You've sold me on Costco. What about Aldi's?

[Cindy in C-ville]

I had never heard of Aldi's until today when a dear friend looked at me in shock today when I told her this. So, what do you think? How much of your shopping can you do there?

[Karen A]

I think you could do most of your basic shopping there. There have been times I've looked for specific ingredients (lime juice, whipping cream in a carton, and ricotta cheese, I think) that I couldn't find. I also find their produce (bananas particularly) to be hit or miss, and I buy very little meat, but what I've bought there has been fine.

 

I almost always buy there, because of price and no appreciable difference in quality:

 

chips/salsa

chocolate

baking supplies (flour/sugar)

crackers

cereal

milk (hormone free)

eggs

juice

cheese

ww bread

ice cream/novelties

sometimes pre-packaged Asian dinners

frozen fruit

frozen mini eclairs (yum)

sometimes produce or meat, depending on if I need it/quality, and if I'm shopping elsewhere that week where it is on a great sale.

[Joyofsixreboot]

We do most all of our shopping there with just a few cherry picked specials at Kroger.

[Momof3littles]

I'm not the biggest fan overall, but I loooove the hummus (tastes just like the hummus from my favorite restaurant) and the cheese sticks are really good.

[Cindy in C-ville]

I'm not the biggest fan overall, but I loooove the hummus (tastes just like the hummus from my favorite restaurant) and the cheese sticks are really good.

 

So why are you not the biggest fan?

[OrdinaryTime]

I do almost all of my non-perishable shopping at Aldi, as well as dairy. Meat and produce aren't as good there. I love getter big box store prices (or better) without having to buy bulk size packages.

[Farrar]

They're owned by the same company as Trader Joe's and have a similar approach - having most of their own brand for sale.

[Sharon H in IL]

They're owned by the same company as Trader Joe's and have a similar approach - having most of their own brand for sale.

 

I don't suppose it matters, but the wiki I read on it said they are not owned by the same company. Rather, two German brothers are both in the grocery biz, one owns T.J. and the other owns Aldi.

[Samiam]

Hmm, I'll probably the the odd man out...but I was sooo not impressed with Aldi's. Now on the other hand, I love Trader Joe's!

 

To me, Aldi's felt like an old, grocery store, with alot of generic products. The fresh produce did not look "fresh". I just did not find an appeal there.

 

Now on the other hand, I walk into Trader Joe's with pure glee and giddyiness!

[hsbaby]

Hmm, I'll probably the the odd man out...but I was sooo not impressed with Aldi's. Now on the other hand, I love Trader Joe's!

 

To me, Aldi's felt like an old, grocery store, with alot of generic products. The fresh produce did not look "fresh". I just did not find an appeal there.

 

Now on the other hand, I walk into Trader Joe's with pure glee and giddyiness!

 

Nope, you're not the only one. I'm not a big Aldi's fan. To be honest, the only thing I liked were the frozen green beans. I tried, honestly!

[Orthodox6]

I don't buy anything at Aldi's. The majority of stock are packaged foods of types (ingredients) we don't eat, and the produce section is quite small. My d-i-l, however, was quite pleased that I introduced her to the store. They are on limited income, and they can make their grocery funds stretch a long way at Aldi's.

[weddell]

I love Aldi! I only buy certain things there though. I get cereal, crackers (graham, saltines, wheat thin type, animal), flour, sugar, snack foods (like chips, pretzels, etc), juice, canola oil, and a few other similar things. It is mostly the kinds of things where brand isn't important to me. I don't buy a lot of produce there, but if I need one or two things that I'll use right away, I'll grab them. It's the kind of place I go once a month and stock up.

 

I'm also a huge Costco fan. Between Costco and Aldi for all our non-perishable goods and then a fabulous ethic grocery store with TONS of cheap produce and some other hard to find items, I do really well with groceries.

[regentrude]

I love Aldi's. Much quicker than any other grocery store because they have ONE item of each kind - not thirty kinds of cornflakes.

Ours has great fresh produce, better than the other stores in town. (They have limited selection, mostly what is in season, but at any point have about ten kinds of fruits and ten kinds of veggies).

The selection of cheeses includes some specualty cheeses, and they hve the cheapest mozzarella balls ;-)

They often have seasonal imports from Europe, especially around Christmas, but also throughout the year.

You can get most groceries nd basic toiletries.

I do not like the meat particularly.

Aldi is very cheap and even beats Walmart.

[angela in ohio]

Hmm, I'll probably the the odd man out...but I was sooo not impressed with Aldi's. Now on the other hand, I love Trader Joe's!

 

To me, Aldi's felt like an old, grocery store, with alot of generic products. The fresh produce did not look "fresh". I just did not find an appeal there.

 

Now on the other hand, I walk into Trader Joe's with pure glee and giddyiness!

