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HSinNH
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I've noticed that the produce does not always last as long as from other stores, especially strawberries. I won't buy strawberries from Aldi unless I know we're planning to eat them the next day.

 

Other than that, we've been pretty pleased with Aldi's offerings. Saving ten to forty cents or even more per item really adds up to significant savings. We especially like their Indian simmer sauces and interesting pasta sauces. Around Christmas and occasionally other times, they'll have a variety of specialty cheeses.

 

Some things will be seasonal or occasional things, so they may not have them the next time. But those are generally in a separate section or marked, so you'll know not to count on them.

Edited by happypamama
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Basically it's all store brand, which it's why you hadn't heard of it. They have a few name brands as special items, but they change. Check produce carefully and don't expect it to last, though it usually does. Most things are comparable to other good store brands.

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90% of what Aldi carries is their own store brand, so if you haven't shopped in Aldi before, you probably wouldn't recognize it. ;)

 

We have one here and I love it. The produce can be good, but only buy what you're going to use right away because for some reason, produce from Aldi doesn't seem to last as long. If you're going to use it within a couple days though, it's a great deal.

 

Their non-dried pasta- the frozen or vacuum-packed stuff- is awful. Avoid it like the plague. Their dried pasta tastes like any other brand, though.

 

I buy a lot of dairy from Aldi, except milk, because we think their milk tastes odd. But I save a ton buying stuff like butter, cheese, half and half, yogurt, etc. from Aldi. Their canned/boxed stuff is also good, and I can buy that stuff organic from Aldi for half what non-organic costs in a regular grocery store.

 

The meat seems to vary a lot by store, so you pretty much just have to try it and see how it is where you are. The meat here is great, and I can get organic grass fed ground beef for $6 a pound, which is awesome.

 

Paper products are a great deal, too. I buy all my paper towels and toilet paper there. Don't buy their paper towel with designs though, the colors bleed and stain stuff when they get wet. Their laundry detergent is cheap and seems to work well, but it's heavily perfumed so if you guys are sensitive to that, you'll want to avoid it.

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We like their milk ($0.69/gallon here) for making yogurt. We like their eggs ($0.29/dozen). I get some produce as well - but sometimes it doesn't last long. 

My dh likes their granola cereal on his yogurt.  We buy their cheese because it is cheap, but name brand cheese is better - but at half price, we will be happy with it. During Christmas and New Year's they have KerryGold cheeses which are excellent. I buy extra and freeze a few. Sometimes we will pick up a loaf of their specialty bread or cookies. 

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My favorite store.

Lots of organics, no artificial colorings and preservatives in many foods.

Produce depends on location; our is excellent.

Don't like some of the meat when it is enhanced with flavoring solution, but they have some natural meats and organic grass fed ground beef.

Lots of imported foods from Europe. Love the German stuff.

Fair trade coffee and chocolate. Real European chocolate.

By far the lowest prices of all the stores in our town.

 

Small selection, all store brands,only one brand per kind. Quick in and out, becaus eyou don't have to choose between 10 different brands.

Bring your own bag - or pay for bags.

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Most Aldi store brands are just different packaging from a main brand.  I haven't been particularly satisfied with their gluten free brown rice spaghetti (it's not Tinkyada quality), and I wasn't super happy when they stopped carrying Fage greek yogurt in favor of some store brand slop, and when we lived in Oklahoma we had to be careful about produce in summer months (as we did in all stores down there -heat and shipping don't mix well with produce), but other than that, I love the place. 

 

They seem to conform to European rules regarding hormones and dairy, they're cheap, we've never gotten food poisoning from there, and I've never gotten an allergic reaction from something labeled gluten free there. They also treat employees really well with good wages, ergonomic working conditions (like stools for checkout clerks), multiple barcodes on items to make for efficient scanning, and I don't know what's happened since the ACA but they used to offer health insurance to part time employees.  They're also making efforts to make inexpensive organic produce available in every store.

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Gosh! Where do you live? I live in an area known for lowish col, but a great milk price is anything under two bucks a gallon, and 75 cents for eggs is an amazing deal here.

