Shopping
Big news for beauty fans.
Daisy Jackson -22nd April 2024
Beauty fans rejoice – Sephora has finally announced plans to open a store in Manchester, and soon.
The world-famous retailer, which stops luxury skincare and makeup brands as well as cult items, has secured a spot in the Trafford Centre.
This will be the third UK store for Sephora, which currently has two shops down in London, and its first trip up north.
And after a fair bit of teasing and plenty of rumours, they’ve confirmed that their next megastore will be right here in Greater Manchester.
Hoardings have appeared inside the Trafford Centre, plastered in Sephora’s black and white branding, around a unit next to AllSaints.
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The signs read: “Manchester, you called it. Our first Northern store in 2024.”
Sephora says it will ‘redefine the beauty landscape in the North with an extraordinary product range that caters to the diverse needs of beauty enthusiasts’.
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Cult brands stocked at Sephora include Huda Beauty, Charlotte Tilbury, The Ordinary, Glossier and Makeup by Mario.
Sephora wrote on Instagram: “You heard correctly — Sephora is coming to the TRAFFORD CENTRE, MANCHESTER.
“Get your shopping baskets ready as we’re on our way up north! More to be revealed soon, see you in 2024…”
The Trafford Centre shared: “You asked, we listened! The wait is over….your @sephorauk opens late Spring 2024.”
Sarah Boyd, managing director of Sephora UK, said: “We are extremely excited to bring Sephora to Manchester, one of the most vibrant cities for beauty in the UK.
“Expanding our presence beyond London is something that consumers have been screaming out for, and we are listening hard to them when deciding where to go next.
“The Trafford Centre, known for its iconic atmosphere and diverse retail offering, is the perfect location for our third store.”
Russell Loveland, managing director at Pradera Lateral – Trafford Centre’s Asset Managers, said: “This iconic beauty giant already has a cult following, and our own social media has been blowing up with enquiries from excited customers eager for Sephora to open.
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“We are very proud Sephora chose the Trafford Centre for its next location, which will be its first store in the North of England, and know it will be a fantastic success and a great addition to our strong international brand lineup.”
One person commented on Sephora’s Instagram post: “This is the best news I’ve heard all year!”
Another said: “OMG ITS HAPPENING, STAY CALM”
And someone wrote on Trafford Centre’s post: “Omg omg can’t wait.”
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Featured image: The Manc Group
Shopping
McVitie’s has released new cola bottle-flavoured Jaffa Cakes and fans are dividedEmily Sergeant
McVitie’s has launched its first non-fruity flavour of Jaffa Cakes, and it’s fair to say the new creation has divided fans.
What do you get when you cross a cola bottle with a jaffa cake?
That’s not the start of a joke, by the way… you literally just get cola bottle-flavoured Jaffa Cakes, and as bizarre – or as brilliant – as that creation may sound to you, McVitie’s has actually made it a reality, and the new hybrid sweet treat is now available on supermarket shelves across the UK.
We’ve had cherry-flavoured jaffa cakes, lemon and lime-flavoured ones, raspberry, blackcurrant, and even passionfruit-flavoured, as well as different chocolate variations including the limited-edition White Chocolate Jaffa Cakes, and even a jaffa cake and donut crossover in the form of the popular ‘Jonuts’.
But now, the popular snack food brand has decided to venture away from fruity flavours for the first time ever, and it’s landed on cola bottles.
Cola Bottle Jaffa Cakes are now available in both biscuit (or cake) and cake bar format, and they’ve already been spotted on the shelves at Asda.
McVitie’s parent company, Pladis, said it decided on the new flavour as its next creation because there’s a “huge appetite” among the next generation of snacking shoppers for “something genuinely new and different”.
As Adam Woolf, who is the Marketing Director for McVitie’s at Pladis UK&I, explained: “As the original cake in the biscuit aisle, we know a thing or two about doing something different, so as well as catering to shopper demand, our latest launch is the perfect embodiment of the playful and out-of-the-ordinary essence that’s Jaffa Cakes’ heartland.”
