# So, tell me about ALDI **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 31, 2003, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-aldi/178686 "2003-05-31T01:30:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2003, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-aldi/178686/21 "2003-05-31T09:45:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by justwannano \* > \*\*Another Question for Dog > > Didn’t they have a bagging area? > Here you let the cashier put your groceries back into the cart and then push it to a special area where you do your own bagging. > Here no matter how crowded the store is the bagging area has plenty of room. \*\* **justwannano** , in the same movement, the cashier scanned the items and slid them wild west saloon style across the remaining couple of feet of checkout counter. I’d have to have the thing in the bag before the next one can skidding by. So no, there was no bagging area. ---
**Author:** ![Optihut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/edb3f5/32.png) [@Optihut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Optihut)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2003, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-aldi/178686/22 "2003-05-31T12:04:56Z")
> [@](#): > > Quasimodem wrote: > **(surprise eggs: banned here in the US because there’s a little put-together toy inside), marzipan, and my favorite: Brause-Brocken from Ahoj. (a candy that effervesces in one’s mouth).** They are banned because of the toy? Holy cow! And here I thought people over here were paranoid about safety issues. Marzipan: I always make a point of bringing Marzipan over to friends in the USA when I am there. They all hated it - one person had a sugar-phobia and the other guy couldn’t stand almonds, heh. On the subject of Brause, I can only recommend getting the Ahoi-Brause in those little bags. You know, the one you stir in water and have some refreshing drink. Recently some people are putting the Brause in their mouth and then drink a shot of Wodka, shake their head so that Wodka and Brause mix and then drink it down. Great party drink! ---
**Author:** ![papergirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/aca169/32.png) [@papergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/papergirl)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2003, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-aldi/178686/23 "2003-05-31T13:10:26Z")
I love Aldi. Macaroni and cheese for 39 cents a box? My kids are in heaven, and I can’t make it that cheaply. Chips, soda, milk, eggs, cheese, flour, sugar, breaded chicken strips, pretty much all the “stock” stuff for my pantry comes from Aldi, when I get a chance to go. Overall, aside from the canned veggies, I’ve been very pleased with the quality. And you can’t beat the prices here, even for a frugal shopper like me. Give it a shot, and let us know what you think! Best, karol ---
**Author:** ![Bren\_Cameron\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@Bren\_Cameron\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bren_Cameron_1)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2003, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-aldi/178686/24 "2003-05-31T14:30:50Z")
Aldis? I don’t buy everything there. But I do buy flour, sugar, chocolate chips, and somtimes butter there. You can’t beat the price, and on those items quality seems fine, at least to the kids who devour them in a seemingly endless stream of muffins, pancakes, waffles, and cookies. I’m a little leery of some of the canned goods. I wonder just what the expiration date is on some of those puppies. But for certain things, the savings is big enough to be worth it. It’s probably worth taking a stroll around your local Aldis and seeing what they’ve got–I’m sure it varies by area. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2003, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-aldi/178686/25 "2003-05-31T17:39:18Z")
Great. The US gets lots of Aldi stores, but Ikea stores are few and far between … except in Los Angeles, where there’s like, twenty of them. I live in a middle-class community that is right on the border of a much poorer area (Wyandotte County, Kansas). The crowd that you encounter in the neighbrhood Aldi is either Mexican-American, or grizzled, Appalachian-appearing Anglos; they all come over from KCK to shop. ---
**Author:** ![kirk280980](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c77e96/32.png) [@kirk280980](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kirk280980)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2003, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-aldi/178686/26 "2003-06-01T00:26:32Z")
I don’t know whether this is the case in other countries, or just here in the UK, but the last time I visited the Aldi near where I live, there were no scanners. Instead, the staff had to _memorise_ the price of every single item, and manually key it into the register. When I asked the checkout girl about the likelihood of being overcharged for an item, she admitted that it could happen. She also said it could just as easily work in the customer’s favour too. The rationale seemed to be that, regardless of potential errors, the heavily discounted pricing meant that you’d still save a ton of cash compared to shopping at a regular supermarket. That was a couple of years ago now, so maybe they’ve started using scanners since then. I gave up on shopping at Aldi afer the first few attempts, purely because it was so hectic in there and the limited choice meant I still had to visit other stores to get certain items. Nowadays I order groceries online from Tesco and have them delivered, which suits my car-free lifestyle much better. ---