We like their milk ($0.69/gallon here) for making yogurt. We like their eggs ($0.29/dozen). I get some produce as well - but sometimes it doesn't last long.

My dh likes their granola cereal on his yogurt. We buy their cheese because it is cheap, but name brand cheese is better - but at half price, we will be happy with it. During Christmas and New Year's they have KerryGold cheeses which are excellent. I buy extra and freeze a few. Sometimes we will pick up a loaf of their specialty bread or cookies.

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I LOVE LOVE LOVE aldi. Ours is clean, well run, easy to shop.

 

I won't restate what everyone has said, but I will add that I love doing a week's shopping in minimal time. If you want tomatoes, you get two choices, max. Same with crackers. I LOVE not being inundated with a thousand options. Love it. I cook with mostly whole foods, so this is awesome for me.

 

FWIW, my kids prefer the aldi brand over old brand names. Chips, crackers, bread, snacks... They are all great.

 

I buy their peeled, frozen, US caught and processed shrimp for $5.99/12 oz. It's great.

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We like their milk ($0.69/gallon here) for making yogurt. We like their eggs ($0.29/dozen). I get some produce as well - but sometimes it doesn't last long. 

My dh likes their granola cereal on his yogurt.  We buy their cheese because it is cheap, but name brand cheese is better - but at half price, we will be happy with it. During Christmas and New Year's they have KerryGold cheeses which are excellent. I buy extra and freeze a few. Sometimes we will pick up a loaf of their specialty bread or cookies. 

 

Wow! Those prices are awesome! We live in a HCOL area but I'm surprised at the difference. Our milk at Aldi is $1.69 and eggs are .89 with a limit of 4 on both (convenience store owners were buying from Aldi to stock their shelves so they kept running out). A lot of things like milk and chicken seem to be just repackaged brands typically sold at other stores. I've been there before when the milk truck was delivering and it was an expensive brand. Also, sometimes the chicken will have the label from the much more expensive chain store (with their $2 a pound higher price) instead of the Aldi brand. I haven't had many issues with the produce. No more than any other store anyway.

 

I love our Aldi. I save a ton of money and I can get in and out really fast. I usually have to go across the street to Walmart or Target to pick up one or two things that Aldi doesn't carry but it's worth it for how much we save.

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I just started shopping there regularly and while I don't love it, I love the prices. I gave it a try again after being turned off by the atmosphere in the past. I love, love, love, my shiny, beautiful, fancy, has everything Wegmans, but it's a little far from our house and not that cheap. I'm a grocery snob.

 

But, nobody has prices like Aldis. I buy milk, chocolate, cheese, granola, crackers, bagels, and sometimes fruit and meat. I look carefully at the fruit and if it looks good, I'll buy it but I don't always find the price or quality to be worth it. I got some grapes on sale a few days ago and they seemed overly ripe right away, and my avocados went bad quickly. The apples have been good, though. The meat, I have nothing against. Everything I've bought seems ok, but the selection is small at our store and they don't often have what I want. Maybe I come on the wrong day, but they are frequently sold out. 

 

The cheap chocolate bars are the best! 

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Things we buy from Aldi

Produce if it's especially low cost and I use it quickly (we have a Sprouts so it's hard to beat their prices on produce)

Canned items like beans and tomatoes, we don't eat other stuff canned so no idea about that stuff

rice is good, they have jasmine and basmati

quinoa 

Lots of GF options, DD loves their GF snickerdoodles

I usually buy my cheeses and dairy there including eggs but not milk, I agree it tastes a bit off there as well as some spices, organic for $2.00 a bottle

ham, not the thin sliced plastic box stuff but the stuff that is like smithfield

meats, sometimes if they on sale otherwise my local Kroger and Walmart have better prices

Fish, including tilapia and wild salmon low price tastes same if not better than kroger

Bread quality is much better than equivalently priced items at other places

Edited by foxbridgeacademy
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Lots of imported foods from Europe. Love the German stuff.

 

Fair trade coffee and chocolate. Real European chocolate.

