40+ Things We Never Knew About Aldi

When you walk down the aisles of an Aldi, you will probably get some strong Costco vibes. But the grocers responsible aren’t trying to be lazy at all. The choice to present the goods still in the box has a definite purpose. What could that be?

Well, by placing the goods on the floor in boxes, they get them to the aisles faster and in higher quantities. On top of that, there is no need for extra workers to set up complicated presentations. After all, efficiency is key.

One of the things a lot of Aldi shoppers appreciate is the prices on those tags but keeping them this low is not easy. A lot of factors go into their ability to be as competitive in prices as they are.

The biggest expenditure most businesses have is payroll, and so Aldi keeps their staff as lean as possible. Saving money here allows them to have a smaller markup.

Having a minimalistic approach to staffing seems like a smart idea to us, but it also affects the store’s staff. With fewer people on the floor, they have way more responsibilities than the average grocery store employee.

So if you see one that looks a little on edge, you should understand why. They have a laundry list of things to get done on their shift. So, remember to be aware of this and be extra nice to them!

Many grocery stores want to keep you in the store as long as they can. This way you spend more money. So they make everything pretty and have layouts that force you to have to go through the whole store.

Aldi takes a different approach. They want to give you better prices and save your time. In order to do this, they have well-designed conveyor belts and many products that have multiple barcodes. Plus, the store is simple in its design and not fancy to look at.

Aldi claims to have the lowest process around, and they do offer quite a rebate on many of the products they have in store. However, they are not a warehouse store like Costco or even a discount store like Dollar General.

The truth is they are a great place to go as an alternative to places like Walmart or Target, but they can’t make the prices as low as some stores.

Aldi is about streamlining their workflow. So though you may be shocked to see this, the idea of charging for using their carts is kind of genius.

Not only does this nudge the shopper to return the carts, but it also means that minimal staff has one less thing to do when it comes to closing time. So for a little customer charge, they save a lot of money on the back end.

One of the things we are always interested in is the return policy of any store we are shopping at. That includes the grocery store. Many grocery store return policies are a simple money-back option. But not Aldi.

Aldi is driven by the demand for excellent customer service. So if you are not pleased with the product, you can return it. When you do, you will get what they call a double guarantee. You get a replacement and a reimbursement. How’s that for an incentive to remain loyal to Aldi?

In the US, almost every big chain grocery store is open 24/7 most days of the year. But not Aldi. Why is this? Wouldn’t they make more money? The simple answer to that last question is no. What if there is no one in the store?

That’s why Aldi has optimized hours. Having a staff there to take care of nonexistent customers as well as other expenses would make staying open this long unprofitable.

Many people have found out over the last few decades that they suffer from gluten intolerance. This makes it hard for them to find certain foods easily. Though recently, many grocery stores are stocking more gluten-free options on their shelves, and Aldi is one of them.

In fact, one of their own brands specializes in gluten-free food products. When shopping the aisles, look for Aldi’s LiveGfree if you do suffer from this condition or would prefer not to eat gluten in your diet.

Many people who see the store’s layout and the prices would think that they might opt to serve less than stellar products. This is so far from the truth. Aldi prides itself on having won several awards for its items.

Along with awards for their top-notch beverages and other spirits, they have won several other awards. In fact, at the Grocer Food and Drink Own Label Awards, they raked in a whopping 25 different medals.

More and more grocery stores are offering their customers the option to shop from the comfort of their own couch. Aldi offers this option in the US but it isn’t available in all the cities where they have a store yet.

The grocer partnered with the grocery shopping app, Instacart. Here shoppers can go on and shop from all of Aldi’s well-priced products and never have to leave home which works very well with the unprecedented time we have been going through. Hopefully, it rolls out to all their locations soon

In Germany, Aldi’s had a special addition added to their bakery section in 2010. The company put in a made-to-order bread machine. This technological innovation was meant to streamline the workflow even more by taking out the need for a bakery all together.

Unfortunately, in Germany, the German Bakers’ Confederation was a little upset by this, and they took Aldi to court. During this case, the machine was inspected, as was the dough used in the process.

Many off-brand or store brands are still packed with all the bad ingredients of other brands. Sometimes these brands are even worse than the name brands. But with so many people being more mindful of their food, Aldi opted to do something about that.

If you are shopping and buying Aldi’s brands, you will soon see that they have removed all artificial colors, MSG, and even hydrogenated oil-based products from their shelves.

For those in the US, you will definitely be more familiar with Aldi South. But that doesn’t mean you haven’t shopped at Aldi North. You just didn’t know it because it goes by a different name in the States.

In an effort not to get the customers confused, the company opted to try a new name and is better known under the name “Trader Joe’s”. This is why the store looks so much like that Aldi you perused.

A lot of stores like Target and Kohl’s have stepped into the grocery business. With Kohl’s partnering with Aldi, they are soon to have space designated for groceries in some of their stores.

