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A father and son who started producing a spicy chilli sauce from the family’s garden shed in Manor Park has reached the final of a start-up business competition. Hardev Singh, 59, and his son Kuldip, 31, are among fifteen finalists for the Local Business Accelerators campaign, run by our newspapers’ regional press umbrella organisation the Newspaper Society.

They were among hundreds of entries who entered through newspapers across the country and are now in with a chance to win support from TV’s Dragons’ Dens panellist Deborah Meaden, the campaign’s national ambassador, £10,000 from the Business Growth Fund and other benefits.

Hardev and Kuldip have already received business mentoring from successful business man Lance Forman, who runs a salmon smokery on Fish Island overlooking the Olympic Stadium, after reaching the local heat of the competition through the Newham Recorder.

They were already selling their sauce to supermarkets in the UK, other parts of Europe and South Africa. But with the help of Mr Forman and his contacts they have now signed a deal to deliver their spicy sauces to a delicatessen chain in New York, which could be the beginning of them conquering the American market. Hardev Signh is now close to becoming a millionaire.

Read next week’s Newham Recorder for our feature on the story behind the family business.