 

This is my favorite part about Aldi. I don't shop there as much as I used to because I live far enough away and we don't have amazingly low prices like bambam posted above to make it worth the extra time to drive--about 50 mins round trip.

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I love Aldi so much. I wish there were one near me but it's an hour away and what I'd save going there would be made up in the cost of gas. But whenever I'm driving home from somewhere further away I stop and grab any staples I'm missing. I also grab anything that'll freeze well while I'm there, like bread. I prefer their rye bread to most stores and it's cheaper too. 

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This is my favorite part about Aldi. I don't shop there as much as I used to because I live far enough away and we don't have amazingly low prices like bambam posted above to make it worth the extra time to drive--about 50 mins round trip.

 

It's my favorite part or my least favorite part, depending on whether or not I'm eating sugar at any given time. :lol:  It's really hard to say no to a big package of European chocolate for three dollars.

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Our Aldi has good produce. I always buy their box of four heads of baby lettuce, they have good shelf life, pack a lot of lettuce in a package, and are only $2. Also I find their mangos better than the grocery store. I get the tub of plain whole milk yogurt, butter (if it's currently running less than Kroger), spaetzle for chicken noodle soup, and "never any" bacon. I also like the chocolate, nuts, basmati rice and pita crackers. Mostly I just go to check out the produce and buy those other items if I need any. I don't find cheese cheaper than sale cheese from the grocery store. I do not like the toilet paper or paper towels or the knock offs of name brand snacks. I don't buy meat or eggs or milk because I am picky about sourcing on those.

 

ETA my Ds loves the jam in the tall thin jar that comes in strawberry, blackberry and raspberry. I can't keep enough of that stuff around!

Edited by SamanthaCarter
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We like their milk ($0.69/gallon here) for making yogurt. We like their eggs ($0.29/dozen). I get some produce as well - but sometimes it doesn't last long. 

My dh likes their granola cereal on his yogurt.  We buy their cheese because it is cheap, but name brand cheese is better - but at half price, we will be happy with it. During Christmas and New Year's they have KerryGold cheeses which are excellent. I buy extra and freeze a few. Sometimes we will pick up a loaf of their specialty bread or cookies. 

 

Where on earth do you live? The ALDI near me charges $1.98/gallon and $.99 to $1.29/dozen for milk and eggs!

Susan

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Aldi is run by a German company. They do things differently in Germany, so it's not what you're used to.

 

In order to have low costs they do a few things such as this:

 

You put a quarter in to get a cart. That way, they don't have to hire cart collectors as each customer returns her own cart.

You have to bring your own bags, or buy some from them. That way, they aren't spending money on bags and having to raise prices of the food.

They put the bar code on every side of the product. That way, the cashier is ridiculously fast ringing up the food. They also don't bag the food for you, they just pop it into a fresh cart for you (you take it to a counter and bag it yourself after paying). The speed of the cashiers is amazing. They do this so they don't have ot hire extra cashiers.

 

Their food is almost all their brand. They won't have everything you need, but will have most things you need. Their brand is like any other brand, you'll like some and you won't like some. It's not a cheapy brand. It's just theirs. But then they don't have to have a huge building to store a big assortment of brands or buy from another company. They can keep costs down this way.

 

They don't pull the items out of their big boxes they're delivered in. They stay in the boxes, so they don't have to hire workers to pretty-up the store.

 

Before I knew all that, I thought Aldi was a place where weird food went to expire and everything was dented. But that's not the case. The food is great. It's just that the model for a grocery store is so very, very different from what we're used to in the US.

 

Go back. Take your grocery list with you. Gather up whatever is on your grocery list that you can find at Aldi. You'll find a lot. The first time I went there I was just like you, "What's this brand? I can't find anything I use..." But when I went back with a list, determined to buy anything I could find from my list there, I found 80% of what I needed. And saved a TON of money. I shop there first every time I go grocery shopping now.

Edited by Garga
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Aldi also owns Trader Joe's :-)

I was just going to say that they are similar in that I didn't "get" them the first time, but with experience, I came to love them.

 

I thought there were two Aldis....or some such thing with brothers....and one owned one set of stores and the other owned the other? Maybe i imagined it.