This is a perfect merger for the grocer as they are all about helping their customer save time and money. So having a little square footage in one of the busiest department stores seems like a good fit.

Like with everything that Aldi does, they are serious about delivering top-quality products for a low price. This, of course, means that their own labels undergo rigorous testing. When their products are in the test kitchen, they are put through their paces when it comes to taste testing.

Every one of their products is tested at least 30 times before it can be brought to market. They also get retested yearly as well as when a competitor releases a similar product.

Every successful company has a mission statement or philosophy that they live by. This company ethos is reflected in how Aldi hires and train their staff members.  For Aldi, this is one simple word, “verzicht”.

Basically, this means that the company believes in simplicity. That goes from everything from their floor plans to their manager’s financial plans. They set a goal, and they worry about nothing else but achieving it.

If you’re lucky enough to have an Aldi close by then, you may wonder what day is the best to shop there. Like most grocery stores, Aldi has a set schedule when it comes to setting new sales or discounts.

On Wednesdays, you can find great deals and the best time to hit those sales is in the mornings. This will mean you get the first pick because when the special sales are gone, that is it.

Although you can save a lot of money at Aldi, you may still be looking for specials and sales. If you are, you should definitely check out the brand’s website. The site is easy to navigate, and you can find specific deals for your local store.

All you have to do is click on the weekly specials and then find your store. Then you will always have access to your store’s sales. This is a key way to shop smart and help limit your grocery expenses.

Private labels allow big brands to give their customers great quality products for a reduced price tag. Of course, Aldi takes advantage of this too. They, however, have a wider variety of their own brands.

In total, the grocer has 10 different brands that they own. These brands make up about 90% of the company’s sales floor. So if you’re looking for some of their brands, look for Casa Mamita or Mama Cozzi, to name a few.

Aldi may not give you cashback in the store, but it has smartly partnered with an app that can help you make a bit of cash off your purchases. It may not be the very popular Ibotta, but it is an app that acts very similar.

Aldi has opted to do business with Checkout51. All you have to do is sign up for the app and then scan your receipt into the app. This store really does think of everything to ensure the customers are left happy and loyal.

When you work at a grocery store, the odds are that you shop there too. That is why we suggest you ask the employees for their advice. They know the store and the products better than anyone.

So if you’re unsure of what product to buy, or even brand, just stop one of the employees when you see them around and ask them for their opinion. An expert opinion is generally always one you can trust.

There are many grocery stores that let food go to waste. This is one of the biggest tragedies globally. Aldi recognizes this tragedy and has opted to donate their food instead of contributing to the problem.

The store is connected with several different organizations, including Feeding America in the US. Any leftover food gets donated to one of these organizations to help feed those in need.

If you have the time to stroll through the grocery store aisles anywhere, you will find some pretty interesting products on those shelves. Aldi is no different, in fact, some might think they have some of the most unique products on offer.

One of those is a funnel cake kit. This kit even comes with a pour spout which makes pouring the batter out easy (see above on the left.) Who knew this existed? We didn’t, but we want to rush out and get one right now!

Ever wonder what Aldi does with all those boxes? Well, they do recycle them, or they let you use them as bags instead of the traditional ones you pick up at the cash register.

This is actually a great way to organize your groceries. So next time you’re in an Aldi store, try using the boxes as bags. Sometimes you can even find the area where they store empty boxes and pick from them.

So we have talked a lot about the store itself but very little about the grocer’s history. So let us start with where the store originated from. You may look at the name and think that it sounds Italian. But you would be wrong.

The grocery store was created in 1946 in Germany, and the name comes from the combination of the two first letters of Albrecht Diskont. This was the brainchild of two brothers, Karl and Theo Albrecht.

Though Aldi began in 1946, the store itself has a much earlier origin story. In fact, the first grocery store was a simple corner store that was run by the brothers’ mother, Anna Albrecht.

So like many businesses, when she retired, it was passed down to the boys. The original store opened in 1913 in the German city of Essen. This is why it is the HQ for one of the divisions.

However, in 1960 there was a disagreement that caused the two brothers to split the company. Both wanted to keep the company name, so they simply added ‘North’ and ‘South’ to the end of their names.

Ever since then, they have split the continent, and when expanding into new regions, the brothers do the same. Though in some countries, they opt to go by other names, like in the US with Trader Joe’s.

For most of Europe, the requirement to bring your own bag or pay for one in the store is not new. But if you are just now being introduced to Aldi, you may find this frustrating. This is the case for most of those new customers in the US.

This charge is meant to help you think more about using reusable bags, which is better for the environment. Seems pretty responsible to us. So, remember to bring your bags with you next time you’re grocery shopping!

Another thing that some may find strange is the fact that you are expected to bag your own groceries. When the stores were designed, they built in a long table-like area at the end of the cash registers for this very purpose.