He said the new special creation is inspired by the “enduring popularity” of both jaffa cakes and cola bottle sweets, and has been made for those who’ve “got the bottle to branch out” and give “bold new flavour combinations a try”.
The OG jaffa cakes are said to be a store-cupboard essential for more than seven million households nationwide, but if the immediate fan reactions are anything to go by, it’s not looking like the new Cola Bottle Jaffa Cakes will be quite the same.
Posts on social media by several new snack food sharing and reviewing accounts – including a popular one by @another_snack_reviewer – has proved that fans are divided.
Some of the comments read: “I’ve been calling out for this flavour for years” and “Bit weird, but I feel like they need to be tried”, right through to the total opposite of: “No, no, no. Just no. My beautiful Jaffa cakes cannot be ruined with this atrocity.’
Even a quick ask around The Manc Group office produced a mixed response – with comments ranging from: “I’m on board”, to “That sounds vile” and “Mixing cola and sponge justdoesn’tsit right with me.”
So, what’s your take then?
Read more:
- McVitie’s officially confirms whether Jaffa Cakes are cakes or biscuits
- BBC airs documentary revealing ‘fascinating secrets’ of Manchester jaffa cake factory
- Aldi is looking for someone to be its official crisp taster – and you’ll get sent bags for FREE
If you’re looking to get your hands on the new Cola Bottle Jaffa Cakes, you’ll want to get yourself down to your nearest Asda and find out.
Featured Image – Flickr
Shopping
Aldi is looking for someone to be its official crisp taster – and you’ll get sent bags for FREEEmily Sergeant
Aldi is looking for a special someone to become its official crisp taster, and will send the lucky winner a bunch of bags to try for free.
Calling all spud enthusiasts and self-confessed crisp connoisseurs, this one’s for you.
Merely days after putting out a nationwide call for a handful of new ‘Gin Testers’, whose jobs it’ll be to try out the budgetsupermarketretailer’s range of summer-inspired gins and review them, Aldi is ready to make savoury snack food lovers’ dreams come true, as it’s now also revealed it’s also on the look-out for an official ‘Crisp Taster’ to join the team too.
In what is a brand-new role for the company, the one lucky person chosen for the role will get sent a selection of Aldi’s most popular crisps to sample at home, and all without having to part with a single penny for them.
Aldi’sSpecially Selected Mature Cheddar & Red Onion Hand Cooked, theSnackrite Perfections Thai Sweet Chilli,andSaucy Nibbley Nobblies are just a handful of the potato snacks they’ll be sent.
Not only that, but the new ‘Crisp Taster’ will also get an exclusive first try of products that are yet to hit Aldi’s shelves.
Then, once the lucky recruit has taste-tested each of the crisps sent out to them, all they’ll have to do in return is review each product and rating the crisps on their taste, crunch, texture, and appearance to help guide the supermarket’s Buying Team on potential future flavours.
“What our shoppers think is so important to us,” explained Julie Ashfield, who is the Managing Director of Buying at Aldi UK,as the role of a lifetime opened its applications this week.
“It’s crucial we listen to their honest feedback, so we can ensure our products continue to deliver on taste, while also offering unbeatable value. Sales of snacks such as crisps and nuts skyrocketed by 40% during the World Cup in 2022, so we expect our crisps to be in high demand this summer with Euros 2024.
“What better timing to find out what our most passionate snack fans have to say?”
Fancy it then? To apply, you’ll just need to be aged 16 or over, a legal UK resident, and create a short application video, that’s no more than a minute long, explaining why you should be Aldi’s first ever ‘Crisp Taster’.
Applications are now open, with a closing deadline of 16 June.
Read more:
- Aldi is recruiting gin testers and will send you bottles to try for FREE
- ‘Is someone taking the p**s?’ – Walkers launches new Christmas pudding-flavoured crisps
- Aldi has just launched new garlic bread-flavoured crisps in the UK
You’ll need to share your application video via the email address [emailprotected], and you can find out more information on the official ‘Crisp Taster’ webpage here.
Featured Image – Aldi UK