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If you are traveling a bit to go to Aldi, find out which days they get a truck delivery. Ours delivers on Tuesday and another day. Shopping at Aldi's on a Monday can guarantee they are out of many things I would like to purchase and the produce pickings are slimmer. Going within a day or 2 of truck delivery is usually not a problem, once in while, they will be out of something I buy there regularly. If non-perishable or able to freeze, I buy 2-3 of those items at once and replace that amount before I use the last item,

 

We like their boxed brownie mix and cake mix better than the name brand ones at other stores. Their 1 lb package of pre-washed organic spring mix lettuce is $1 less than at our Costco and just as good. We also like their Clancy chips as well as name brand chips, Their organic apples are so much cheaper than other stores' organic apples.

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I was just going to say that they are similar in that I didn't "get" them the first time, but with experience, I came to love them.

 

I thought there were two Aldis....or some such thing with brothers....and one owned one set of stores and the other owned the other? Maybe i imagined it.

You are correct but that division has nothing to do with Trader Joe's.  The stores in the northern part of Germany were owned by one brother (Theo), the stores in the southern part by the other (Karl).  The division had to do with Theo refusing to sell cigarettes and Karl thinking it was good business. They split the company between themselves and each ran their own piece of the company.  

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You are correct but that division has nothing to do with Trader Joe's.  The stores in the northern part of Germany were owned by one brother (Theo), the stores in the southern part by the other (Karl).  The division had to do with Theo refusing to sell cigarettes and Karl thinking it was good business. They split the company between themselves and each ran their own piece of the company.  

Aldi Nord operates Trader Joe's in the US.  Aldi Sud operates Aldi's in the US

 

Before Christmas pomegranates were 25 cents each at my local Aldi's; they were $5 a piece at Albertsons.  And, the quality of the pomegranates from Aldi's was better.  I am in Texas, and much of the produce at the Aldi's here comes from Mexico.

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Their gluten free brownie mix is awesome.  My daughter loves these raspberry jaffa cakes that they have but they only have them once a year.  Last time, I bought 6 boxes.  In general, I haven't been pleased with their meat or produce but the shelf stable stuff and the dairy, I havent had any problems. .

 

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The chocolate is wonderful, including their brand of chocolate chips. I ask the managers what day produce is delivered and try to shop that same morning. They have great prices on nuts. Their coffee and cheeses are good. Milk and eggs are inexpensive. I don't buy much in the way of canned goods, but those are cheaper than anywhere else (olives).

 

We do not care for their crackers and chips, except for the pita chips, which are really good.

 

I can save enough at Aldi to justify buying meats from a quality local butcher. IIRC, they are owned by the same company that runs Trader Joe's.

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I don't have one close by (rumors are we're getting one!) but I've stopped into one in passing a few times. I didn't feel like many of their items were huge deals compared to my supermarket's sale cycles, but sometimes you can't wait for sales!  I did think quite a few of the things I typically stock up on for sports season snacks were good deals, especially their dried fruits.

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We do most of our grocery shopping at Aldi. I agree with what others have said. Also:

- The new week at Aldi, like for most grocery stores, begins on Wednesday, so you get the best selection if you shop then.

- Aldi carries many specials that go quickly. If you think you might want an item, get it while you see it because it will probably be gone soon.

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They carry store brands, which like others are made by the big processors with the store packaging. I do most of my shopping there. My kids prefer their cereal. I get milk, eggs, cheese, baking supplies, frozen items, etc. I do prefer organic produce. Aldi's has apples, celery and other things but I do supplement from a local grocery for more. We buy our meat locally so I'm not too familiar with those items.

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I love Aldi, but there are none close by. I go to Costco about once a month in a neighboring area, and sometimes I hit them both then. We used to go to homeschool classes in a town that had one. I'd teach a class in the first period, then I'd go to Aldi and several other unique stores in that area. Then I'd teach in the afternoon.

 

I especially like their staples, gourmet items, and cheeses.

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We buy most of our cheese at Aldi, though I find their feta and goat seem tasteless to me.  Prefer Trader Joe's for those.