You are meant to pull over there and then pack your own groceries. This is one of the ways that the grocer minimizes their need for employees on the floor. Plus, people can be pedantic with their goods, so with this process, you can package your purchases exactly how you want.

You wouldn’t typically put the word ‘organic’ with the word ‘discount.’ But at Aldi, they felt their customers deserved high-quality produce and foods. As a result, the company recently has taken the initiative to give more diverse choices.

While organic products are known to be more expensive, the store makes a big effort to deliver food that is good for you and still at an affordable price. Because they have more of their own products in the store, they are able to control this better.

Coupons are the way a lot of people get their food bills down. Many grocery stores accept them from manufacturers, but Aldi will not. So if you are an extreme couponer, make sure you don’t try to do it at Aldi.

The reason for this rule? Well, because they have minimal staff, so they don’t want to tie their registers up with scanning tons of coupons. Makes sense from an operation standpoint. Instead, check out their website for discounts!

So for a lot of the big named grocery stores, each local store has its own phone number so that you can reach them with questions and complaints. Aldi stores do, too, but they are not published for everyone.

Instead, when you want to get a hold of the store near you, either you have to go in, or you can contact the central helpline. This number will not transfer you to a local store though. Instead, you will deal with their help center staff.

A lot of stores that look like Aldi when you walk in are for member customers only. This means you have to pay a monthly or yearly fee to shop there. Instead of going with this expensive and excluding model, Aldi is open for everyone.

There isn’t even an Aldi club you can join to gain points. This would take extra time at the registers and require the employee and customer’s effort which as we now know, Aldi tries to limit to a minimum.

Aldi is all about streamlining its expenditures. You can see this with their minimal staff and the marketing they have up in the store. Their stores are set up simply, and you will see hardly any adverts either.

This is intentional and has been that way since the company’s beginnings. The family wanted their reputation to grow organically by word of mouth, and it did. So, while brand advertising is important, it is not Aldi’s focus.

When you look at other grocery stores’ websites, you will see that they do weekly deals. This is a nice way to get those products you regularly use for cheaper. But at Aldi, they go one step further. You can actually see two-week deals.

This, we are sure, is another way to save on money when it comes to marketing. Without having to update their website more than twice a month, they must save a bunch of money.

There was a lot going on in 2020, and it affected the company for sure. But that didn’t stop them from installing new policies. One of these was to ban all plastic bags from its stores. Instead, they opted to address the growing climate change problems.

This includes the single-use plastic bags that are usually present in every grocery store. Instead, all bags available in Aldi are recycled and reusable. Being environmentally-friendly is a really good trait of Aldi’s that more grocery stores should follow.

Ever noticed there are two signs that you see when it comes to the company? That is because there are two separate Aldi’s. You have Aldi and Aldi South. So when you are looking at discounts and sales, make sure you are looking at the right brand’s website.

So if your Aldi has a white and blue sign, then you are dealing with the Nord company. On the other hand, if it is orange and blue, then you are looking at Aldi South.

With Aldi’s move into the US, Walmart has begun to take notice of the impact it is having on its business. So the retail giant has begun focusing on the customers that they feel are not being served by Aldi, the coupon-loving ones.

But in response to that, Aldi has plans to expand their fresh food selection by quite a bit. It seems that the war between these two grocerers is just getting started and we’re excited to sit back and watch the customer benefits roll out.

So you know that Wednesdays are good for shopping as they release special deals on that day. But it is not the only day that Aldi releases special deals. Saturdays are another good deal day and not only for the food products but for items all over the store.

Also, with these Special Buys, they give you a 60-day refund policy which is crazy cool. So if you dread your grocery shops, remember Wednesdays and Saturdays are the days to shop at Aldi and win big.

There are a few different terms that Aldi uses to describe their deals throughout the week. We have already learned about the Special Buys, but there is another one known as Aldi Finds. These are deals on select foods.

These deals are typically on specialty items, and these products tend to go pretty fast once that red tag is slapped on the shelf. So make sure if you’re shopping there to look out for it and grab these deals in time. There’s no better feeling than saving a buck!

With their success, this company looks to keep growing in both Europe and the US. For the European market, they’re looking to open enough stores so that they will have 1200 stores by 2025. That is a lot!

These stores will be spread over the 19 countries they are already present in. As for the US, they already have almost 2000 stores in 36 of the states. But they still plan to expand even further. The future looks very bright for Aldi!

For the stores located in the US, Aldi has recently announced that they are going to do some major modernization projects. The aim here is not only to improve the store’s overall look but also to make them more energy-efficient.

These plans include using green building materials like LED lights and refrigeration that is more energy-efficient, to name a few of the improvements. They are also opening up the ceilings and using more natural light, which is great from a visual and financial perspective.