 

:iagree:

 

Everyone around here seems to love Aldi's, but I don't. We don't eat many boxed or canned items, so it's not worth the trip into the store for me (the produce at ours is not great.)

 

My dbil had a horrible reaction to a ham my other dbil bought there for dinner. It was so salty, he ended up in the hospital, as he passed out from the spike in his blood pressure. :001_huh: We all woke up the next day so thirsty we couldn't drink enough water. It was gross.

[amyofPA]

I live in PA, and not sure if all Aldi stores are like this or not. On my first trip to the store, I had to have someone help me get a cart! They kept them locked, and to unlock a cart, you need to insert a quarter! This is because they do not want to pay an employee to retrieve carts from the parking lot. Also, they charged you for using their grocery bags. You can bring your own reusable bags, but if not, they will charge you a small amount to use theirs.

 

I bought just a few items there, and have not been back since. It was ok, I might go again, but it is a little out of my way.

[MIch elle]

It's new to our area and opened in April - the store is clean and new. I buy all my basic items there: eggs, milk, cheese (grated, sticks & slices), broccoli, cucumbers, peppers, potatoes, avocados - all my salad greens - CHEAP! (I KNOW you like salad. :)) The quality is good if not excellent on all the fresh produce. I like the frozen asparagus, green beans, raspberries, and chicken breasts. The jar tomato sauce is not bad for $1.19. My dc like the cereal, bread, fruit cups (applesauce & oranges), chocolate, chips & salsa.

 

I still buy most of my meat at my local market and have to buy many items from other stores. But the savings are so GREAT at Aldi's it's worth the trip every week to get my basics.

 

I first learned about Aldi's from NYT here: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/30/business/30aldi.html?pagewanted=all Bring your quarter, bags, and CASH!

Edited July 14, 2011 by MIch elle

[regentrude]

I live in PA, and not sure if all Aldi stores are like this or not. On my first trip to the store, I had to have someone help me get a cart! They kept them locked, and to unlock a cart, you need to insert a quarter! This is because they do not want to pay an employee to retrieve carts from the parking lot. Also, they charged you for using their grocery bags. You can bring your own reusable bags, but if not, they will charge you a small amount to use theirs.

.

 

All Alid stores are like this because it is a German chain and in Germany, this is how it works in every grocery store: insert coin to retrieve cart (you will get it back when you deposit cart in the corral), and bring your own bags or pay for plastic bags. This helps keep prices low - plus charging for bags is great for the environment.

[Mom in High Heels]

I live in PA, and not sure if all Aldi stores are like this or not. On my first trip to the store, I had to have someone help me get a cart! They kept them locked, and to unlock a cart, you need to insert a quarter! This is because they do not want to pay an employee to retrieve carts from the parking lot. Also, they charged you for using their grocery bags. You can bring your own reusable bags, but if not, they will charge you a small amount to use theirs.

 

I bought just a few items there, and have not been back since. It was ok, I might go again, but it is a little out of my way.

 

Re: The bolded part, it's more likely because it's owned and run by a German company and that is standard practice here. I can't think of any store in Germany I've been to (except IKEA), where you don't have to put a coin in the cart to unlock it. You get it back when you return the cart, so IMO, it's not that big of a deal. I kind of wish all places in the US did this because there would be far fewer carts left in parking spaces (a huge pet peeve of mine) and dings to cars from shopping carts not put back. I have a key chain that holds a chip for shopping carts (the chip slots into the key chain when not in use) so I don't have to worry about having a €1 coin on me.

They charge you for bags at almost every store in Germany too, except for department stores. A few dept. stores give you a small discount though if you bring your own bag. Europeans are very big on reusing and recycling.

 

I love Aldi, but the stores in the US aren't as good (IMO) as those in Europe. We have 8 or 9 of them in our town and they all have excellent produce. It is seasonal though, so don't go looking for eggplant or zucchini in Dec. I think many of the stores in the US are that way too.

Many of the brands they sell are actually made by the same companies that make the name brand (it's often the exact same recipe), but they package them specifically for Aldi and are cheaper than the name brand version. It's weird, but there you have it.

The meats and cheeses here are much cheaper at Aldi than other stores, IME.

 

The only thing I can say is give it a try. Go in with an open mind and see if you like it. Don't forget to bring a quarter for the cart (you'll get it back), bags for your groceries (unless you want to pay a few cents per bag) and know that the cashiers don't bag your stuff. That's a standard practice in Europe too.

[Jen in PA]

I love Aldi's. Much quicker than any other grocery store because they have ONE item of each kind - not thirty kinds of cornflakes.

Ours has great fresh produce, better than the other stores in town. (They have limited selection, mostly what is in season, but at any point have about ten kinds of fruits and ten kinds of veggies).

The selection of cheeses includes some specualty cheeses, and they hve the cheapest mozzarella balls ;-)

They often have seasonal imports from Europe, especially around Christmas, but also throughout the year.