 

Most other dairy products too.  Chips, other snacks.  Frozen pizza.  Frozen veggies and fish.  Canned beans are a good value, though I think Wegman's brand costs about the same. They used to have a great buffalo chicken pizza, but I haven't seen that in a few years. Produce here is hit and miss.  It is the first store I go to.  I can't get everything there. But a lot of our basics and some fun stuff too.  Oh, agreeing on the chocolate.  And cookies.   Oh yeah, and breads.  

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I don't get the Aldi love. I went there once. It was very crowded, couldn't take two steps in a row (so obviously everyone else liked it). The selection was very poor, the store was small and cramped, and the deals were only ok on most things. They were sold out of the two or three main things I was interested in.

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Aldi's opened a few towns over from me, so I went to check it out, but ended up with nothing. Most of the brands I did not recognize, but the prices were great. How is the quality of the food? Anything I should watch out for?

So many others covered the fact that Aldi is its own store brand, it they give each type of food a different "brand" name- it feels like you're not just buyingeneric... anybody remember the early days of generics that were packaged in black and white, ugly, cheap, and AWFUL? Aldi is NOT that. :D. So you won't find "Momma Cozzi" or whatever it is at your regular grocery store, but you know it's Aldi Italian section. Also, a lot of their packaging mimics national brands. So they don't accept coupons, even for the occasional national brand they carry.

 

The vast majority of the food is equal or superior to national brands. NOTHING will ever be real actual Cheerios to Diamond LOL but she will eat their apple cinnamon version. Produce (except for a few highly perishable things like bagged lettuce) is not in refrigerated buns and sprayed throughout the day, so be picky and shop for most items that you will use within a few days.

 

Look at the price labels: some items are SEASONAL which means they are limited time, not available year round, sorry no examples right now, but I have seen it with certain baking items only stocked every fall/winter. SPECIAL BUY is something in limited quantities, could be a great deal on a national brand or a specialty item like Chinese food ingredients around Chinese New Year, or Mexican foods around Cinco de Mayo.

 

They also have new household items every week- fall or holiday decor, Valentines, bathroom towel racks, bath towels, kitchen gadgets, children's clothing and occasional adult clothes- usually pajamas or workout gear. We have never been disappointed with any of those- the $10 shoes I bought are WONDERFUL! Any of the specialty items, get them right away because once they're gone they're gone! I bought a large 5'x7' area rug for my girls' bedroom for $20!!!

 

All Aldi brand items do not have artificial colors, which is a HUGE thing to us... SweetChild does not tolerate dyes, and it has been wonderful being able to buy her "jello" for $0.69 instead of over $4 at the health food store. And fun flavors of ice cream!

 

They have recently begun carrying baby items, no experience with those.

 

We do about 90% of our shopping at Aldi, for both price and convenience. One teen friend is here often for meals and snacks. Not just being polite- but she RAVES about how delicious everything I serve is, from hummous, to chicken Parmesan (frozen), flavored coffee creamers, chips... its ALL Aldi! We also regularly host and feed two teen boys, they eat well and we don't go broke.

 

So I encourage you to try again, but with a revised shopping list. "Flour" instead of "King Arthur unbleached flour, 5lb bag." ;)

 

Another bonus: it is easy for me to send DH, Diamond (21), or SweetChild (17) with a list. Since there is usually only one option for most items it isn't overwhelming. No wondering which size/brand is the best deal, or the one I wanted.

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I love Aldi.  We can't get everything we need there - allergies - but we buy what works for us.  Eggs, dairy, some of the meats.  Chocolate.  Their German stuff is yummy, Christmas time goodies are awesome, and they sometimes have these frozen strudels that are to die for, with homemade whipped cream.  Mmmmm.

 

We can't do a lot of their packaged/boxed things.  They don't always label for "may contains" and DS has reacted to some of their store-brand items that appear safe on the label otherwise.  All we can think is there was cross contamination.  I had relaxed my comfort zone on that, but tightened it back up after he reacted to a "gluten free" soft corn tortilla.

