ALDI Grocery: 10 Things About It That Will Surprise You

by Michelle Dudash, Chef and Registered Dietitian Nutritionist

November 17, 2016 • 20 comments

Disclosure: I was compensated for my time to write this post and educate you, my friend, on behalf of ALDI. Written 100% by me.

I recently returned from an action-packed trip to Batavia (about 45 minutes outside of Chicago) to visit the ALDI Test Kitchen, a fun place full of delicious surprises. As many of you know, I recently relocated my family to Carmel, Indiana, where ALDI just put in a new store 7 minutes from my house! Here were my big takeaways from the event and recent shopping trip that may very well amaze you.

1. ALDI grocery prices are crazy bananas economical.

We’re talking up to 50% lower than other grocery stores[i]. Their Director of Marketing Liz Ruggles explained how she completes her “weekly shop” for a family of three for just $65 per week, including paper products, cutting her grocery bill in half compared to typical stores. ALDI is kind of obsessed with value. Here are some examples of my favorites that blew my mind[i]:

• 100% whole-wheat bread: $1.79
• Almond butter: $5.99
• Light chunk tuna in water: $.65
• 100% whole-wheat tortillas: $1.39
• Frosted shredded wheat cereal: $1.99
• Baby arugula: $2.49
• Gallon of lowfat milk: $1.84

In order to do this…

2. ALDI thinks outside of the box on ways to save you money.

ALDI reduces operational costs on things that I’m cool with, like:

• Displaying ALDI foods in their shipping boxes, which are made in pretty colors.
• Putting multiple, gigantic UPC codes on each package so the checkout people can zip you through like ninjas.
• Keeping shopping carts on lockdown, requiring a quarter to release one. (You get your quarter back after you’re finished using the cart.)
• Carrying 1-3 types of a specific item (like one kind of cocktail sauce) to keep their store space smaller. Easy in, easy out.

Also…

3. 90% of their products are private label.

ALDI works with food manufacturers to make foods that their customers want, so they rely much less on the more expensive, heavily marketed brand names. I sampled a lot of their private label items at the event and these were my favorites, tasting just as good as the national brands, or better:

ALDI dark chocolate vs. national brand

ALDI guacamole vs. national brand

National brand vs. ALDI vegetable chips

Rest assured, ALDI still stocks your family’s beloved Goldfish® and Diet Coke®. They listen to their customers and stock some national brand favorites.

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4. ALDI private label products contain no added certified synthetic colors or trans fats.

They made this change in 2015 during the same time they removed added trans fats. Can I get an amen? While I’m not fanatical about avoiding those ingredients when I’m out and about at restaurants and get-togethers, personally I just don’t want to see those ingredients in the food that I buy and feed my family.

5. ALDI diaper prices are better.

As a mom of a toddler in diapers, I’m always keeping an eye out for the best prices. After all, they wear a diaper for two hours and then you throw it away. I was amazed at how the ALDI private label diaper is still cheaper than the national brand of cheap diapers that I, ahem, used to use. And they still bear the monkey stamp. Hurray.

6. ALDI has a private label line of gluten-free foods.

For those of you looking for gluten-free goods, ALDI has you covered with their liveGfree line. There’s something for everyone, like crunchy brown rice crackers, pasta, pretzels, soups, frozen pizza, bread, mac and cheese and pancake mix.

7. ALDI stocks cool regional items.

In the Illinois store that I toured, they stocked tortillas from a local tortilla factory. Plus, they carried Michigan corn and apples.

8. ALDI has great coffee, wine and chocolate.

Yes, even the cups for your Keurig. I bought the Dark Roast private label at $3.99 for a box of 12 cups. Ditto for their 70% dark chocolate bar—so creamy and deep. The ALDI private label Pinot Noir is definitely worth imbibing on a weeknight when you don’t want to spend more than $10 a bottle. One of their Pinot Noirs recently earned a Wine Enthusiast score of 91 and a spot on their Best Buy Wines for 2016 list.

9. ALDI carries fun, quirky and international items.

While ALDI originally hails from Germany, ALDI stores in the U.S. are 100% U.S. owned and operated. But they retain their cool European flair. During the event, I noticed a festive Black Forest Cake mix and pumpkin spice syrup. During my last trip to ALDI, I bought a Tuscan nutty snack mix.

10. ALDI stocks random household items that you may need.

In my last trip to ALDI, I bought a kitchen floor mat, a humidifier and a woven basket bin for the mudroom–things I’ve been needing, but always forget to purchase at the department store. If you are in need of a pair of sparkly witch’s boots, ALDI has your back.

Excited? Keep that love going and get yourself to the ALDI nearest you. For even more love, ALDI gave me a $100 ALDI gift card to give to one lucky randomly selected reader of this blog post! To enter, simply answer below:

If you’re already an ALDI shopper, what do you stock up on?
If you’ve never been to ALDI, what would you stock up on first?

I want to know! Good luck.

I will randomly select a winner on November 30, 2016 at 11:59 pm Pacific Time. One entry per person. No cash value.

[i] Based upon a price comparison of comparable products sold at leading national retail grocery stores.
[ii] Based on pricing at ALDI’s Carmel, Indiana store.

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