Above you will see a cropped screen shot of the world wide locations that I was able to find. I know it's a bit hard to see - in some browsers you can click on it to see a larger photo OR you can keep reading because I have some more info on the locations in this post. ALDI was founded in 1913...YUP! 103 years ago! By brothers Theo and Karl Albrecht. In 1962 they split into two companies...Aldi Nord and Aldi Sud. They are headquartered in Germany.
A few issues the chain has had to face is back in 2013 when that 'horse meat' thing was taking place it was found they were one of the many stores in GERMANY that were found to have products that contained Horse Meat instead of "Beef". From the information I found this was the case ONLY in Germany. They quickly made the correction. As a vegetarian/vegan I don't eat ANY meat so whether it's meat from a chicken, cow, fish, horse, etc I won't eat it regardless. But I'm very much FOR consumer rights and the right-to-know, overall, regardless if the consumer is a vegetarian, vegan, or otherwise so this was something that was chalked up as a negative in GERMANY that is for sure.
Another thing that some critics have swung at them for is selling 'cheap' products. This doesn't bother me. I am often a thrifty shopper and like a deal. I know a guy here that won't shop at Aldi's because you have to deposit a quarter to 'use' a cart. I laugh at this because I think it is genius for more than 1 reason. One...you get your quarter back!!!! That means someone who works at the store isn't out casing carts all day long! This is one of the cause/effect things as to why they have so few employees working at the location at any given time. And you know what? Those employees are paid pretty well here in the US. Higher than minimum wage. About 10 years ago I saw a sign that starting pay was over 30k a year here AND there were benefits! I don't know what the current wage is but they are historically higher than minimum wage from what I have read about the history of their company.
A fun fact...in December 2002, a survey conducted by the German market research institute Forsa found 95% of blue-collar workers, 88% of white-collar workers, 84% of public servants, and 80% of self-employed Germans shop at Aldi. I'm NOT sure the percentages here in the US but you see all sorts of people in there - as well as vehicles in their parking lot - everything from motorcycles, to Corvettes and Mustangs, to SUVs, Trucks, and Vans, to clunker and junkers. So I like that they smash the stereotypes of only a 'certain shopper' shops there.
Another reason I like that they have 'rent a carts with deposit' is because it encourages conversation. What I mean by that is when you go to get your quarter back there is often another person coming in and needing a cart - you can either give them your cart and save them a trip to the cart area and they hand you a quarter OR you can do a good deed for the day and tell them to keep their quarter!
One of the other ways Aldi is different from other stores - especially here in the US - is they are one of the few chains who not only ENCOURAGES you to bring your own bags (and reuse them) they make it hard for you NOT to which in turn is better for the environment. They sell bags. The canvas ones are HUGE and only $1.99. I've bought several over the years. They sell heavy-duty plastic bags for around 10 cents. I am not completely sure about that because I don't by them. They also have thicker paper bags with handles for around the same price. They even sell freezer bags as an option. If you don't have a bag and/or don't want to buy a bag there is another way to transport what you bought, too! In the photo above you will see the products on the shelves...they are stacked in boxes. At any given time you can find one that is empty or close to empty and grab it for your own personal use.
Another interesting tidbit is that Aldi's doesn't have a 'back room' or at least the ones I have seen haven't had them. I think this is WONDERFUL...here's why...
When their trucks come in...they unload the trucks and the products are brought out on to the floor right away! This is DOUBLY important when it comes to the produce! Their produce is NOT laying in the back room somewhere until they find a spot for it - instead - it's comes off the truck and on to the floor right away! End result? You get fresher produce than in other chain stores. SCORE!
Not only is Aldi's getting more and more vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options - they are bulking up and offering more and more organic options, too!
I'm grateful that I have an Aldi's in the small area I live in. I know that more of them are popping up around the US. I heard there is one opening in San Diego this month, too! Actually you can see there are many opening in California and other states in their GRAND OPENING section of their website.
Their US website is a great resource, too!
In comments - let me know if you have one nearby and what country you are in!
I loved shopping at ALDI. Like anywhere you shop there is good and bad, but some of the deals are amazing! And you can't beat the deals on organic produce. This was a really great post, very informative. I remember seeing a job posting for them when I lived in Erie, and they offered way above minimum wage. And when you shop there, you can tell the employees are happy.
ReplyDeleteAnd I agree, whenever I've shopped there it's a mixing bag of cars in the parking lot, and shoppers in the store.
They started carrying Cashew Milk this past year too!!!! Can't wait to see what else I find in coming months!
DeleteWe have several Aldi's in Brisbane where I live. I have to admit I don't go in there often. I know it sounds very silly, but I find it really disorienting how they have a lot of products that look like a product I know, but then aren't. I am very silly. I don't think the Australian ones have quite as much vegan friendly stuff as ones in other countries, though I know that they have vegan chocolate and other things. The last one I was in was actually pretty small and didn't have too much stuff for vegans.
ReplyDeleteThat totally makes sense! I think they are going to continue to get more and more because the demand it going up! Keep an eye out :)
DeleteVery interesting post! I have never shopped at an ALDI, the closest one to me is in southern California. But looks like we need one in this area because Trader Joe's is always packed!
ReplyDeleteHow much of a drive is it for you? Just curious! TJ's is always packed in the tri-state because there are so few around here :)
DeleteReally interesting article Jennifer. I had no idea about the link to Trader Joes! Aldi are really big news in the UK. They've been here for I think around twenty years and have massively changed the way that they are seen especially in the last few years. They were initially seen as very cheap but with limited stock the sort of place students or someone on a really limited budget would shop but they've got bigger and bigger and are defintiely a favourite with the middle classes looking to get fancy meats, cheeses and wines quality treats as bargain prices. We have one in our town and I must say the staff always seem a lot happier than in some of our other supermarkets. We go there fairly often and i love seeing if there is anything vegan in the specials section. We have a UK vegan list too. Have you seen any of the Aldi tv adverts? They've done some funny ones that we really popular in the UK like this one.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCKgCkubGc0
I will have to check out that video! I already am in need of a good laugh today LOL :)
DeleteThanks for the summery. I didn't know about the cart thing.. I was so confused about it, but I never buy very much in the store. I don't get ALL my groceries there, but it is a good place to stop at, try and get as much off my list then head over to Wegman's to get the rest.
ReplyDeleteI like hearing they offer higher than minimum wage. It will encourage me to try and go more often. There is one near me, but it is out of the way compared to just making one stop at Wegman's.
I think the cart thing confuses a lot of people - you are NOT alone! I'm a huge fan of Wegman's and just might have to do a blog post about them down the road, too! Thanks for the idea!
DeleteRent a cart is a good idea! Here, they are used for free...and many people push their carts to the parking lot and leave them all around till somebody goes round to collect them. Can be quite a nuisance when you have to avoid them when you drive or worse, when you see vacant lots with the carts right in the middle. Wish those people could be a little bit more considerate of others.
ReplyDeleteEverywhere else around here is like that with the carts. ALDI is the only place that I know of near me that has the rent/deposit method.
DeleteI shop at ALDI's for some of my groceries. When I purchased food for the Homeless Shelter I did ALL my shopping there. The church budgeted a certain amount of food to purchase monthly and because of their prices, ALDI's was the perfect choice.
ReplyDeleteAround here, they start paying attention them at $14 hourly.
That's great to know, Opal! Thanks for sharing!!! I'm glad you could find everything for the pantry!
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