 

Their G-Free line is interesting.  Some of the items are actually Enjoy Life products, packaged in the same facility.  We love those, and it's a great deal.  But some of the G-Free items are from another facility - we just have to check the label carefully, as some of those items are cross-contaminated - at least they label well on those.  :)

 

Some of their special buys are fun: plants (if you catch the delivery right) and some random things.  Some of it is kind of junky, but there are some good things.  Our bike hoists, in the garage, all all from Aldi.  

 

Oh!  And the dyes!  DD has an issue with red dye #40, and Aldi has their version of Lucky Charms cereal without dyes.  She gets so excited about having that cereal, when we get it.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

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They aren't crap brands.  Not at all.  Maybe once I bought something I thought tasted off and I brought it back.

 

I will say that produce is a hit or miss for me.  It does seem to be the nearest Aldi though.  I go a bit further to a newer one and I've had much better luck with their produce.

 

 

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I shop there weekly. We're doing a gluten free trial currently, so I appreciate their (relatively) inexpensive gluten free items.

 

I do most of my shopping at Aldi's and then follow up at Walmart. Since going gluten free, I also hit Woodman's because they have a large selection of specialty items. 

 

Items I don't buy at Aldi's:

 

Chocolate Chips

Orange Juice (my kids are ok with the frozen concentrate, but they don't like the already made stuff)

Crescent rolls (they never come out of the can correctly - although since we've gone gluten free, it's a moot point)

Most lunch meat (Never Any is okay, the rest is not)

Toilet Paper, although DH gets their paper plates for his work and the paper towels are okay

Cat food, but the cat litter is fine

Watch the applesauce since a lot of it has added sugar - there is one that is "natural" though

DH is an ice cream snob, so we purchase that elsewhere

We like the Take n Bake pizzas, but not the frozen ones (now we get the teeny-tiny gluten free ones)

As others have said, I inspect produce thoroughly before purchase

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OP, it's going to depend on your Aldi. Every time the subject comes up here, people either love or hate the place. It seems some stores are better-kept than others. Mine is great! The produce wasn't good when they first opened, but it's much better now - fresher and lasts longer. I still only buy what I'm going to use within a day or two. 

 

Don't be turned off by what you see when you enter the store. Every Aldi I've been in (admittedly not many) has chips, cereal, and other junk food at the entrance. That makes some people think they sell mostly processed food, which isn't true. Also, even the junk food is decent. I buy sweet potato chips there and the ingredients are: sweet potatoes, sea salt. palm oil. That's it. 

 

Give it another try. Look with a new attitude. And keep in mind that most generic or private label brands are made by the same companies that make national brands.

 

I haven't seen wine mentioned. They have wonderful wines! And it's displayed right near the chocolate. :)

 

 

 

Aldi also owns Trader Joe's :-)

 

Not really. They're brothers but split into two different companies years ago.

 

http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2013/12/02/aldi_grocery_store_best_in_america_related_to_trader_joe_s.html

 

 

Edited by Lady Florida.
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I have been going to Aldi as long as I can remember.(30+years).  There have been a lot of changes.  If you think it's not pretty now, you should have seen it back then!lol   There was a stigma to shopping at Aldi back then too. 

 

I have been through times where I have gone almost exclusively and times where I haven't gone at all.  Right now I am in Aldi love. lol  I don't have time to coupon.  But, even when I do, I have realized I like many items from Aldi BETTER than name brand.  Many of the items like the chocolate are responsibly sourced.  I am very happy with the organic options, too.

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I love Aldi. My dh will only go there even if it is out of  his way because he cannot choose between all the different options at a regular grocery store.

 

Dh and I do the weekly family shopping on Sunday mornings after church while the kids are in sunday school.  We can get in, get an entire weeks worth of groceries and get back to the church in less than an hour.  Prices are great.

 

I am currently trying out all the different varieties of granola.

 

They don't carry Worcestershire sauce. That is what drives me into another store.  

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I don't get the Aldi love. I went there once. It was very crowded, couldn't take two steps in a row (so obviously everyone else liked it). The selection was very poor, the store was small and cramped, and the deals were only ok on most things. They were sold out of the two or three main things I was interested in.

