When it comes to grocery shopping at ALDI, I’m a newbie. But after traveling to Chicago last week and visiting with the ALDI USA team, I’m inching my way toward becoming a regular.
{My trip to ALDI headquarters was paid for, and I was joined by a group of fellow food and nutrition bloggers. I was compensated for this blog post, but all opinions are my own.}
Read on for my TOP 6 reasons to shop at ALDI.
1. You can save up to 50% on your groceries*:
If I had to choose two words to describe the ALDI shopping experience, it would be “no frills.” But that’s a good thing, because no frills means things like fewer employees, and fewer employees means savings. As you walk down the aisles, many of the food items are stacked in their original shipping boxes, not on shelves; customers bag their own groceries; and ALDI stores are easier to operate than most supermarkets because they carry far fewer items. Bottom line: Their stores are easy to navigate.
* Based upon a price comparison of comparable products sold at leading national retail grocery stores.
2. There’s plenty of produce to choose from:
On my tour of ALDIs Geneva, IL store, I was surprised by the variety of produce, especially the organic offerings. No frills, yes, but still plenty of produce to choose from. And there was no shortage of seasonal fruits and veggies: butternut squash, acorn squash, pumpkins, and apples.
3. In-store brands taste as good if not better than national brands:
After my tour of the market, I went back to ALDI headquarters for a series of interactive (and delicious) activities. For one of them, I was challenged to an ALDI or NOT taste test to compare a handful of national brands with ALDI’s in-store brands. This was tough, and I must admit that I had a hard time telling the difference. My learnings from this experience were that in-store brands are a lot less expensive, and they taste the same, if not better than their national counterparts. $1.99 versus $3.19 for a gallon of almond milk … works for me 🙂
4. MSG and synthetic food colors have been removed from all in-store brands:
I don’t suffer from any food allergies or intolerances with the exception of MSG. Eating it gives me a migraine. So, when I found out that all of ALDI’s in-store brands are now free from MSG, synthetic food colors, and artificial trans fats, I was pretty excited. And since 90% of the packaged products sold at ALDI are their own in-store brands, I am even happier.
5. Consumer demand for things like organic and gluten free drives new-product innovation:
ALDI’s registered dietitian, Jessica Bringas, spoke to the group about product innovation and the fast rise in organic and gluten-free offerings. In fact, in recent years, ALDI has added 125 GF products to its LiveGfree line that consumers save big on. I’m especially obsessed with their Gluten-Free Olive Oil & Rosemary Multiseed Crackers.
6. ALDI dietitians and chefs create nutrient-rich recipes for their shoppers.
Talk about the icing on the cake! Providing consumers with easy and nutritious recipes encourages them to grab for everything from spinach and frozen blueberries to almond milk and bananas. My blogger group had an opportunity to sample these Tropical Superfruit Smoothies as well as Gluten-Free Zucchini Tortillas, Pad Thai Pasta, and a lunch featuring recipes that will be posted to the ALDI site soon including Potato Cauliflower Smash, Butternut Squash & Cranberry Chicken Meatloaf with Mustard Sauce, and Guilt-Free Brownies Truffles, which I’ll be making and posting to the blog soon.
If you’re an ALDI shopper, tell me about your favorite foods and recipes and why you enjoy shopping there.
And for more insights into ALDI, check out these blog posts from my fellow RDNs who also attended the event:
Healthy Grocery Shopping on a Budget by Elizabeth at Shaw’s Simple Swaps
Top 3 Reasons Why You Should Try ALDI by Kara at The Foodie Dietitian
How to Entertain on a Budget by Regan at Healthy Aperture
10 Reasons Why This Dietitian and Mom Wants You To Visit ALDI by Deanna at Teaspoon of Spice
30 Healthy and Affordable Holiday Foods to Buy at Aldi by Holley at Holley Grainger RD
My ALDI Experience by Kristina at Love and Zest
Very interesting – I didn’t know much about Aldi’s. Thanks!
Do you have an ALDI in your area? Where? Stay tuned for my next blog post and ALDI gift card giveaway 🙂
Thanks so much Liz for linking to me! And I couldn’t agree with you more, so many fabulous things about ALDI! I’ve been a fan for some time, I’m just glad they finally made it out west!
This post is timely. An Aldi opened up about 1/2 hour from me and I have been trying to find a time to go. Now I will try harder
I discovered our local ALDI this summer. I was so excited to see this post, as I love shopping there and had thought it was my grocery secret! I can find everything I need for my weeknight shopping and the prices are unbelievable. Spotting amazing prices while I go through the store makes grocery shopping fun again!
After my first visit to ALDI, I was sure this was the right place for me to shop for their variety of imported products, freshness in their produce, and most of all, excellent prices.