s Tea720
18Lyons Tea720
19Asda Tea590
20Aldi Tea590
21Waitrose Tea590
22Lidl Tea480
23Morrisons Tea320
24Bewleys Tea90
25Cafedirect Tea40
Few of these on here we’ve never heard of. Taste test, anyone?

While Yorkshire Tea was found to be Manchester’s and the nation’s favourite, Belfast was the only UK city where Yorkshire Tea didn’t take the top spot. Instead, it was Irish-owned Barry’s Tea that came out as their favourite – we definitely need to hold a ‘brew-off’ between the two. The Hoot, you up for it?

As for supermarket’s own-brand offerings, out of the eight options on the list, Marks and Spencer’s teabags were found to be the most popular, closely followed by Tesco and then Sainsbury’s.

Commenting on the findings, TonerGiant’s Stuart Deavall said: “With so many office workers opting for tea to get through the day, it’s no surprise that the UK has a day dedicated to the drink.

“In light of National Tea Day on Sunday, 21 April, our new data shows that Yorkshire Tea is the nation’s favourite, with over 27,000 Brits searching every month… We can expect many Brits to be celebrating in style this Sunday, no doubt with a mug of Yorkshire tea in hand”. Speaking of, anyone fancy a brew?…

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Featured Images — Yorkshire Tea/Rumman Amin (via Unsplash)

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