**Author:** ![Deadly\_Nightlight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Deadly\_Nightlight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deadly_Nightlight)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2003, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-aldi/178686/27 "2003-06-01T02:49:32Z")
our aldis has these scanners they slide the food across, its really fast, way faster then hyvee, but after reading this thread I am beginning to think I have the Best aldis in the world™ ---
**Author:** ![Kat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b19c9b/32.png) [@Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kat)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2003, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-aldi/178686/28 "2003-06-01T04:37:27Z")
They run through the items quick at the Aldi stores around here, but they don’t expect you to bag them quick. They put all the items into the cart, and then you bag it (or box it–if you were bright enough to just swipe empty boxes off the shelves) at the counter by the exit. They’ve got some brand name stuff, like cereals and candy. Their off-brand chips aren’t bad and neither are their juices. Most of their frozen stuff is decent, too. They’ve got good prices on staples like bread and milk. And their cinnamon rolls are _excellent_. ---
**Author:** ![Einmon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Einmon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Einmon)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2003, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-aldi/178686/29 "2003-06-01T10:42:15Z")
I’m typing this on my laptop purchased at Aldi, so there 😃 I second what **Optihut** said regarding Aldi “brands”, but then we’re in the same country, so the USAMMV. For example, I know that the Aldi crisps over here are the “brand” crisps in different wrapping. Aldi has deals with some brand manufacturers who give them their quality stuff cheap because they buy so much of it. Also, over here, there are so many people buying there that produce has such a huge turnover that it’s almost always really fresh. And buying there really makes a difference in your wallet, it’s not just a couple of cents. To give you an example, if I buy at our local HL supermarket I’ll have to spend 30 Euros for half a cart of groceries. If I pack one of those huge Aldi carts up to the brim, I rarely pay more than 50 Euros. That being said, it depends on what Aldi you go to. Some of them are really grungy and it’s really disgusting to shop there. I prefer going to **Lidl’s** , I don’t know whether you have that in the US or not. It basically is similar to Aldi, but also carries name brands and is a little bit nicer in general. Then again, my Mom says that company belongs to Scientology and I shouldn’t shop there, so I guess you can’t win. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2003, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-aldi/178686/30 "2003-06-01T10:59:47Z")
We’ve got Lidl and Aldi in Ireland. I heard recently that Lidl are going to be building another _80_ stores across the country (bear in mind that this is a very small country). Lidl stocks no-name brands, but in my experience the quality’s quite high, and it’s unbelievably cheap. I went shopping for a cookout in Lidl yesterday, and a trolley-full of meat and salad stuff and buns came to €22! ---
**Author:** ![BoBettie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@BoBettie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BoBettie)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2003, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-aldi/178686/31 "2003-06-01T17:13:02Z")
Wow, it must really depend on the store- the one we have in town is very clean, I’ve never had to open up a case or carton to get at anything, and you just bring your own bags/boxes, that’s all. I’ve found their food to be perfectly fine and very inexpensive. The checkout is the FASTEST of any grocery in town (they have a hell of a system and you FLY in and out of the line) and I love the quarter for the shopping cart idea. That way people always bring the carts back. So it must really depend on location and local management. All I know is they have big boxes of ice cream sammiches for $2, and you can’t beat that with a stick! ---
**Author:** ![IBMJunkman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e9bcb4/32.png) [@IBMJunkman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IBMJunkman)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2016, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-aldi/178686/32 "2016-03-18T22:22:44Z")
Reply only 13 years late but Aldi bought Benner Tea from Charlie. He started another company called Worldwide Chain Store Systems with warehousing software that Aldi did not want. See bit.ly/1R49tSp WCSS went on to supply software and/or consulting to: Safeway Safeway (Australia) Esselunga (Supermarkets Italiani) Ralphs Vons Alpha Beta Homeland (OKC) H E Butt Meijer Coop (England) Tesco King Soopers Freightliner ? ICA Delhaize Publix Kroger Thrifty Drugs Winn Dixie Sysco Harvest Foods Acadia Super Foods (Bellfontaine) Food Barn (Kansas City) Railey’s Super Rite EDS/Riser Jetro SFI Elms Alberta Liquor Control Board SWO G. B. Inno Cullom Marks & Spencer Pay N’ Save Peyton’s AHOLD (Netherlands) Meijer Marsh Smart and Final Iris Company Stater Bros. Foodtown (Kansas City, MO) Seaway Foodtown (Maumee, OH) Godfrey/Sentry Foods (Waukesha, WI) CWS (Cooperative Wholesale Society, UK) Woolworth’s (UK) ASDA (Leeds, UK) Daiei (Japan) Foodtown (NZ) > [@justwannano](#): > > Aldi is an outgrowth of Benner Tea. > I worked for Benners for 2 summers between high school and graduating from Electronics school. > IIRC some executives started the buisness after getting their walking papers from Charlie Fitzmorris. > Its headquartered in Batavia Illinois. > I didn’t even know it was international. > As far as I can tell the food is first rate. > Oh the green beans might not be as long as the big name brands but who cares. > We do a lot of shopping there. > There are just no name brands there. > What did Kelloggs ever do for you that you’d pay 500 times the price of the grain that makes up the product. > > Oh yeah MarlaDuren you are a jerk. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2016, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-aldi/178686/33 "2016-03-25T13:31:26Z")
My mom really liked the gluten free cookies they sell. Sigh ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2016, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-aldi/178686/34 "2016-03-25T13:57:36Z")
And in the US, [Aldi is now accepting credit cards](https://www.aldi.us/en/customer-service/faqs/method-of-payment/)! ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2016, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-aldi/178686/35 "2016-03-25T14:16:03Z")
How do you feel about Trader Joe’s? ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2016, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-aldi/178686/36 "2016-03-25T17:55:37Z")
Aldi and Trader Joe’s are sort-of/kind-of owned by the same company. Many years ago, Aldi was split into to two businesses, each run by rival factions of the founding Albrecht family. The two divisions (Nord and Süd) are managed separately, but the ownership structure is complicated and I don’t believe they are completely separate. In northern Germany and most of western and northern Europe, Aldi Nord owns rights to operate Aldi stores. In the U.S., Australia, and most of southern and eastern Europe, Aldi stores are operated by Aldi Süd. So posters from Western Europe complaining about Aldi are really complaining about Aldi Nord, and American posters praising Aldi are really praising Aldi Süd. The family faction that controls Aldi Nord wanted to break into the North American market but weren’t allowed to use the Aldi name here. That branch of the family bought Trader Joe’s from its American founder in 1979 and continues to operate it. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2016, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-aldi/178686/37 "2016-03-25T20:44:55Z")
Aldi just opened 8 stores in SoCal and they’ve been around the block packed all day. The location of the one in my town is still on the way home, but not as convenient as the late Fresh and Easy was. Oh, well. It is still easier to get in and out of than Vons. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2016, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-aldi/178686/38 "2016-03-25T23:40:50Z")
I shop at Aldi’s often. My local Aldi’s (there are several in my county) are at least as clean as big chain grocery stores. They stock basics, seasonal items, and seemingly random deals. The check-out person drops your stuff into a cart and you push it to the bagging area so you don’t have to worry about holding up the line. The staff are courteous and helpful, if invariably busy. I don’t like everything they have, but probably 75-90% of our purchased food comes from them. It’s not for everyone but darn they are less expensive! ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2016, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-aldi/178686/39 "2016-03-26T01:41:48Z")
I’d say Aldi’s stuff is hit or miss. I love their peanut butter, and their hummus is pretty good. The ones around us (Pittsburgh) are pretty clean and neat, and the staff are friendly. I would at least give it a try. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2016, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-aldi/178686/40 "2016-03-26T05:01:10Z")
We do most of our grocery shopping at Aldi 17km away, and now very chuffed that they’re building one in our own town, due to open late next year! For staples, they’re the best and the cheapest. Dunny paper, washing powder, rice, tinned tomatoes etc etc. Their chocolate is great and savory biscuits are no different to the major named brands in other stores. For more specialty stuff we go to Woolworths or Coles here in Aus. What I most love about ALDI is that you don’t have to stand in an aisle for 15 minutes trying to compare brands and prices for the one item you’re after. AND they avoid most of the cheeky marketing shit that the bigger stores employ…narrow aisles, strategic product placement, music in the background to give you the shits. Next time you’re at an ALDI store, do a quick experiment (which I’ve done numerous times and every time (bar one) has supported my hypothesis). Compared to regular supermarkets, ALDI’s tend to be a lot quieter, with less kids having screaming fits…I swear the sensory overload in the regular supermarkets sets kids off into apoplectic episodes, but for the most part they are quiet and well behaved in ALDI stores. Oh, and the long queues? They shunt those groceries through the scanner so quickly, even with a long conveyor belt full of stuff, it’s quicker than the regular supermarket by far! Can you tell I love ALDI?? 😃 Oh, I don’t tend to buy their meat though. Or smallgoods. But everything else, shit yeah! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-aldi/178686.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-aldi/178686.md?page=3)