 

Yep.  I have tried Aldi's six distinct times- twice each at three different locations.  The first time I went there, I was SO ready to do my grocery shopping and save a bundle! I even had my quarter ready for the shopping cart, I had my reusable bags, and I was ready to take the $30 I had for grocery shopping and make it stretch.  I could not get out of that grocery store fast enough.  It was so icky... Especially the produce, which people rave about! 

 

But then people keep going on about how wonderful Aldi's is, and every couple of years I think I should try again.  The last time I went it was because they were advertising blackberries in a carton for just ninety-nine cents.  I figured if I went there and only bought the blackberries it would be worth my trip.  Well, they had the blackberries all right, a huge stack of them in fact.  But there were literally eight blackberries in each tiny carton!  By the time I bought enough blackberries to match the carton I could get at Sam's Club, I would have been paying twice the price.

 

A new Aldi opened up in the area last fall, and I keep thinking I should check it out again.   Maybe a NEW store would be an improvement?  I guess I am doubtful.  

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They have some things that are excellent.   If you like Velveeta, theirs is actually better.   They have this beer bratwurst that I buy every last one when I am there.  

 

But, yeah, I understand, I did the exact same thing the first time.  One thing I don't like about it, is that if you shop there you also have to shop somewhere else too.  So, we don't go there as a regular shopping trip, but as a special stock up on the stuff we like trip.  

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A new Aldi opened up in the area last fall, and I keep thinking I should check it out again.   Maybe a NEW store would be an improvement?  I guess I am doubtful.  

The one closest to me was always just a little icky, I'd go there for a super good deal but the store always looked a little run down,  some of the shoppers just left me feeling uncomfortable, the checkout line was always extremely long, and a lot of times they were sold out of what I came for.  So I couldn't understand the love either.  

 

Then they opened a new store in the next town over (and it's actually closer than the one in my town) and next to my favorite grocery store and Costco.  Plus they offered $10 off a $40 purchase when they first opened. Night and day difference.  Now I finally understood the hype.  They've been open 2 or 3 years now and it still has the same clean fresh feel and the other store still leaves me feeling underwhelmed. So you can guess which one I shop at.

 

Also my parents live 45 minutes away.  Their Aldi always has fabulous unadvertised specials, like blueberries for 49 cents a pint for example where mine might be 99 or 1.49 at the same time.  Turns out some of the Aldis are chosen to receive the overstocks, so any time they have too much of something it goes to certain select Aldis that can move the discounted product quickly.  Unfortunately neither of the ones close to me are in that category but that might also explain some of the super deals some people can find.

Edited by cjzimmer1
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I love Aldi.  The produce is great.  I can feed my family better for so much less money.  I don't have to worry about couponing.  Wegmans is across the street. The produce at Aldi is so much better and about a fifth of the cost. We are in there several times per week. It is quick, convenient, clean and cheap. And the quality is amazing.  People around here love Wegmans, and I don't get it.  It is so expensive!

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I go there sometimes.  I don't love it, but it's ok.   Yep, for the times you might want to stock up on chocolate it's a good place.  Their version of laughing cow cheese in horrible.  Their eggs are a good price and even the plain old generic ones had a nice deep colored yolk.

They do have some good prices on a few select things, but with kids in tow it's really not worth it to drive there for those few things. 

I don't use the buggy's.   I either take my own basket or only buy what I can carry.  

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Aldi is run by a German company. They do things differently in Germany, so it's not what you're used to.

 

In order to have low costs they do a few things such as this:

 

You have to bring your own bags, or buy some from them. That way, they aren't spending money on bags and having to raise prices of the food.

 

The reason for this is NOT the cost savings. It is a German company, and in Germany, you never receive free plastic bags with your groceries - for environmental reasons.

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I thought there were two Aldis....or some such thing with brothers....and one owned one set of stores and the other owned the other? Maybe i imagined it.

 

No, you remember correctly.

Aldi South and Aldi North are now two separate companies, owned by different brothers.

 

Aldi South runs the US Aldi stores.

Aldi North owns Trader Joe's.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldi

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