You can get most groceries nd basic toiletries.

I do not like the meat particularly.

Aldi is very cheap and even beats Walmart.

 

:iagree: Our closest Aldi did not impress me AT ALL the first time I went, over a decade ago. It was lots of canned goods, very little produce, and some frozen meat. The selection has improved greatly since then. The produce tends to be excellent and I just love the specialty cheeses and some of the things they have for holidays. They carry some nice chocolate and their prices on basics I use for baking are usually great. If I go an extra 5 miles I can cross the state line and shop at an Aldi in WV where the milk is a dollar cheaper per gallon and they have some very reasonably priced wine.

[Starr]

Sometimes you just need some holiday chocolate. :)

[Ottakee]

I really like Aldis for staple items. It is NOT a wonderful shopping experience--music playing, soft lights, etc.--but you pay for that with the fancy stores.

 

You will find your common items there--flour,sugar, salt, vanilla, basic spices, pasta, canned veggies and fruit, etc. but not a lot of specialty items--but occ. they do have those as well.

 

I like to stock up on the basics there and then fill in any special items from a bigger store. Saves a lot of money that way and we have been happy with almost everthing we have gotten there.

 

Bring a quarter for the cart (which you get back) and bring your own bags or use their boxes.

[Mom in High Heels]

Sometimes you just need some holiday chocolate. :)

 

Preach it! That was the most exciting thing for us when we were in the Sates and missing the good holiday candy we got used to living here. I told James Bond that wherever the Army sends us next had better have an Aldi or I'm not going. :D

[Momof3littles]

So why are you not the biggest fan?

Honestly, there just wasn't much that appealed to me. We eat lower carb, and I prefer grassfed or organic meats. I buy in bulk and don't pay much more than the prices at Aldi for things like ground beef. We don't eat pasta, we don't cook with sugar, flour, etc. so those types of staples don't really work for me. The produce was okay. Some produce was relatively inexpensive but smaller in size, so IMO it wasn't a huge savings. If I was in a pinch and needed to save money I'd certainly consider shopping there. The items they sold just didn't seem to be a good match for the way we eat.

 

My mom has good luck with buying nuts for a good price there. I haven't tried those yet.

[Cindy in C-ville]

It's new to our area and opened in April - the store is clean and new. I buy all my basic items there: eggs, milk, cheese (grated, sticks & slices), broccoli, cucumbers, peppers, potatoes, avocados - all my salad greens - CHEAP! (I KNOW you like salad. :)) The quality is good if not excellent on all the fresh produce. I like the frozen asparagus, green beans, raspberries, and chicken breasts. The jar tomato sauce is not bad for $1.19. My dc like the cereal, bread, fruit cups (applesauce & oranges), chocolate, chips & salsa.

 

I still buy most of my meat at my local market and have to buy many items from other stores. But the savings are so GREAT at Aldi's it's worth the trip every week to get my basics.

 

I first learned about Aldi's from NYT here: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/30/business/30aldi.html?pagewanted=all Bring your quarter, bags, and CASH!

 

MIchelle, you are funny. :) I'll check it out today and report back. We don't eat much processed stuff, but I do keep a few convenience items around for emergencies.

[Cindy in C-ville]

Been there and loved it. We'll be back!

[Mom in High Heels]

Been there and loved it. We'll be back!

 

Yay!!!! Glad you went and liked it. You can really save a lot of money there.

[MIch elle]

Been there and loved it. We'll be back!

 

 

The bagged spinach and romaine lettuce is in the frig - did you get those ;)? I kept missing them and finally found them after shopping there for 2 months!

 

BTW, I tried the mayo and didn't like it. You can bring ANYTHING back that you didn't like and get a full refund.

[Cindy in C-ville]

Didn't get produce. We had just been to the Farmer's Market, which is open 7 DAYS A WEEK! Got frozen chicken, raisins, yogurt, coffee, eggs, and picked up a pizza for lunch. Oh, and a salt grinder and pepper grinder. They are both glass and one of our kids dropped it while loading it on the belt. Glass and peppercorns were everywhere. But the lady was very nice. The kids were so intrigued by the quarter in the cart thing. We all had to return it to see how we would actually get our quarter back. :) At home, the kids liked the pizza much better than Sam's pizza. I didn't know about the return policy. That's good to know!

[Dmmetler]

My biggest problem with Aldi is that I don't carry cash. I use one charge card, which gives cash back, and pay it off completely each month. I know that credit card fees add up for stores, but it makes them VERY inconvenient for me.

[Cindy in C-ville]

I usually use my card as a credit card, but they did take it as a debit.

[twoforjoy]

Love Aldi here. The only things I don't like are their grated Parmesan cheese and some of their produce. But usually we hit a fruit market or the farmer's market for our produce, then pick everything else up at Aldi.