6 ms·

Oh man, California needs an ALDI bigtime

synicalx 5y ago
We've had them in Australia for a while now and honestly.... not that amazing. Most products beyond the absolute "staples" like bread, milk, eggs etc are barely any cheaper than our other major supermarket chains. I'm talking cents of difference; a frozen chicken kiev at Coles might cost like $8 and the Aldi version is $7.90. A lot of the brands they sell are almost Aliexpress-grade knock offs of known brands - they'll mimic the branding and packaging of a known brand almost to the point of being an exact copy with a slightly different name. The quality of these knockoffs is also pretty questionable in my experience, but some are actually comparable to the real thing. Another minor complaint - the staff don't pack your bags like every other supermarket, but they also don't have self service checkouts so you get the worst of both worlds and none of the benefit. Every store near me is chronically understaffed as well so actually checking out can take upwards of 10 minutes even during off-peak hours. Overall though it's not much cheaper and the whole thing kind of feels a bit grubby, don't really see any reason to shop there.
- KarlKemp 5y ago
  I love this bewildered recounting of what is (or at least used to be) the standard German shopping experience :) FWIW their "knock-off" brands frequently, but not always, are the same thing as the premium brands. They sell cheaper stuff to ALDI and use a (purposefully bad) design so as not to dilute the brand. This is more common for single-ingredient products like flour or oats than processed food. And the cashiers at ALDI used to be the best-paid in the sector in the times before barcodes: every ALDI product had a different price, which they knew and punched in extremely quickly. They wouldn't bag anything for you (no supermarket in Germany does), but it tended to go rather fast (too fast for most people to keep up). I said "used to", above, because they have drastically changed in the last decade, now selling fresh vegetables and occasionally even installing lights in their shops.
  - synicalx 5y ago
    I have to say, as someone who used to work in a supermarket during high school, Aldi looks like it would be a pretty good place to work in addition to the decent pay. All the cashiers have seats, and all they really have to do (at least in the AU ones) is just scan the barcodes and sling the item back over to the customer.
  - LargoLasskhyfv 5y ago
    They (could) know that because the sortiment was smaller then, nowadays it's larger. Their lighting still sucks, glaring cold white LEDs now. FUGLY!
- NeoVeles 5y ago
  I used to work for a supplier for Aldi Aus. They used to treat suppliers really well while they were in the growing stage. Once growth slowed they relied on the manufacturer to take up more of the pricing slack. It is all about price and nothing else, never once where they really concerned about quality of the product. If they could have products cheaper than Coles/Woolworths they would do it regardless of how many short cuts where taken to get there. Thus you could have something like yogurt that was $1 cheaper but tasted like glue. No price shock but you would definitely notice the quality issue once you got home. Funnily enough Aldi aus did a study a few years back and noted that people will cut food costs before they cut entertainment. It was aimed at Coles and Woolworths to highlight that when things get rough they would flock to Aldi. Looking at their shelves recently, provided the supply chain is still running ok, it might have been true.
  - synicalx 5y ago
    That point about cutting back on food before entertainment definitely rings true. Back when I first moved out of home I'd do EXACTLY that - huge TV, games consoles, flashy computer etc but also eating 2 minute noodles, and chickpeas or eggs for a lot of meals and occasionally a chicken fillet as a treat.
- LargoLasskhyfv 5y ago
  The staff packing your bags seems to be a matter of habit. Personally this would disturb me, since I wouldn't trust them to pack them like I want to. Imagine doing your shopping with a backpack, or clip-on/off bags from the carrier of your bicycle? That has to be done with some care, otherwise there will be potential mess when you get back home.
- drcongo 5y ago
  Do you get Lidl in Aus? In the UK, Lidl is like a low rent Aldi. Our Aldis are pretty good though.
javajosh 5y ago
Cali has one, but it's called "Trader Joe's".
PaulDavisThe1st 5y ago
The Aldi in Portsmouth, OH is a purveyor of almost nothing but the foods you should probably try to eat less of. I found shopping there almost traumatic, mostly from the realization that the pallets stacked all over the floor with white flour, white sugar, garbage oils etc. etc. probably do represent what a significant fraction of Americans cook with. The richest nation on earth, and we settle for "tastes good, costs less".
- LargoLasskhyfv 5y ago
  Hm. Aldi America is managed by Aldi-Süd(South), which in Germany was more progressive in revamping its offers, and outfitting its locactions in more modern style, while Aldi-Nord(North) was seen as lagging behind, more conservative, old fashioned. Anyway, since about 2004 I've only experienced the latter (Aldi-Nord), and can't believe the US-branch still does this? Because the thing with the paletts is gone here, since at least a decade. Don't know how to define garbage oils, though. Got Linseed- and Hemp-Oil there, recently. Works for me. But hey, as an avowed prole, what do I know?
CrazedGeek 5y ago
I know of at least two in SFV -- one in Northridge and one in Panorama City.
_-david-_ 5y ago
California has multiple Aldis. Maybe they just aren't in your area of California.
drcongo 5y ago
Aldi in the UK has an own-brand, vegan, meat replacement range called Plant Menu and it is phenomenally good. Their burgers are considerably better than Beyond's.

