With job vacancies dwindling, young entrepreneurs are finding new opportunities in age-old market trading. From behind his stall, Alex Ward observes as children dare each other to try Charva Lava, a pineapple and mango hot sauce. He remarks, “Market stalls allow you to interact with customers and see their reactions to your products immediately.”
Alex, 27, operates Chilli Charva with his older brother Tom, 32. They trade across the north of England from their Rotherham base. The idea for the brand sprouted from their childhood days of spicing up Sunday dinners with Tabasco and indulging in friendly chilli-eating contests.
The term ‘Charva’ is a northeastern slang for a flashy, working-class lad. Playing into their brand, the brothers don their stall in black leisurewear, bucket hats, and chain necklaces. They are part of the new generation of young traders who are choosing the market stall over university or apprenticeship. They belong to the estimated 30,000 market traders operating in the UK.
Recent data from the Office for National Statistics revealed that approximately 957,000 young individuals aged between 16 and 24 were not in employment, education, or training in the last three months of 2025. This accounts for about one in eight young people, marking an alarming 26% increase from pre-pandemic figures. On top of this, an additional 110,000 under-30 graduates are unemployed.
These concerning trends can be attributed to various factors such as fewer entry-level vacancies amid economic uncertainty and the adoption of AI, higher employer National Insurance contributions and minimum wage costs, and a mismatch between employer demand and graduate supply. Studies suggest that a six to 12-month unemployment spell between 18 and 24 can reduce lifetime earnings by up to 10%. NEET(Not in Education, Employment, or Training) youth are also two to three times more susceptible to mental health problems compared to their employed or educated peers.
Policy recommendations include paid military-style gap years, wage subsidies, and expanded digital skills training. A less conventional intervention has emerged from a partnership between the Department for Work and Pensions and the National Market Traders Federation (NMTF). Over the past decade, the NMTF has been running its Young Traders Market scheme that provides free market space to 16 to 30-year-olds and concludes with an annual Young Market Trader of the Year competition. In 2025, Chilli Charva won in the grocery category.
According to Alex, their business has thrived thanks to the market stalls. They have been able to get immediate feedback on their recipes from customers and witness an uptick in online subscriptions the day after they set up the stall in affluent areas like Leeds.
The brothers had spent a decade experimenting in their mother’s kitchen before having their breakthrough while backpacking through southeast Asia in 2023. They launched at a Christmas market in West Melton, South Yorkshire, in December 2024. Although they plan to devote their full-time attention to Chilli Charva by the end of the year, Alex still works construction shifts to finance a professional kitchen on their grandparents’ former land.
NMTF’s Joe Harrison describes stalls as “ideal business incubators”. They provide an affordable and visible platform for young people to test their ideas. Market stalls can be particularly advantageous for those who struggle in formal work structures. Harrison notes that he enjoys witnessing shy traders grow in self-confidence once they engage with customers.
Markets, however, are in a state of transition. Some iconic marketplaces, such as Grainger Market in Newcastle and Cardiff Market, are undergoing multi-million pound renovations. On the other hand, markets like the Birmingham Bull Ring indoor market and London’s Smithfield meat market are facing closure. The total number of UK markets has remained steady at around 1,150 over the past decade, but many council-run sites now operate on fewer days, with artisan, experiential, and night markets replacing traditional daily produce markets.
Meanwhile, the Wards are scaling up their operations. A professional kitchen is on the horizon. New products, such as a barbecue sauce named One Charva To Kill, are in the works. This particular sauce was reformulated to replace a synthetic smoke flavor with natural hickory drops based on customer feedback. “We look forward to hearing feedback from chilli-loving children,” Alex comments with a chuckle.
Harrison of NMTF tempers expectations by referencing Britain’s best-known fictional trader, Derek ‘Del Boy’ Trotter. “I tell them: ‘this time next year Rodney, you probably won’t be a millionaire’,” he says. “But I say: ‘you might make a living, and have some fun while you’re at it’.”.