We've had them in Australia for a while now and honestly.... not that amazing. Most products beyond the absolute "staples" like bread, milk, eggs etc are barely any cheaper than our other major supermarket chains. I'm talking cents of difference; a frozen chicken kiev at Coles might cost like $8 and the Aldi version is $7.90. A lot of the brands they sell are almost Aliexpress-grade knock offs of known brands - they'll mimic the branding and packaging of a known brand almost to the point of being an exact copy with a slightly different name. The quality of these knockoffs is also pretty questionable in my experience, but some are actually comparable to the real thing. Another minor complaint - the staff don't pack your bags like every other supermarket, but they also don't have self service checkouts so you get the worst of both worlds and none of the benefit. Every store near me is chronically understaffed as well so actually checking out can take upwards of 10 minutes even during off-peak hours. Overall though it's not much cheaper and the whole thing kind of feels a bit grubby, don't really see any reason to shop there.

KarlKemp 5y ago
I love this bewildered recounting of what is (or at least used to be) the standard German shopping experience :) FWIW their "knock-off" brands frequently, but not always, are the same thing as the premium brands. They sell cheaper stuff to ALDI and use a (purposefully bad) design so as not to dilute the brand. This is more common for single-ingredient products like flour or oats than processed food. And the cashiers at ALDI used to be the best-paid in the sector in the times before barcodes: every ALDI product had a different price, which they knew and punched in extremely quickly. They wouldn't bag anything for you (no supermarket in Germany does), but it tended to go rather fast (too fast for most people to keep up). I said "used to", above, because they have drastically changed in the last decade, now selling fresh vegetables and occasionally even installing lights in their shops.
- synicalx 5y ago
  I have to say, as someone who used to work in a supermarket during high school, Aldi looks like it would be a pretty good place to work in addition to the decent pay. All the cashiers have seats, and all they really have to do (at least in the AU ones) is just scan the barcodes and sling the item back over to the customer.
- LargoLasskhyfv 5y ago
  They (could) know that because the sortiment was smaller then, nowadays it's larger. Their lighting still sucks, glaring cold white LEDs now. FUGLY!
NeoVeles 5y ago
I used to work for a supplier for Aldi Aus. They used to treat suppliers really well while they were in the growing stage. Once growth slowed they relied on the manufacturer to take up more of the pricing slack. It is all about price and nothing else, never once where they really concerned about quality of the product. If they could have products cheaper than Coles/Woolworths they would do it regardless of how many short cuts where taken to get there. Thus you could have something like yogurt that was $1 cheaper but tasted like glue. No price shock but you would definitely notice the quality issue once you got home. Funnily enough Aldi aus did a study a few years back and noted that people will cut food costs before they cut entertainment. It was aimed at Coles and Woolworths to highlight that when things get rough they would flock to Aldi. Looking at their shelves recently, provided the supply chain is still running ok, it might have been true.
- synicalx 5y ago
  That point about cutting back on food before entertainment definitely rings true. Back when I first moved out of home I'd do EXACTLY that - huge TV, games consoles, flashy computer etc but also eating 2 minute noodles, and chickpeas or eggs for a lot of meals and occasionally a chicken fillet as a treat.
LargoLasskhyfv 5y ago
The staff packing your bags seems to be a matter of habit. Personally this would disturb me, since I wouldn't trust them to pack them like I want to. Imagine doing your shopping with a backpack, or clip-on/off bags from the carrier of your bicycle? That has to be done with some care, otherwise there will be potential mess when you get back home.
drcongo 5y ago
Do you get Lidl in Aus? In the UK, Lidl is like a low rent Aldi. Our Aldis are pretty good though.

javajosh 5y ago

Cali has one, but it's called "Trader Joe's".

PaulDavisThe1st 5y ago

The Aldi in Portsmouth, OH is a purveyor of almost nothing but the foods you should probably try to eat less of. I found shopping there almost traumatic, mostly from the realization that the pallets stacked all over the floor with white flour, white sugar, garbage oils etc. etc. probably do represent what a significant fraction of Americans cook with. The richest nation on earth, and we settle for "tastes good, costs less".

LargoLasskhyfv 5y ago
Hm. Aldi America is managed by Aldi-Süd(South), which in Germany was more progressive in revamping its offers, and outfitting its locactions in more modern style, while Aldi-Nord(North) was seen as lagging behind, more conservative, old fashioned. Anyway, since about 2004 I've only experienced the latter (Aldi-Nord), and can't believe the US-branch still does this? Because the thing with the paletts is gone here, since at least a decade. Don't know how to define garbage oils, though. Got Linseed- and Hemp-Oil there, recently. Works for me. But hey, as an avowed prole, what do I know?

CrazedGeek 5y ago

I know of at least two in SFV -- one in Northridge and one in Panorama City.

_-david-_ 5y ago

California has multiple Aldis. Maybe they just aren't in your area of California.

drcongo 5y ago

Aldi in the UK has an own-brand, vegan, meat replacement range called Plant Menu and it is phenomenally good. Their burgers are considerably better than Beyond's.